I need to replace the shocks and the struts in the near future on my 94 ford ranger. I want a suspension lift, and found one that might be a choice.. any ideas are helpful... the questions I have are
1. Do they affect fuel mileage? How badly?
2. would this kit (http://www.roughcountry.com/ford_83-97_midsize.asp) work to replace the struts and shocks?
3. I don;t know much about lifts, or suspension kits... whats a good price, brands, etc...
4. I go to school in the UP Michigan- would it hurt my winter driving?
5. I am guessing it would help my off road driving sonsiderably, am I right?
6. The rear suspension makes the truck higher in the rear... leveling springs would fix that right? would the lift kit above fix that problem as well?
ok, enough questions to bug you all with...

I have General Grabber P265/75/R15 tires on the truck now. it has the 4.0 and is a manual 4wd auto hubs. There are less than 60,000 original miles on it... thanks for your help in advance..

 

1: The only reason the lift will really affect your mileage much, if at all, is the lowered wind resistance, and the usual filling of the gap with some bigger tires or re-gearing of the axles. If you JUST lift the truck, and dont put some new rubber on it, I doubt you'd notice the mileage loss at all.
2: Cant help you here, except to say that your truck wont have struts, it uses the twin traction beam setup, with coilsprings and shocks
3: Cant help you here either, all I know is that Skyjacker and JamesDuff make what are generally regarded to be awesome kits, they come at a cost though, a cost that you probably wont need to spend from the way you speak of your intentions.
4: Winter driving wont be affected by having a lift, just take your corners slower. The body will clear snow-banks easier, and make sure you have some good winter tires! Remember, the more rubber that hits the ground, the less grip you've got on the ice!
5: It sure will, but only in terms of body/frame clearance, the bigger tires will get your axles further from the ground and those pesky rocks and other such things that are out there to bust up your truck.
6: Not related to that kit in particular, but most lift kits will tell you the amount they raise the front and the rear of your truck. You want to find a kit that will raise the front by about 1.5"-2" more than the rear if I remember right

 

Any good lift kit should level the truck, you may get some strange looks at first as the lift needs some time to settle in, then all should be well. Rough country and superlift make good kits at a decent price. wwwjcwhitney.com is a good place to shop for lift kits as they have many brands and good prices. I would not go more than 3" on the lift and run a 31/10.50 tire. This is a great combonation for offroad and still has good street maners and won't be to hard on your mpg. You don't need it jacked 10 feet in the air with 40" tires like a big foot, thats all for looks and not really practical. A 3" lift and a set of BFG's at ko's will look awesome and perform really well on and off the road.