ok since there has been so many questions on this and the post i had in snapshots on the truck i built, the pics are gone ill post them all here again. this truck is layed flat on 19s. airlift 2b6 i highly recomend slam bags for this install. the owner is suppost to switch them. could somebody make this a basic informative sticky?

http://illusivefabrications.com/images/kevinsranger/1.jpg

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http://illusivefabrications.com/images/kevinsranger/11.jpg

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heres a pic of the x at 155 psi on slam re7 bags bags still have more room in them

http://illusivefabrications.com/images/explorer/lift.jpg

those 2b6's are gonna blow in the front... slams might hold up but bags arn't designed to be setup like that... i've never seen bags on radius arms.. but all the trucks i;ve bagged have had control arms.. i helped out on an f150 with beams but put the bags oin the beams. why didn't you put them on the beams?

I remember when you first posted up this thread. There was a huge debate on those being Dodge wheels and everything. Still say it gets sikkk lift

those 2b6's are gonna blow in the front... slams might hold up but bags arn't designed to be setup like that... i've never seen bags on radius arms.. but all the trucks i;ve bagged have had control arms.. i helped out on an f150 with beams but put the bags oin the beams. why didn't you put them on the beams?

I have never EVER heard of anyone blowing a slam bag with using just air... The pressure in the bag is only at 155 according to him and its a 2600-2700 pound bag each am I right? the pressure is not that much different its just where you position the bag and its right off of the Ibeam it doesnt stray that far off you could say. Ibeams = no lift, more chance of your bag rubbing, terrible angles to work with, My bags where on the beams and it sorta warped em from just the angles being wierd and they are. I a more worried about the radius arm breaking than the bag blowing itself. Plus crazy lift looks tight who cars if it breaks thats the fun of it to me as long as it doesnt leave me stranded when I go to do it... Its not much different than putting bags on the bars and you see that all the time.


I deff appreciate the extra pics. That notch looks clean as hell. Thanks again Brian means alot.

i've never seen bags on radius arms..
A lot of trucks on here are bagged this way..
Thats a sick truck.. The radius arm's look amazing.

i've blown countless 2b7's until i switched to slams... havnt blown one... with air lifts you have to run shocks too.. wanna see some blown 2b7 pics.. i've prob got 3 or 4 in my basement

"airlift 2b6 i highly recomend slam bags for this install. the owner is suppost to switch them"
did you not read what i said? i hate air lift bags thats what the owner bought before bringing the truck to me. as for why didnt i put them on the beams, the customer wanted this setup. this thread is not to show off the work or the truck. it is an informational thread because i get at least 2 emails aweek asking for information on this. as for the setup. im sorry but this geometry is better than alot of bag on 4 links ive seen. and its way better on the bag than a s10 front suspension have you even seen how the bags are on those.

my explorer has slam re 7s on the front and its at 155 psi in that pic and it has alot more room for lift i jacked the truck up till the bag maxes out and it is ALOT of lift. and the explorer is layin body. im just trying to help out people on here who want answers.

so can somebody sticky this?

So what would it take for you to make these? JIMMY

who brain or materials? your question wasnt completely clear.

i highly recomend slam bags


which ones?
i am eyeballin these "Slam Specialties XS 600 PSI Dual Port"

spec:
-Dual 1/2" NPT Port
-600 PSI Rating
-Linear and Off Axis Actuation
-Non-Ballooning Operation
-Vibration Isolation
-More responsive than comparable sized Air Springs


SSD

which ones?
i am eyeballin these "Slam Specialties XS 600 PSI Dual Port"

spec:
-Dual 1/2" NPT Port
-600 PSI Rating
-Linear and Off Axis Actuation
-Non-Ballooning Operation
-Vibration Isolation
-More responsive than comparable sized Air Springs


SSD

sounds like you plan on hopping

I've only ever had one question about this kind of setup...hows the ride?

If your gonna hop your truck I wouldn't do it on the radius arms. Also it seems to me that putting weight like that on the radius arm bushings would wear on them more than usual.

sounds like you plan on hopping


carrying some weight.

slam xs bags are only needed for hopping re or he will work fine. and as if right now im only building these on the vehicles. i havent decided if i want to make a jig and mess with trying to figure out each induvidual tire size setup or how to make it universal. thats why i posted this as a tech referance.

