Hey there, so I just joined the site cause I wanted some questions answered. Ive got a 1992 Ranger 2WD/3L/5spd. It's an awesome truck and I love driving it. But see I've got buddies who like to 4x4 and so do I. I've gone with them and yes i get stuck but not because I'm 2WD but because I get high centered.

So I wanted to put a 2-3" body lift and a 2-3" suspension lift on my Ranger. Is this worth while at all? Anyone done it? Also, to cut down costs, could I strip down a 4x4 Bronco so get suspension parts off it? (I know I can strip a Ranger but usualy when I go to a auto wrecker all I find are Broncos) And now say I do this lift, body and suspension, if I get a 4x4 later on could I transfer the parts over? Say to a F-150.

So other bigger mods that have been suggested are turning my Ranger into 4WD, i.e. getting a whole front end.

--------------------------------or----------------------------

Find a 4x4 Ranger with a totaled cab and switch over the cab + box

How possible and how hard are these mods to do?

 

For the time and money you would invest converting it to 4x4, sell your Ranger and buy a 4x4 one. You are talking several thousand dollars in mods here, all onto a truck that wasn't designed for it from the beginning. You'd need a transfer case, new axle, lifts, tires, the works. For the money there is literally no reason not to go ahead and pick up a new 4x4 Ranger.

Yes it could be done, yes you could jack parts off of a Bronco, and yes, it would be an awesome project. But financially I don't see a way to justify it.

 

ok so skrew the whole, turn a 2WD into a 4WD


but now would the 2-3" body and suspension lift on a 2WD be worth it?

 

For offroading? Depends, what kinda terrain are you in? If you are running over big stuff, 2-3" of lift isn't gonna make a difference. But if you are just barely gettin' caught on stuff, then yeah go for it, it would help and you could party with your buddies a lot better and easier.

 

Just a couple of sugestions. The era of ranger you have, 92', has the TTB suspenion, lots of lift kits for it, instead of a body lift and suspension lift you can just buy a 6" suspension kit, it will be cheaper that purchasing the two seperate lifts you were talking about. Instead of any dificult conversions, re-gear your rear diff for the larger tires and add a lock-right. You won't be able to go through anything, but you will be able to get through some stuff with that type of set up.

 

I agree with Waves. You want 6 inches of total lift, right? A 3 inch body lift will still get you high centered. And depending on the terrain, so will a 3 inch suspension lift. What you need are tires, to get the diff (the lowest part of the driveline) up out of the way. To make the room for tires, you got to lift, and I personally think body lifts look cheesy.

There's lots of capable 2wd trucks, who don't get stuck. Don't think of 2wd as a limitation. There's less weight, so you'd be cheaper on gas, ... cheaper insurance, less stuff to break, ... and if you do get stuck, chances are, you won't be stuck too badly.

 

well ok, got a site that has a 6" suspension lift for a resonable price, im on a $100/week income ha.

my terrain is pretty basic, no deeeep mud pits or huge climbs, its just lotsa watter holes, and yeah when i scrape its only barely, and not on my diff but rather on the tranny, luckily i have a scrape guard.

How would i go about a re-gear and lock-right? what partake is that? i dont have a posi rearend and so i'll spin one tire alot and i hate that and so im gussing that will lock my rear wheels?

 

thought i'd throw in a picture of my truck so we know what your dealing with.

 

Now the re-gear and lock-right are pricey, I'm not gonna bs around about that. The parts are fairly reasonable, but the install costs are not cheap, just as much as the parts if I am remembering right. I've done it to 2 difrent 7.5" Ranger rear diffs and a re-geared at the sametime, it's generally about $1100 to $1200 to have it done. Just adding a lock-right is about $500.

Maybe something to consider if your trying to do this on a budget would be a 3" lift(either body or suspension,the 3" lifts are close to the same cost for your truck), 8" wheels and 31" tall tires, that way a re-gear would not be as critical.....you could save up and piece it together and still be able to drive around. Maybe just add the lock right. The lock right is the least expensive, yet extremly durable conversion from a limited slip to a solid locking rear diff. I am not rich by any means and the lock right unit for a 7.5" ford read diff is about $250...at least the one I bought a few years ago was, the place I had do it would install one, parts and labor for about $500. I don't mean to use the term cheap, it's just cheap in the world of rear diff's, and man it will make your truck a hoot to drive, on and off road....

