So I need to replace my ball joints and tie rods and get my torsion bar set, and I got this marvelous idea of lifting my 02 3.3L 4x4 about 2 inches. Now, from what I gathered, all I would need to do is adjust my torsion bar to set the front end up 2 inches and get some 2 inch blocks for the leaf springs then some upgraded shocks like the rancho RS5000 series that says is for a 2.5 inch lift. Am I right in my thinking or would i want to buy an actual lift kit? This car is my daily driver and I really only go off roading to go hunting fishing or for ecology field work so it shouldnt be put under that strenuous of use.
2 inch suspension lift
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What you describe here is whats been coined as the "PML" - Or Poor Mans Lift kit.
There are dozens of ways to correctly lift a vehicle or lower it for that matter and everywhere you go and on every forum i've been on in 20+ years theres always the short cut version and then the envied did it right guys. the PML will ride a bit rougher than needed and may not sound as much of a big deal until your offroad interests take you down more difficult trails or spur roads, corrugations, leave you with the feeling that not only do you feel like your going to pass a kidney through your colon, but everything loose or not in your truck rattling and shaking gets rather annoying, REAL quick. And lets face it, at first he G/F bewbies bouncing is funny and cute but she will soon become as annoyed and annoying as the loose shit in the truck.. TRUST ME
The PML will work in all honesty. If your idea of offroading is a two track trail or fire road to get to your favorite watering hole or campsite it will work. However, if you want articulation? if you want to have good traction at all angles of departure or approach. Correctly doing a lift kit mild to wild and matching shocks with proper compression and rebound for that vehicle intended use is another animal.
We all get it. No one wants to drop $2k on a suspension lift to get the desired look and feel of an offroad capable truck. But until you have had such a thing, its hard to argue with someone and their understanding of what a real suspension is and what it cant be.
All in all, your suspension should be made to flex for your vehicles needs Not your frame, or NOT at all.
Do some research, figure out what you want to use your vehicle for outside of the daily grinder use and build the vehicle with that in mind as a whole. Dont short cut it. There is lots of good gear to do it right thats a bit mild on denting the wallet if you shop right.
You dont need MONSTER tires, you dont need 10" of lift to get very far. In fact, I laugh at the majority of uselessly setup trucks and Jeeps I see on a daily basis. be glad to let most of them go in front of me so i can watch all the Fay-ul.
If I can help you further with ideas let me know.. Let us know what you do
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Nice work on the writeup!
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Thanks Ben
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I think you'll be impressed with how well the stock rig does. Just make sure all of your parts work and you'll make it most places you want to go.
Also the transmission went out a while ago so we got it rebuilt. Well, the rebuilt tranny went back out in 7 months, and I think it was because coolant made it's way into the tranny or because the mechanic didn't seat the torque converter properly. Because of this we found another rebuilt transmission with about 80k miles and are about to have it installed. I have an external tranny cooler to go on it, but do you have any extra suggestions or opinions?
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I would until you're absolutely sure of what you want to to.. be better to put money into something you need or want than to appease that little niggling instant gratification voice we all have in our heads time to time.
I do a lot of trail camping and minor trips of overlanding in my truck while the Xterra is new in the garage to be worked over next. When I started, I did similar setup on a older Ford suspension known as TIB/TTB. It works great for all sorts of offroad needs but very sensitive to changing camber ALL the time, but very robust and damn near indestructible even when abused in comparison to 98+ Ford Rangers with IFS setups. They're easier to lift and all but oddly failures exist more so even [likely owner/operator related.. lol].
I did Daystar 2.00" Coil leveling kit up front and swapped out the rear leafs for a heavier duty 5pack spring kit that put me at 1760lb springs Vs the stock 1100lb springs with a 1.75" rear lift, on 33's.., I carry a lot of gear and wanted or needed the capacity which is being upped again. The problem I had with that setup is the radius arms become too short, think T-Rex syndrome. Despite the stroke is too short for the minor 2" lift setup and overworked the radius arms travel. The end results were going to a mid-travel using turned and cut beams and longer radius arms. The problem to overcome at this point is width of the vehicle especially considering this truck will also see 35's IF i can find a 35x10 tire which i have not been very successful yet. Maybe pulling some strings with friends at Hancook someday..