I wonder if I should box in the frame before I mount my bag to any type of upper bracket on the frame,

P.S.~Lowers are done

I wonder if I should box in the frame before I mount my bag to any type of upper bracket on the frame,

P.S.~Lowers are done

Definately box the frame

Well I finally get to see the pics of this set up. And I am not impressed at all.

The biggest problem I see is that the radius arm was reinforced (good) but the stock crossmember where it bolts to was not built properly for the rest of your design. What do you have 6 little bolts holding up the truck? On a weak Ranger frame that was poorly built brom the factory. You always say your truck has never given you a problem, but from the pics you post, it dosnt look like you have driven it to far. Im not bashing or hating on your ideas, but there is a big difference building your own vehicle and understanding the limitations, and building it for someone else who dosnt understand and will be doing everything under the sun with it.

wouldn't it be easier to 2 link the beams? and use actuall link bars with super pivot ends? i've seen one ranger that had a parallel 4 link attached to it's I beams, however with that you wouldn't be able to run the bags on the bars. my buddies and I were actually going to start attempting this on my buddies ranger, it was his idea so. has no one done this?

Well I finally get to see the pics of this set up. And I am not impressed at all.

The biggest problem I see is that the radius arm was reinforced (good) but the stock crossmember where it bolts to was not built properly for the rest of your design. What do you have 6 little bolts holding up the truck? On a weak Ranger frame that was poorly built brom the factory. You always say your truck has never given you a problem, but from the pics you post, it dosnt look like you have driven it to far. Im not bashing or hating on your ideas, but there is a big difference building your own vehicle and understanding the limitations, and building it for someone else who dosnt understand and will be doing everything under the sun with it.

im not sure what "stock crossmember" you are talking about if your talking about the radius arm relocators we do weld weld them on. also i dont say my trucks never give me a problem. i have only drove on my radius arms a couple times. my explorer has been off the road for a long time because its in the garage being worked on slowly. and that yellow ranger was a customers vehicle that was built how they wanted it to be built. these pics were in his build thread in snapshots. i reposted them for "referance" for other users to see how this setup could work. after i move into my new shop next month iam going to working on a tubular design and a jig to build new arms on and test.

im not sure what "stock crossmember" you are talking about if your talking about the radius arm relocators we do weld weld them on. also i dont say my trucks never give me a problem. i have only drove on my radius arms a couple times. my explorer has been off the road for a long time because its in the garage being worked on slowly. and that yellow ranger was a customers vehicle that was built how they wanted it to be built. these pics were in his build thread in snapshots. i reposted them for "referance" for other users to see how this setup could work. after i move into my new shop next month iam going to working on a tubular design and a jig to build new arms on and test.

Sorry, I think faster than I can type. I ment the (cut) aftermarket crossmember, is weaker than a stock crossmember, and there is now more stress there then when it was stock. sorry thats what I was thinking.

wouldn't it be easier to 2 link the beams? and use actuall link bars with super pivot ends? i've seen one ranger that had a parallel 4 link attached to it's I beams, however with that you wouldn't be able to run the bags on the bars. my buddies and I were actually going to start attempting this on my buddies ranger, it was his idea so. has no one done this?

Would you happen to have pics of the 4-Link style. I bought some modded beams that were a 4-link style but haven't seen it done.

Dear god, after seeing those i want to relocate my bags to the radius arms. Cause my lift sucks with the in the stock spring location. But i can't fab, and there's no one to help me around. :(

~Alex

Ive actually already been thinking about doing this to my 89 for awhile...but I was wondering if I could "z" the frame in the front to actually lay true frame rail and run 20's and still get enough lift in the front to be able to turn enough to drive it?

you dont need to z your frame on an ibeam ranger only 98+ if you really wanted to i guess you could but really there no point in it. btw do you have any other pics of your truck in your avatar it looks pretty sweet.

That is not my truck on my aviator....thats actually a truck owned by a guy in negative camber....I don't know him personally or anything but it was tight as hell so I just put that pic up there....you can find it on streetsourcemag.com.....its got flames, different rims, new grill and the front bumper has been smoothed and painted now tho....

and about that "z"ing the frame deal....I am now confused really badly because I have always heard that you had to z the frame on the Ibeam trucks to get the part of the framerails that are toward the front of the cab to lay....it is actually supposed to be about 2 inches lower in the front and get the truck to actually lay flat and not lean toward the back so bad....

this is just what I heard....If this is incorrect someone please let me know....

thanks for any help...

Later,
Logan

Confusion is spreading. Don't worry your not the only one. 98+ rangers engine crossmember sits exactly 2" lower than the rest of the frame.

