Hey yall, I have been making plans to eventually just get another Ranger. Something a little newer. But I need a bit of input. I don't want one as old as the one I have now ('92) but I don't want it so new it's going to cost a fortune. And when it comes to the old I-beams in the front as opposed to the wishbones, what would you say? That's going to be a big determining factor. Any particular years/year ranges that especially have trouble with something? Let's hear what you got.

 

I really don't want to go above $3000. Lower if possible. And when it comes to I-beams, I guess it's more of the idea of in what way will wishbones be more rugged?

 

My 2002 X-cab 4.0 SOHC 4x4 has been flawless......................but probably out of your price range.
I never had one lick of trouble with my older Rangers in respect to the twin I/traction beam set up..............very rugged.

 

I am kinda partial to the rugged Twin-I-beam/traction-beam set-up................But, there are fewer and fewer shops that seem to be able to properly align and adjust these front ends.

 

Hell, there were only a few shops that could align the twin even back in the day....

 

My thoughts?

I figured that if I could work with the twin I beam suspension - I could do anything. But is it worth the trouble?

If you want to go FAST - you don't want I-beams, that's a no brainer. They are too heavy.

If you want off road toughness, they're pretty strong.

You want to pick a direction - once you do you'll be comitted to it. Are you building a farm tractor or a street truck...

Another consideration is if you want good mileage, and if so you want the lightest truck you can have or build.

Again - modern alignment shops may eventually not even know how to deal with the twin I beam, which is phased out for the most part now. I was suprised that FORD gave up on the TIB front end in favor of A-frames and MacPherson struts, but it's a sign of the times. What was once their signature suspension has now been outmoded...

You have to consider your own skills, or the availability of shops that can deal with what you have got.

What I think is that a street truck needs A-frames or a McPherson setup.

For OFFROAD you want beams. Definately - especially if you can get a TORQUE ARM front end for 4WD (A lot of people will say "HELL NO!" but a straight axle front end doesn't have the articulation of a torque arm setup. THAT 4X4 front end is the best in the business)

So what you want depends on what you want to do with the truck.

I'm not going to argue with anybody - right there is what I think:
"SPLAT!"


Make what you want of it


* I will give you one other bit of advice: Don't be driven by cash constraints. Don't accept a thing just because you can afford it - CHOOSE what you want, and accept nothing less.

Fools drive "K" cars handed down by their parents, or that they got a 'deal' on...

Disgustingly ugly things that you wouldn't want to be seen in

 

Ummmm
Ya'll forgot , I beams starting in 87 had ball joints, with camber kits

Alignment out?
Just take the nut off the top ball joint, and change the camber kit for the one that brings it back into speck.

IMHO, much better than adding/removing washers to a upper control arm

 

I am looking to build something kind of unique. I am looking to lower it but still be able to race in the dirt. So I need it low (by like 2 or 3 inches), but I still need it to have strong stiff suspension and decent suspension travel. That's the thing. It's hard to have both in any kind of reasonable quantity.

 

You haven't said where you are - so I dunno if to give you Aussie advice, or American.

One thing I know is "RACE IN THE DIRT" and "LOWER" don't work very well together, unless you're on a sprint car track. It sounds hella like you want to build a "RALLY" truck, but you want to limit the cash that goes into it.

You really can't go both ways. For offroad you need a lot of suspension travel, unless you are running on packed clay.

Will it be your only transpo?

YOU BETTER WATCH THIS VIDEO:



I think you will find it very informative, at least it will give you an idea what you are in for if you go down that road!


*People? Was I right? Isn't recommending that ROADKILL Episode the best advice I could give?

The only way I know to get both is very long airbags. I think Danny is asking the impossible but at least I tried, I gave it a shot - maybe where he is the ground isn't real broken up and vertical...

BAJA can be like that in places, the roads are a bitch but you can drive on them.

 

That's something like the ride I would like. Another one that I somewhat want to run like is the Trophy Rat. It's a lot older a truck and my truck won't be quite so low, but I would like to be able to handle much like this. Also, I will be moving back to Pennsylvania (so I need USA advice, not Aussie) And they require a fender over the tread of the wheel.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/6WVWxjCVLz0

 

So it sort of falls into a "Flat Track Street Rod" category...

I'd go with wishbones then, maybe even Mustang II dropped spindles.

 

I like the sound of the mustang II front end. If I were to do an independent rear, what would you guys suggest? I have my thoughts, but I'm wondering if there's something I haven't thought of that you have.

 

I'm not even sure an IRS is doable on a Ranger, unless you can do custom fab. You'd have to mount something like a 280 Z or a Corvette rear end - and then work out a suspension on each side of a frame intended for a leaf spring mounted axle housing.

Do you like to cut and weld?

I have daydreamed before about mounting a torque arm front (4WD) suspension setup on the back of a frame AND the front but it would still call for a custom crossbar mount (or one robbed from the front of another frame), and I am STILL not sure the differential input would rotate in the right direction, though you could flip the thing upside down.

I don't know if there is such an animal as a 1/4 ton Ranger torque arm axle set though, and one from an F100 would stick way out...