been looking around for my first vehicle. I love doing the offroad thing and have done a few moderate trails in a chevy 1500 Z71 and rode along on some others in a jeep.

was looking at the '08 ranger on fords website, built one, priced it and i like what i see. the only thing i could ask for is it to be a stepside. ive seen 2000 and later models as stepside so i know its available, but is it available on the '08? they didnt have the option on the website, but ive never seen it listed on any website before in the past.

also does it come with IFS or straight front axle? i know it has an 8.8" in the rear with lockers. IFS should be fine for the trails i ride around here, but im going to want atleast 33" tires and a lift (3-4") and not sure if it would be easier to lift the IFS or do a swap. if its necessary.

i think ive finally decided on a vehicle, and thats the Ranger. so ill be posting more often in here    

I think it comes with the ifs.  

ive been looking. and there are no lift kits available for the newer Rangers

does anyone here have a '04 or newer Ranger?  

Yes, it is an IFS. Not sure if they continued the stepside though. To save a LOT of money and aggrivation, just get a two inch body lift. The 33" tires will fit nicely. It won't come with lockers, just open diff or limited slip.  

The Ranger's suspension has changed hardly at all since '98, sans a brake upgrade around '02 or so.

A kit for say, an '05 model should fit it fine.  

cool.

so how much would it cost to swap in an axle? im not a hardcore offroader, basicly we use the trails to get to out of the way places and do what teenagers do..lol. but ive encountered mud, streams, sand/gravel mix (most common and easy to get burried in without 4x4). but theres a few places id like to get to that there really is not designated trail, alot of rock, steep bank and some gravel/sand mix (its basicly a hill about 600ft tall with a platoue on top but has every obstacle imaginable along the way. lol)  

If you fab it in, then just like a junkyard dana 30 or 44, probably around 200 to 500 bucks? plus the metals you will need for the fab work.  

ya, im looking for basic parts cost. will probably go with a 44 considering im thinkin about a little higher lift and maybe 35's.

my uncle is a Mechanic, has a Big Rig recovery business (box truck with everything you can think of in it, basicly a shop on wheels that gets called out when rigs go down) and hes built a few Baja rigs. so ill talk to him about the Fabing.

thanks for the help so far!  

You're welcome!  

I would expect to spend at minimum $1500 to swap a solid axle into that truck.

You need to factor all the little things into the swap, as they all add up even quicker than the cost of the axle itself.
You'll need a new steering box for it, as that truck has rack & pinion steering, and that will not work with a solid axle.
Figure in the costs for all the suspension parts (coil springs, radius arms, or leafsprings and leafspring mounts, depending which way you go), steering linkage, little things like bushings, parts to hook up said steering box to the column, regearing the axle if it doesn't match your rear ratio (you'll probably need to regear for the bigger tires you'd be putting on anyway), and so on and so forth.

On a brand new truck, you can probably write off a majority of warranty coverage with such a major swap too.


If it were me and offroad performance is a primary concern, I'd look for a used '93-'97 model. The TTB suspensions on these are much more friendly toward modifications for offroad use, and would have no problem spinning 35" meats.  

Or just look for something old and is pretty much built from the factory for offroad. I found a 71 bronco for $500. Sure, it's a rust bucket now but when I hit trees and rocks I really don't care. Plus, the older it is the cheaper the parts are. You can also find wrecked jeeps that really don't have much damage to them for $500 to $1000. This way you can keep your daily drive for work and what not and destroy your wheeler having some hard core fun.