The pre 98's however don't hang nearly as low. From what I've gathered, it's more like 1/2" if that. I-beams=NO Z

They sit uneven because the part of frame that actually lays is only like 3 ft long and it acts as a pivot so if your notch is too big in the back your truck will tip back. Bumpstops will fix it, as long as they arent to big you can lay out and sit level.

u can have a 3 foot notch in the rear and as long as your bags are mounted right (fully collapsed with the truck layed out flat) it will sit perfict. no Z on Ibeams. as for layin out the ranger, get it so it sits flat before you mount your bags you might have to put jack stands under the rear since it like to sit cali style. so just level it off first.

brian your killing me.....

whys that? lol

i have a similar setup on my bodydrop rangers on 20s and i have had noproblems and i have 580 miles one show season on my Radius arms with slam bags and i have blown through one set of bushings already! i don't mind changin them out if your gonna do it just do a yota i have probaly 15-20 hours into my radius arms and it gets the job done but not worth it if need pics let me know i have tons

I would liek to take a look

I think the radius arm mounts would be perfect with a superpivot mount or a huge offroad heim instead of those lame busings. I planto swap to either of the two probly after the show season.

I am thinking of a huge Heim at the rear of the radius arm...
not sure I want to go to a yota front as that seems like alot more work.

I am wondering what the bag life and angles is going to do to the bags. Also clearance a issue with them on radius arms?

make sure you use slam bags and nothing less your gona need to run at least 200 psi and if you set it up right you should get normal turning radius

well i have slam re 6's and 7's. 6 up front and 7 on rear.

Now to see if i can get more pics and figure out where to run the bags... you have no wear issues with the bags in this location? Just asking cause it is better to ask then to not know. Thanks, Jason

hey bro i got a 93 ranger bagged and freshly bodydroped i like the way u done ur radious arms up front im just wondering how much psi it takes to get it up? since i bd mine i havent been happy with lift up front . when i first done it ithad 2500's in the front then i redid it with 2600's but would still barely untuck the tires in the front. jimmie from snc said that they have seen problems like the bushing pulling out when done that way i was wondering if u done something with the bushing like put a pivot joint there insteadf or what? well right now iv got my front completely tore apart so if possable get back with me about this . thanks ricky.........

Yeah I am in the middle of the 4 link but I am thinking of pulling off the front end and doing bags on r/a. but I too wonder about the bushings and the bags in that position....

i put my bags on my radious arms just like done to the yellow ranger but temporaly i was gonna use firestones until my slams come in but with the firestones it wont evn pick up at all at 170psi nothing anyone know why? do the slam bags make that much of a difference? i mean from nothing at all to actually lifting all the way up???

by the way the bags its set up to run are 2500s or re6

The bags are too far back. I had the same problem with the same bags, so I switched to 2600 Airlifts and moved the bag as far forward as possible without it hitting the I-beam. It lifts fine now.

im getting 12" off my engine crossmember with 120psi, and ive got another 2" once i get to 150...

austin

I've read all i can find on this subject and from my understanding of suspension geometry the radius arm needs to be able to move back and forth some for changing angles correct? So putting a piviot joint on the end would not allow it to move forward or back as needed. You would need something like a slip joint that could piviot to get it to work properly or am i going to far into thinking about it, something similar to a transmission yoke? I'm also curious about this setup because im planning on bagging my truck before winter and want to start on my setup. I'm going to be in a chassis fab class in about 5 weeks and we can do custom designs and I was thinking about something like a ladder bar design with a slip joint and super piviot at the back and a bag mount about 2.5 to 3" from the end where it goes onto the beam. The pivot could be housed in something similar to a leaf spring hanger set sideways to allow a nice up and down travel. Sorry for the long post just a idea running through my head. Dan

that would be really dangerous you just want a bushing to go up and down in an arc no forward or back.

Ok but everything else would work as far as design. I dont get why it wouldnt need at least .25 to .5 in of travel back and forth for road irregularites and allow the axle to stay straight as its lifted instead of pulled back or pushed forward as lowered.

the twin i beam suspension works on 2 arcs vertical and horizontal. and it is a set batch by the i bram bushing and radius arm bushing. if you alow that radius arm bushing to slip back and forth at all your ibeam, hub and wheel are all going to move back and forth. which would not be very stable and you alignment would be pretty screwy. would probably have wired caster changes, and could probably effect yor steering also.

