My turn to sound ignorant about lowering work

markk53 · #1 05-15-2013, 07:05 PM

I've read a lot of stuff about lowering the Rangers. My question is fairly simple. I know with the DJM beams the front end will be fine with the stock springs. The thing I need to know is if the axle flip cuts travel to the point of hitting the stops a fair amount. The stance I'm looking for is a slightly lower front than rear, not level (reflection of my being from the era of muscle cars with a slightly lower nose). The truck will be a daily driver.

Fill me in on what will happen with the 4" axle flip. Will it hit the stops too often in normal use?

I'm all about function that works correctly.

There ya go... weigh in on it guys.

DARKSIDE · #2 05-15-2013, 07:56 PM

explain "normal use". Usually 5" or more is preferred to notch the rear. Im at 4/6 right now with a notch and i have never bottomed out.

markk53 · #3 05-16-2013, 11:12 AM

Not sure what you missed, I asked:

"Fill me in on what will happen with the 4" axle flip."

No drop further, never will. No notching. No chassis scraping. Lowering to a slight bit higher ride height than an automoble. I want to know what happens when doing the following daily stuff:

Driving to and from school,
hauling wood (not fire wood or huge loads of lumber) and stuff in the back.
Worst case is hauling a full scoop of Zoo Mix (combination manure and mulch) in the bed, probably about a half ton, over a few miles.
Possibly a couple of 400 lb motorcycles in it.

I really don't want to have it bouncing off the stops all the time. Thus my questions.

Maybe the stance I want can be had with different shackle set ups to drop the 3-4". That is what I'm trying to learn. How to keep the pure functionality without major cutting and other headaches involved in slamming the truck in the weeds. I just want a mild lowered ride height. Kind of like what I did with my father's S10 using a 2" spindle set and 3" blocks. The Ford obviously requires a different technique.

low2.3 · #4 05-16-2013, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markk53

Not sure what you missed, I asked:

"Fill me in on what will happen with the 4" axle flip."

No drop further, never will. No notching. No chassis scraping. Lowering to a slight bit higher ride height than an automoble. I want to know what happens when doing the following daily stuff:

[*]Driving to and from school,[*]hauling wood (not fire wood or huge loads of lumber) and stuff in the back.[*]Worst case is hauling a full scoop of Zoo Mix (combination manure and mulch) in the bed, probably about a half ton, over a few miles.[*]Possibly a couple of 400 lb motorcycles in it.

I really don't want to have it bouncing off the stops all the time. Thus my questions.

Maybe the stance I want can be had with different shackle set ups to drop the 3-4". That is what I'm trying to learn. How to keep the pure functionality without major cutting and other headaches involved in slamming the truck in the weeds. I just want a mild lowered ride height. Kind of like what I did with my father's S10 using a 2" spindle set and 3" blocks. The Ford obviously requires a different technique.

Assuming your truck is a 97 or older because your talking about beams, a 3/4 drop will sit almost level which you said you did not want; with that being said to answer your question, a flip kit will provide 4" of drop and with a pancake bumpstop and proper drop shocks it'll be very hard to bottom out and would not effect daily driving or ride very much at all.

drppdyllwrngr · #5 05-16-2013, 02:13 PM

if you think you will be hauling heavier loads, i would recommend a set of nissan hardbody air shocks for the rear. i have them on my truck with 8" drop and can raise it back to a mild 2-3" drop.

low2.3 · #6 05-16-2013, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drppdyllwrngr

if you think you will be hauling heavier loads, i would recommend a set of nissan hardbody air shocks for the rear. i have them on my truck with 8" drop and can raise it back to a mild 2-3" drop.

X2 I previously had them on my truck as well

markk53 · #7 05-16-2013, 07:48 PM

That's what I'm looking for. When you say almost level might that be a bit high in the front or rear? I don't particularly care for the low rear, yet don't want some radical difference between front and rear. I'm thinking an inch or so.

I guess I do a search for "Hard Body shock" to find where to buy and how much.

