Bored Clerk's Ranger FX4 Level II

[1 Bored Clerk]

Truck and stats...then we'll get to the lame stuff about me:

Pic below is exactly how I bought it.



2003 Ford Ranger FX4 LevelII
4.0L V6 (K&N CAI installed by PO...luckily he had the factory air box in the shed)
5sp manual
Factory Manual transfer case (no knobs or buttons in this Ranger!)
4wd
Torsen Limited Slip rear diff
32x11.5 15" BF Goodrich Mud Terrain KM2 (I dig that I can run 15" rims)
Torsion bar front double A-arm suspension
Leaf spring rear suspension

Bought it two weeks ago with 92,000 miles on it. Fairly well taken care of with a really nice interior.

Bummer stuff:

Almost no aftermarket support for newer rangers
Front and Rear bumpers and sliders are almost non-existent
Suspension options include:
A few shock options
Torsion bar keys
'Cranking the bars'
Massive body lifts (which don't easily work on the Level II Rangers with the manual T-case like mine)
Dixon Brothers Long Travel Kits
And some frankenstein combination of the above

I guess the lack of aftermarket support is kind of good as it will make me design and build my own stuff...which I actually enjoy.

I've always been a Toyota guy (1980 FJ40, Two 2000 Tacomas, 2007 FJ Cruiser), but when I decided to make a career change by going back to school, I sold the FJ Cruiser and bought a 2001 2wd Ford Ranger. BASE model...it was comparable to my old FJ40 in terms of comfort. However, with 160,000 miles on it, it still runs great and made me much more comfortable about buying another Ranger.

Here it is in all its glory:

For sale...hoping to send it to a good home.

I'm excited to give this Ranger a long term home...should be a good platform for fun! It will become our camping, surfing, dirtbiking, four wheelin', snowboarding, travel rig. It will be built up with those things in mind. Honestly, the truck really doesn't need anything to handle those tasks but it sure is fun to make your truck your own. I'll be posting up my build, very slowly.

I would appreciate any input on any subject you deem fitting. I'm hoping to learn more about this Ranger platform as well. Thanks!

 

[Flagster]

Nice Ranger...
I am going to talk my brother into one soon when he starts shopping for a new truck...

 

[Scott B.]

You should check out ExplorerForum.com - Explorers and Rangers are basically the same truck.

And, they have a really good Ranger section.

Most of us build our own stuff - much more fun that way!

 

[Owyhee H]

Depending on what you want to do with the truck, they are really good from the factory. The Level II should have a FULL skid plate package. The manual t-case is nice. The torsen limited slip is strong and effective. If you need a little more height crank the t-bars, do an AAL and drive.

I had an 05 Ranger and the only thing I really didnt like about the truck was the gas mileage. The 4.0 is a great engine and will pull whatever you need but it takes a lot of fuel to do it.

Nice truck and I cant wait to see what you do with it.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Well, no picture updates just yet, but things are happening

Sold the canopy. GF and I decided that sleeping between the wheelwells of the diminutive ranger wasn't for us. We both also wanted to be able to sit up in the canopy which kills the sleeping platform idea.

Put the factory air box back in and sold the K&N CAI.

Removed the flat tow brackets. If anyone on this forum wants them, you can have them. Although, shipping would kill as they are pretty heavy. Local pick up anyone?

Coilover Conversion. I have all of the necessary brackets and am waiting for the fox coilovers as I type this. This won't really give me any more travel, but it will give me adjustability in ride height as well as a TON of spring options should I choose to add armor (which I will) or a winch or just want to fiddle with spring rates. Plus, I will be able to ditch the torsion bars and their associated bracketry. I don't really have a problem with the torsion bars, actually. I thought the truck rode quite nicely stock, but I'm going to enjoy ditching the low hanging mounts and the increased capability to tune it to my preferences and needs.