It performed well enough that I could do what a lot of people wouldnt have guessed it could do. Mostly because of its only real limitation - 2WD
But.. Not to hijack YOUR thread.
Being a 93', 326K on the clock, original engine/Trans, Manual trans, 2WD, 2.00" suspension lift, 2.00" Body lift to help clear the 33" DynaPro MT's, along with no snorkel in 28.00"+ water for 85 yards on the Mojave trail.., Not once but twice within the same hour. I got a lot of respect on the trail despite not being as much or over the top as the typical Jeep/Taco owner on scene. Unfortunately my trail partners 2nd gen Lifted and worked over 4x4 4Runner didnt make it 25ft passed the first 15 yard splash in without taking on water and stalling out. Thats a whole other write up tho.
Here you can see a little flex in the frame. Unfortunately in my opinion, the Ford Ranger and the Tacoma share a similar bad trait - C channel frames. between the box and the cab you can see the body lines are tweaked from one another. An Xterra obviously an unnoticeable feature but since the Frontier shares the same frame which is a fully boxed in frame from front to back. The suspension is suppose to flex, NOT the frame. Although the argument comes up all the time about "fully boxed frame Vs C-channel frame" debates all over the multitudes of manufacture platform forums. You want the suspension to flex & know what its limits are and aren't... Period.
You wont get flex like that to show on an Xterra simply because of the body style being an SUV. I would imagine that over prolonged abuse you could see cracking in A, B, C, or D pillars if it were not a fully boxed frame.
The 4x4 frame I am reworking for this truck will be boxed in with quite a few extra features I might make mention of that I think Ford missed in its design to meet cost factor concerns more than performance concerns by the bean counters or just because over the last 20 years or so a LOT of technology has been used in determining better build decision making.
If you watching any of the videos put out by major Overlanding youtubers like Ronny Dahl https://www.youtube.com/user/RonBacardi666 ; Western Australia Its actually "Illegal" to lift your truck over there more than a couple inches with suspension modifications apparently. So A LOT is done with 2" lift kits such as spring packs, front coils and leveling kits to some degree.. or Andrew St. Pierre in South Africa https://www.youtube.com/user/4xforum or even more local groups like https://www.youtube.com/user/ExpeditionOverland or one that seems to be more Xterra group oriented local to me here in Las Vegas is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRLj811op0U08fbnJWCZIOQ which I wouldnt say is 'extreme' but they're a bit more into I think the rock crawling scene like MOAB and other technical trails that do require a bit more lift because of the landscape and obstacles they overcome.
I like a bit of them all because each is so different. You have
Australia - with its mud, soft sandy beaches, long distances between supplies, water crossings, not to mention everything there practically wants to kill or eat you there.
South Africa - Again long distance between, silty sands, dry lake beds, water crossings, harsh conditions, diverse conditions of jungle and desert conditions
Pacific/South West America - Unlimited amounts of terrains from volcanic caldrons, forest, water crossings and rocky landscapes of all kinds
and my personal mix in it all.. Survival and preparation and many of the what if's, challenging your own skills if that means surviving in the heat, cold, or chasing down a meal with by trapping, a fishing pole, or trying not to have just 4 keychains left after the shot is fired... I'm not one of THOSE people, but I am one of those people. I dont need an ATM, a utility company, or a drive thru/grocery store to get through this world.
My coffee.. mmmmm yea Ok, you got me a little there
EDIT:: Make sure if you replace your ball joints and suspension parts you either use stock, MOOG, or something thats after market that will either remain or enhance your future mods.., and always do them in pairs front or back.
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Definitely do the external trans cooler, less headaches even if a failure occurs. You could also upgrade the cooling system by doing the 2-row from the S/C version of your truck while your at it.
Not to grind you [no pun intended] but between both trans failures, what were you doing with the vehicle? Normal day to day or were you on the trails? And I agree with Ben as well with its capabilities in stock form.
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