One other thought crossed my mind today. I've read about flipping the rear spring hanger mount to drop about 2". Then use something like the Rox lowering shackles to drop it without decreasing the axle to frame clearance as severe as the flipped axle set up. Does this make any sense?

I'm trying to make a rational decision based on what will provide the best suspension set up without cutting and welding beyond what might entail doing the hanger flip or the axle flip. Totally reversible modifications.

I appreciate everyone's patience, like I said, my turn to sound ignorant.

low2.3 · #8 05-16-2013, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markk53

That's what I'm looking for. When you say almost level might that be a bit high in the front or rear? I don't particularly care for the low rear, yet don't want some radical difference between front and rear. I'm thinking an inch or so.

I guess I do a search for "Hard Body shock" to find where to buy and how much.

One other thought crossed my mind today. I've read about the flipping of the rear spring hanger mount to drop about 2". Then use something like the Rox lowering shackles to drop it without decreasing the axle to frame clearance as severe as the flipped axle set up. Does this make any sense?

Almost level depends on how much your factory springs sagged overtime.

Hard body shocks are Nissan D21 rear shocks you can order them online "Monroe air shocks"

If you flip the shackles thats 2" you can not put in longer shackles as they will be in the bed floor

Rear flip kit with air shocks honestly sounds like your best bet

DARKSIDE · #9 05-16-2013, 08:44 PM

you can get the hardbody shocks at orielys for 20 bucks each. Like low2.3 said they are monroe shocks part #31000 for the rear

markk53 · #10 05-17-2013, 05:15 AM

I think this has been most informative and I very much appreciate your help.

My thoughts now are the three inch beams, axle flip, pancake stops (urethane? more research), and the hard body shocks. Probably along with front shocks as well.

Do the hard body shocks work decently from a performance point of view in driving when the road starts to curve a bit? And does the flip affect the mounting of the rear sway bar (figure I'll ask before I actually look at it)? The truck does have the sway bars front and rear if I read things right on the specs.

low2.3 · #11 05-17-2013, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markk53

I think this has been most informative and I very much appreciate your help.

My thoughts now are the three inch beams, axle flip, pancake stops (urethane? more research), and the hard body shocks. Probably along with front shocks as well.

Do the hard body shocks work decently from a performance point of view in driving when the road starts to curve a bit? And does the flip affect the mounting of the rear sway bar (figure I'll ask before I actually look at it)? The truck does have the sway bars front and rear if I read things right on the specs.

The whole truck handles better when lower so shocks are fine as long you don't have 90 psi in them unloaded lol

Axle flip should not effect the sway bar at all

Yes pancake bumpstops are polyurethane you can order them on Summit and they are universal

markk53 · #12 05-17-2013, 09:46 AM

Well, now to drive the truck for the weekend and see if I'm gonna buy it. Most signs point to yes, but I'm not sure how comfortable the interior will be. I like the S10 bench seat a lot. In my short test drive the Ranger didn't feel as good. A friend who has extensively driven both the Ranger and S10 feels the S10 seat is superior in feel.

I will say it's going to have to be actually uncomfortable to be any stopper.

Maybe I go to the interiors section to see what else might work there.

low2.3 · #13 05-17-2013, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markk53

Well, now to drive the truck for the weekend and see if I'm gonna buy it. Most signs point to yes, but I'm not sure how comfortable the interior will be. I like the S10 bench seat a lot. In my short test drive the Ranger didn't feel as good. A friend who has extensively driven both the Ranger and S10 feels the S10 seat is superior in feel.

I will say it's going to have to be actually uncomfortable to be any stopper.

Maybe I go to the interiors section to see what else might work there.

Explorer seat swap ftw lol bolts right in and a 110% improvement

markk53 · #14 05-18-2013, 03:37 PM

thanx.

markk53 · #15 07-06-2013, 04:33 PM

I posted elsewhere, I'm questioning if one of the two removeable leaves can be taken out of the Splash spring pack to soften the ride. I would like to know if anyone's done it and how it worked.