Just bought a 92 ranger 4x4 - tires

sumncguy

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2020
Location
Hillsborough
I bought this truck as a work horse. Not gonna throw alot of money into it but do want to get rid of the 33 x 12.5 x 15. I'm 52 and have had many 4x4s but none lifted.

Even if a workhorse I want it to look ok ... I want to get rid of those 33x12.5s

Will 31x10.5x15s be to small a tire .. making the truck look like it's on stilts ??

I've used calculators .. that really doesnt show what the truck will look like.
Not much in the way of all terrains or LTs in 32x10.5x15s

Thanks in advance for the help folks
20200912_104528.jpg
 
In that pic the 33's look small to me, but it is all about personal preference. I would definitely work out the alignment before I bought any tires though.

Duane
 
Yep thanks for sure.
I found some kid over in Madison selling two used for $40 bucks so the rubber is better.
Also had the front horizontal shock (forgot it's real name) replaced, I did the sway bar bushings, and an alignment.

But I really think I'm going to buy the kit of all bushings. Almost all of them up front are torn, crumbling or missing all together.
I'll do the easy ones and let a shop do the hard ones. Any recommendations on a shop local to Hillsborough that won't rape me ?
Im also thinking if I'm pulling all that junk apart, I might as well do at least the ball joints and wheel bearings.

Little at a time .. again, it's a work horse. But 2 things I dont screw around with is steering and brakes. Steering is real sloppy. Tightening the gear box and the rag joints did help alot. Tag joints might be a little too tight. But now I can keep it in my lane.
 
Doing a full bushing kit will make a world of difference in steering quality. Those front axles aren’t exactly “beef” so 33” would be the absolute biggest tire I’d run. I think it looks good on a set of 33”. I might look into a rim with less offset to bring the tires closer under the fenders and it will “fill the fenders” better while also getting away from killing BJ and wheel bearings.

just my .02 though.


Also, long term you could look into swapping the TTB for a HP Dana 30 from a Cherokee or to add a little strength and aftermarket support to the front end
 
OK, I need to revive this thread.

So I just decided to drop the front end .. coming out.
20201029_161208.jpg


Going back in ..
20201107_095711.jpg

the entire parts list ...

New shock dampeners,
New L and R inner tie rods.
New L and R outer tie rods,
New upper and lower ball joints,
New rotors,
Junk yard spindle to replace the one with jammed race (and bearing that was totally wasted just not there),
New spindle bearings and seals
New wheel bearings and seals
New (and proper) spindle nuts and washers
New Radius arm bushings
New I beam (pivot) bushings
New steering gear and hoses
New forward u joint for forward drive shaft.
All unreachable nuts torqued to .. well .. Haynes spec.

Dropped parts thoroughly de-greased and cleaned.
Anything reachable under the truck thoroughly cleaned (but could use a second pass)

Power steering pump drained, new fluid and purged of air.
Front differential also drained and fluid added.

Rims and tires are up next. I would like to go to a 32x11.5x15 .. I now have 33x12.5x15 tires and I believe,

Dick Cepek
SIZE BOLT CIR. BACK SPACE IN. OFFSET MM HUB BORE MM. MAX. LOAD LB. APP. WT. LB. PART
15X10 5X4.5 3.6 -47 83.82 2,100 25 1150421

I want a Steel Black bullet hole.
I have I think a 7" lift. 3 body, 4 suspension. I dont know if I mentioned it .. but I am an old guy. Have had plenty of 4x4s mainly Rams, but never any lifted.

20201109_093518.jpg 20201109_093549.jpg

Im thinking the following dimensions would work.

Black steel bullet holes
15x8 5 on 4.5, 3.6 inch backspace, -19 mm offset, 83.82 hub bore with a 32x11.5.x15 A/T or LT.

I hit tiresize.com .. I think I can get away with pulling the inside sidewall in a half an inch.

offset.JPG

I would appreciate any feedback thats provided. Ofcourse Im just worried about rubbing on the suspension. The object is to downsize the tire and pull the outside edge sidewall back under the fender.

Thanks alot for the help folks !!
 
I'd probably take the body lift off if you're going to replace body mounts anyway. Then everything would look a lot more proportionate. I definitely agree with changing the rims too.

What kind of tire are you going to run?
 
Probably an A/T. I might want to play a little on hilly trails.
Dont want to dirty up that nice pretty refreshed front end !! :)

Also thinking of getting rid of that bumper.
 
Last edited:
If you're not partial to anything in particular, check out Cooper tires. They make awesome stuff!
 
If the rear block is 4 inches tall I'd say that may well be a 6 inch lift. The front radius drop looks more appropriate for that size. If it isn't eating the rear front fenders up I'd be positive it's 6.
The rangers and B2 I have owned required as much without trimming to clear 33 inch tires.
Drop the body lift and 31 inch tire will look like it does now.
Should be a spacer in the steering, and brackets to drop radiator or the shroud badly gutted. Most times the shifter gets a stub added for height and the floor board modded.
Pretty certain those years still ran a Dana 28 front. A lock right and 32 TSL tires will snap the axles at will.
 
No problem with the current tires and wheels rubbing fenders or suspension.

I didnt see any spacers when I dropped the steering but its certain not a stock pitman arm. Guessing maybe 4" drop. Spacer on the column ?

And let me understand what your saying ...

Remove the body lift. Pulling the blocks out is easy enough.What else is required ? ...need to look at this and figure it out.

I'd prefer to just replace those nasty rotten body bushings and downsize the tires to 32x11.5x15.

Not a good setup ?
 
Hey maybe you guys can help me with one of these dimensions I dont get.

I understand ..
the higher the negative offset measurement the further outward from the fender the wheel sits.
the higher the positive offset measurement the closer to the suspension the wheel sits.
the hub bore is understandable ... especially with 4x4 manual hub .. allows the hub to fit through the Rim.
15x8 is easily understood .. Diameter and width
5 on 4.5 is also easily understood. Basically lines up rim holes with studs on the spindle

What the heck is backspace ? Seems the same thing as offset to me. Guess that old guy sumtimers is kicking in !!! Suppose I have a block ! o_O:D

Thanks in advance fellas !!
 
Yeah .. too much work .. Ill change the bushings .. leave the lift on and go with the 32x11.5x15. At the very least, I like being able to get this fat body under the truck to do work without having to jack it up !! :)

Possibly the backspacing and offset will need a little work. Might look a little strange .. but I guess Ill have to live with it.
Ill do a lock to lock and get a visual on the tires and clearance I have with the current setup. .. see how close the rim is to the suspension.

Thanks for all the help fellas, Ill post the results.
 
JNO said:
Truck looks good, I have always been partial to the 83-92 Ford rangers.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah I like the look of the square bodys. Doing/did alot to it since buying it at the end of the summer. Working on the 4x4 right now. Have 2 new hubs .. one side up front is only engaging. Playing around with that right now.
 
My first vehicle was a 1985 ranger with a clacking 2.8 in it, I had a 4” lift kit with 31” tires then had a 1988 with a 6” suspension and 3” body lift
 
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