 

Yeah for $1200 I'd rather buy a really ugly 4x4 mudder, but now why couldn't I install everything myself? I have a awesome lift at my school at it would be wicked credit to do something like that. Now 8" wheels, your talking rims right? or am I missing something, and how underpowered/geared would my truck be with oh say...my 14" rims and 33"? And right now my fenders are only 33" wide in the rear so prolly 28-31 rearwise but I could fit a 34" in the front. Lastly, again with the junk yards, could i find a Bronco with a posi rear end and take that??

 

Yeah 8" wheels, I was talking 15x8" wide wheels. You will need wheels because the taller tires you want are not made for 14" wheels.

You could install the lock right your self, but the set up for gears is extremely critical, I'm not saying you can't, but it has to be precise. I have heard and it does apear that just the lock right install is relatively simple.

As far as how underpowered you might be, that's the 64 million dollar question. You will just have to see. Also you need to figure out what gears are in your truck right now and then you will at least have some clue.

As far as your fender dimensions, remember your tires will not be totaly inside them, the key is to lift the truck so you can run a larger tire without rubbing at all. You want to have plenty of clearance...larger off road tores are expensive, you do not want them rubbing on anything.

Ok as far as the junk yards - heck yes man now your thinking like a man on a budget! I would guess you could go two ways on this. Do a little searching on the net, ask some of the guys on this board, there are some really knowledgable guys on this forum. One way to go would be to look for a rear diff from a 4x ranger or explorer the same year as yours. If it's a ranger look for one with an extra cab and 4.0 engine, if your gonna do a swap you want to go to a 8.8" rear diff. Find one with 4.10 gears and do a complete swap. Again do some reaserch, I know some chit about rangers but don't claim to be the most knowledable by any means. The other way to go is this, I am betting your ranger has a 7.5" rear diff, again you need to figure out exactly what you have before you start, but find another ranger with a 7.5" rear diff, but one with lower gears...preferably with 4.10 gears. Just buy the whole center chunk and swap it with yours. Maybe you can get a little money back by trading yours...also....that might be the time to buy and intall your own lock right....???? Just some ideas man...

 

Go to a junk yard, your axle is a 7.5" rear axle. You want an axle out of a 4x4 4.0L ranger. This will be an 8.8" axle, and if you look on the door sticker, under axle code, find one with one of these as the codes-R5, R6, R7, R8. the ratio's are 3.55, 3.73, 4.10, and 4.56 respectively. I wouldnt expect to find too many 4.56's. Any axle code with a letter indicates a "limited slip" axle. These axles are going to be an 8.8" axle, Or you could look for one with axle code F4, F6, F7, ratio's 3.45, 3.73, and 4.10 respectivly. these are 7.5" limited slip axles. Correct me if i'm wrong, but either should bolt right in. I dont know if the spring perches will be in the right spot if you get one off a bronco, on the other hand that might just be the explorer that they are on their wrong. Just to warn you, i bought a powertrax lock right off ebay and the dang thing never worked, probably cause i got it off ebay for 100$. So you have to be careful with these things. But i would say that if you get a new one, you should be just fine. I guess they are pretty good with warrenty stuff. Good luck, any other q's just ask.

 

What did not work on your powertrax lock right? That's what I had in my last ranger? Absolutely loved it man....theres really not much to the thing to brake???

 

I actually wondered if it was even a powertrax brand. The little teeth were getting stripped. it would let loose and it would sound like the truck was in neutral.

 

Hmmm weird.....you know it's supposed to "un-lock" so to speak when you come off the power while cornering right? Makes a loud clunking or clicking noise while you corner (without applying power). Then when you re-apply the power it goes back to fully locked and does not make any noise. If you apply the power or never get out of the power it stays fully locked. I am assuming you probably knew this and yours was actually broken or stripped in some way like your saying...but just making sure.