Bed Rack - same rack as on our old red ranger at the beginning of this thread. We like to surf and my GF's 8'0" and my 8'6" won't fit in any Ranger that I'm aware of so we needed a secure way to carry them. My dad had a Thule bed rack that he wasn't using...so it was free. (Yes, please and Thank You) I put that on today along with our new, and very clever, Thule double stacker surfboard racks (lockable and seemingly very surfboard friendly). Got those with my REI dividend. We'll see how they actually work this weekend. The whole system is kind of clubby but, for the price, it'll be just great!

I'll get pics of all of this soon since I know that pics rule on forums.

As a side note, the truck came to me with 32x11.5 15 BF Goodrich KM2's. They look cool enough but rub on the sway bar up front when fully turned. Appears to be more of an annoyance than anything, but I won't be going with this size when they need replacement. I'm actually hoping to go to a 33x10.5. If that doesn't work then I'll go back to a 31x10.5.

 

[vonhanson]

You can just crank the front up a bit and you should have no probably rubbing with 32's

if you swap to 33x10.5 you'll be fine as well.

my ranger i have 33's and the front is just cranked up.

 

[32vsnake]

subscribed.... Nice find, the truck looks like a really clean starting point. Looking forward to watching this build.

 

[Scott B.]

I run 32s on my '06 Level II, and have no rubbing issues. As others said, just adjust the front end height a little higher.

As a side note, I just replaced the rear leaf springs. After 6 years, the back end was sagging a little. Looking at your picture, it appears your truck sits lower than mine. You might want to consider new springs in the back when you put in your coilovers - you could keep the truck level, but raise it for a little more clearance. Just a suggestion...

BTW, where did you get your coilover bracketry? I bought a set from a guy on Ranger-Forum (he was making them) but haven't installed them yet.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

I'll bring the front up a little with the coilovers. But, the suspension still travels the same path so it will always rub at some point...maybe not in normal day to day driving though. I much prefer no rubbing at all...ever. If I can pull that off with 33x10.5 I'll be super happy! Time will tell...

The rear end is a bit low in the original picture mostly because of the canopy. I've sold that now and the truck sits much higher in the back. Rides a bit stiffer too. We'll see what happens when I get all of the bed details sorted (gear storage) May need different spring packs at that point.

The truck is pretty clean. Mechanically it seems to be in excellent condition. There are definitely some bumps and bruises cosmetically but I'll clean that stuff up as I go, if I feel like it.

I got my coilover brackets from a guy on Ranger Forums as well. I can't wait to get it all installed.

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Been a while but I thought I'd post up a pic of what's to come.

Coilover Conversion!

Fox shocks with hypercoils. A guy on Rangerforums builds the brackets and they look to be high quality. We'll see how they fit.

Mostly just wanted the ability to tune to my running weight. It's stock now but it will have bumpers (maybe winch), sliders, and a better front skid plate. Torsion bars are very limiting in this area as no one makes aftermarket HD bars anymore (in the US at least). Plus, they (and their bracketry) hang way down...will be nice to ditch that stuff too.

Hopefully I can get this together in the next few weeks. I'm also working on an M416B1 resto-mod so I have to use my time wisely.

 

[pyro4fun]

If you want to find out anything about rangers I would suggest checking out (The Ranger Station dot com) I'm a ranger enthusiast and trying to build an expodition worthy daily driver out of my 86 super cab! The FX4 lvl II is an amazing ranger and I can't wait to see what you do with it!

Forgot to mention, for some aftermarket parts and kits there's also (jamesduff dot com)

 

[rxinhed]

Camburg and Dixon Bros., too...

 

[1 Bored Clerk]

Sadly, Camburg and Dixon Bros. don't offer much for those of us with newer 4wds that don't want the ultimate long travel front end. I would love to get a new pair of UCA's but no one makes them for these newer trucks anymore. I guess I'll have to put that on the 'to fab' list...along with RCV shafts so I can have the ultimate short travel front end.