K what psi are you guys running these setups at.
I just did one and I'm getting only about 4" of lift at 110psi (shop compressor air). This sound about right? Geometry looks very similar to the placement on the stock arm setup pictured and the bags are as close to the beam as I could get. Slam re6.

4" at 110 is rllly good..i got 170 and i only get oo idk..5+"..maybe more maybe less..but i have a heavy engine tho...the problem is i need more volume (bigger tank) and more psi

Ok I may have missed it while reading all of the post but. On that lowered ranger did you make those beams or are they bought? Also I have a I beams too and I'm wanting to lower it. Then bag the front in the future but what would a good set of beams be then cause supposivly the tubed beams bind. Now is that true or no? Sorry if I'm jacking the thread.

Ok I may have missed it while reading all of the post but. On that lowered ranger did you make those beams or are they bought? Also I have a I beams too and I'm wanting to lower it. Then bag the front in the future but what would a good set of beams be then cause supposivly the tubed beams bind. Now is that true or no? Sorry if I'm jacking the thread.
not true, dream beams are very reliable, dont bind, or bend.

the only time I have seen dream beams bend is when the truck was used for hopping.

yea DJM is the way to go. chassis tech made that up as a marketing scam basically because they suck.

brian SUCKS

haha have u ever delt with chassis tech before chris?

I am gonna bet he has not....

Chassis Tech sucks X 2.

Hey thanks guys guess ill have to save up for a pair. Also when I do get to bagging the front then when I weld the bag mounts to the beam it will still me just as strong? I know Smorrison1 said they don't bend and bind but I just want to make sure.

i sell djm beams on my site for a pretty competitive price.

and jason havent heard form you in a while any progress to the X?
and chris is a cool dude i pretty much allways hang out with those guys at shows.

yeah i have never delt with chassis tech, always heard that they sucked and i bought all my air ride parts off brian

back to topic, i still dont get the whole ford **** up on these trucks i like the idea of the bags on the radius arms but i just think with all the time in bracing, replacing bushings and etc. with the radius arms i think im just gonna go ahead and toyota clip mine. and wasnt there a company ( maybe KP) or someone building a front kit that had new radius arms i thought i saw that a couple years ago?

they made a prototype but never sold it because when you turned the wheels were rubbing the bags, kp also stopped production the rear 6 links as well. 90 psi will untuck my wheels on my explorer with the bags on the radius arms i have re7s on it. i also have a M2 clip sittin here i think im going to put on it lol.

Anyone know why they stopped production on the KP rear kit? Couldn't sell enough?

yeah mike I guess they ended up making them to order and it wasn't worth thier time. it really blows but I'm sure someone will make a half decent kit again one day. would definately help me out doing my buddy's real soon.

im still wondering bout a heim joint on the rear of the radius arm, maybe one that take a 3/4 inch shank that could mount just like a shock stud to the frame. just weld some plating before you put the shank through the frame.

it would work i would probably make a bracket that would mount to both sides of the heim. i think a johnny joint or uniball would be a better choice thought because of the arc travels.

Hey thanks guys guess ill have to save up for a pair. Also when I do get to bagging the front then when I weld the bag mounts to the beam it will still me just as strong? I know Smorrison1 said they don't bend and bind but I just want to make sure.
to answer your question, yes.

I welded the SD mounts on mine, and havent had any problems at all.

Alright thanks sorry for if they were stupid questions

Sorry to everyone for not making newbie thread but I am only here for a short time to look at Ranger front suspension set ups, but I saw this and had to post.......Brian, what was the aggreement when you returned this truck to it's owner? Was it finished and if not, what wasn't finished? I am just wondering, because I am about to redo ALL of your work that was done to this truck and it hasn't even been driven down the road yet.....

Sorry to everyone for not making newbie thread but I am only here for a short time to look at Ranger front suspension set ups, but I saw this and had to post.......Brian, what was the aggreement when you returned this truck to it's owner? Was it finished and if not, what wasn't finished? I am just wondering, because I am about to redo ALL of your work that was done to this truck and it hasn't even been driven down the road yet.....

Dude, don't post if you're just going to stir sh*t. Stay on topic or don't post. And don't drag up old threads because you've got a hard-on for Brian.

Dude, don't post if you're just going to stir sh*t. Stay on topic or don't post. And don't drag up old threads because you've got a hard-on for Brian.

sorry, i was just jaw dropped at the time of reading them....i will fix the truck, post the progress pics and leave it at that

sorry, i was just jaw dropped at the time of reading them....i will fix the truck, post the progress pics and leave it at that

Dont even waste your time, and ours, and post pics. You have only been on threads involving Ross and Brian. Seems you only purpose is to stir up stuff from the past, move on with your life and move off this site. JIMMY

Dont even waste your time, and ours, and post pics. You have only been on threads involving Ross and Brian. Seems you only purpose is to stir up stuff from the past, move on with your life and move off this site. JIMMY



lol burn!

They sit uneven because the part of frame that actually lays is only like 3 ft long and it acts as a pivot so if your notch is too big in the back your truck will tip back. Bumpstops will fix it, as long as they arent to big you can lay out and sit level.


what is the limit of the height of the notch in order to lay flat? because i too have seen 89-92 rangers on 20s and the rear sags more. is it because the notch is too high or do you think its from not tubbing the engine bay?

what is the limit of the height of the notch in order to lay flat? because i too have seen 89-92 rangers on 20s and the rear sags more. is it because the notch is too high or do you think its from not tubbing the engine bay?

Theres no height limit. If you don't like how your truck lays out, just build some bump stops to stop it where you want it. I have a huge ten inch notch. It's more than I need, for now.

the size of the notch in the rear dont have anything to do with how the rear sags. its the bag mounts. they need to be redone or put spacers in with the bag but make sure the bag is straight fullylayed out still.

Theres no height limit. If you don't like how your truck lays out, just build some bump stops to stop it where you want it. I have a huge ten inch notch. It's mor than I need, for now. My truck does lay lower in the rear but theres no fricken way I'm going to install stops to make it level. That would be "lifting" the rear and my whole object was to get the truck as low as possible. When it gets body dropped then it will have to get leveled out.

is your engine bay tubbed?

is your engine bay tubbed?

What size wheels/tires are you running? I'm running 14s with 70 series tires and my inner fenders are cut very high and will be tubbed. The firewall however will not.

BTW, I'm from Fresno/Kingsburg.

I know this is old. But I think I'm gonna do mine this way. Make me a bracket for a hein or something. Where can I get a johnny joint and what is it???

Any new better tips for this brian?

a johnny joint is the original name for a super pivot

Yea I seen that. What do u think of running 3/4 chrome moly heims?

great topic to bring back up, there were a few guys running it and most are no longer on the site. It would be nice to see someone build a pair, and stick around to see how they preform.

you could use the heims if you wanted the reason I say the johnny joints is because you can get them with the nice big 1 1/8" thread 3/4" heims have the 3/4-16 threads on them. It could work but its probably more less up wo what you want to do. I have screwed up heims before and seized them up some how not sure if I broke the teflon inside them or what. I did that by hand as well cranking on them with a tube trying to get them out of a bung.

hmmm, well ill just use a super pivot then.

last question brian, if i just wanna run 18's and keep my beams, could i do it on the beams? would it ride any better that way? i know the radius arm will get more lift, but could i untuck the tires on the beams for 18's? 26" tall tire?

are you body dropped? honestly its been so long since I've even messed with a bag on beam setup with a body drop I can't remember lol. I'm sure with some 2600 bags you would be fine. maybe somebody else might have some input on this one.

not yet, dropping the truck off this friday.

dont know if i need to show him how to do it on the radius arms or just do it on the beams?

i ask jb for input, but all he b1tch3s is YOTA CLIP YOTA CLIP!

Yota clip yota clip! :D seriously, heim on beam and radius arm should give you enough movement with out putting the bags on the radius arms

I'll just do them on the beam. But I've never seen anyone do heims on their beams before

hmm interesting cuz ive got the heims and whatnot for my radius arms. so i guess youll see it shortly lol. home built radius arms with heim joints and hydro cylinder mounts as well.

Awesome man. Hydros? Come on....... Well at least post the radius arm build anyway

if your gonna be different enough to build a ranger and keep it on ibeams then why not hydros right? they have potential to ride AMAZING. but idk my cylinder size yet for the front if its gonna be 8'' or 10'' so that will determine placement to untuck my RIMMSSS haha. yea theyre only 14s but they tuck hard!

so your goin straight juice now?

so your goin straight juice now?

yep. only after i bought those bag mounts from you. so they just kinda sit on the floor in the garage now. trying to sell them but everybody around here has s10s haha

Do you know what kinda hydro setup you want to run? I sell Hydroholics and Pro Hopper stuff if your interested. Shoot me an email or PM to discuss and keep the thread on topic.