Is this a members Expy?
- Thread starter RollinKaos
- Start date
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FordandPolaris
Full Access Members
I have not seen that particular one on the site...
Is a nice ride though.
Is a nice ride though.
RollinKaos
Active Member
OK, maybe someone can answer a couple of lift questions for me. I have 2001 XLT 2WD that I am looking to lift. I was wondering if I could run 37s with a 6" lift and a 3" body lift ? If I could avoid the body lift I would like to since I never have like the look of them. Any thoughts/opinions are appreciated.
FordandPolaris
Full Access Members
Talk to Thermo. He is the master at fitting 37's on minimal lift. I want to say he got his in with only 4" but with heavy modification. I would say the only thing you need to worry about is whether they rub on the frame.
tonydiv
technical advisor
The pic in my sig below is has a 4" Rancho suspension lift and a 3" body lift with 35" tires.
Prior to my owning it, the truck ran 38" swampers with this same setup. I have a pic somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up.
Prior to my owning it, the truck ran 38" swampers with this same setup. I have a pic somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up.
Thermo
technical advisor
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RollinKaos, how wide of rims are you looking to run? This is going to be key with whether you will be able to or not.
I have managed to run 37's with only a 4" suspension lift on a 4x4 rig. Your 4x2 (2wd) rig sits 4" lower than my rig did stock. So, you are already at a disadvantage per se. Now, you are looking at 9" of total lift (or 5" of lift when comparing to a 4x4 vehicle). This is enough lift to fit 37's. But also keep in mind that this will only work if you run a 12.5" wide tire on an 8" wide rim with 4.5" of backspacing. You change any part of that equation and you WILL!!!! have rubbing. When I twist up my truck, I tuck over an inch of rubber into the rear wheel wells (if you look around, you should be able to find some pics that I have posted on this site, if not, let me know and I will repost them here). So, even with the extra "inch" of lift over me, you are still going to tuck the tires into the wheel wells.
Now, also keep in mind that I had to do a few other modifications to the front of the truck to make it all work. The easy one was grinding the jack nub off of the lower A-arm. In your case, you probably won't have to worry about this, but it is possible that you will have something else that will give you a little bit of grief. The second thing that I had to do was to take an angle grinder to my bumper and reshape the bumper edge facing the tire to give me the necessary clearance. In short, I had to shave an inch off of the bottom corner and then tape this down to nothing at the top of the bumper. I kinda like how the cut came out as it seem to more closely match what the curve of the wheel well should have been as it pertains to the bumper. The final mod is what makes most people shudder. How do you feel about taking a 3 pound hammer to the body of the truck? In short, you have to pull the wheel well liner off of the truck and then using the hammer, bend the weld seam over from where the firewall meets the body of the truck. Then you have to drill a hole through the wheel well liner and the fold that you just made to tie the wheel well liner out of the way.
The good news is nothing needs to be done with the rear of the truck as long as you follow what I have said about tire width and rim dimensions.
If you have more questions, just ask. Anything is possible if you are willing to push some limits and test what you can do.
I have managed to run 37's with only a 4" suspension lift on a 4x4 rig. Your 4x2 (2wd) rig sits 4" lower than my rig did stock. So, you are already at a disadvantage per se. Now, you are looking at 9" of total lift (or 5" of lift when comparing to a 4x4 vehicle). This is enough lift to fit 37's. But also keep in mind that this will only work if you run a 12.5" wide tire on an 8" wide rim with 4.5" of backspacing. You change any part of that equation and you WILL!!!! have rubbing. When I twist up my truck, I tuck over an inch of rubber into the rear wheel wells (if you look around, you should be able to find some pics that I have posted on this site, if not, let me know and I will repost them here). So, even with the extra "inch" of lift over me, you are still going to tuck the tires into the wheel wells.
Now, also keep in mind that I had to do a few other modifications to the front of the truck to make it all work. The easy one was grinding the jack nub off of the lower A-arm. In your case, you probably won't have to worry about this, but it is possible that you will have something else that will give you a little bit of grief. The second thing that I had to do was to take an angle grinder to my bumper and reshape the bumper edge facing the tire to give me the necessary clearance. In short, I had to shave an inch off of the bottom corner and then tape this down to nothing at the top of the bumper. I kinda like how the cut came out as it seem to more closely match what the curve of the wheel well should have been as it pertains to the bumper. The final mod is what makes most people shudder. How do you feel about taking a 3 pound hammer to the body of the truck? In short, you have to pull the wheel well liner off of the truck and then using the hammer, bend the weld seam over from where the firewall meets the body of the truck. Then you have to drill a hole through the wheel well liner and the fold that you just made to tie the wheel well liner out of the way.
The good news is nothing needs to be done with the rear of the truck as long as you follow what I have said about tire width and rim dimensions.
If you have more questions, just ask. Anything is possible if you are willing to push some limits and test what you can do.
RollinKaos
Active Member
Thermo, THANK YOU! Very much the answers I was looking for. My concerns were tire/rim width and back spacing. Trimming the bumper and some adjustment the the pinch welds does not scare me. I have done similar fender trimming operations on my 4wd GM products. For the front I was going to go with an F150 kit I found but in the rear I thought I would use 4wd springs with 2" spacers. Will this give me enough lift and be somewhat level? I guess the hunt is on for rims and tires now that I know what to look for. Thanks again.
RollinKaos
Active Member
What started me thinking about 37 inch tires was the military MTRs. They are 37/12.5/16.5. They last forever have good road manners and are extremely reasonable price wise. Now finding 16.5 wheels with a 5x135 lug pattern..... good luck.
southernexpy38s
Well-Known Member
I fit 37s on mine when it was 2wd with a 3 inch body lift and a 3in front spindle lift and 2 in spacers in the rear. yes, it can be done, but you will have to trim. let me see if i can find a picture of it with 37s for ya.
southernexpy38s
Well-Known Member
3 body 3/2 lift/level on 37x12.5 trail grapplers yes its 2wd here
solid axle swapped expedition
solid axle swapped expedition
tallsville
Full Access Members
kaos here is 16.5's on ebay located in CA
16 5 9 75 Ford 5 Lug on 135mm Alloy Wheels Ford 150 4x4 Rims Custom | eBay
16 5 9 75 Ford 5 Lug on 135mm Alloy Wheels Ford 150 4x4 Rims Custom | eBay
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RollinKaos
Active Member
@ Southern truck looks sweet like that. I read your build thread awesome job btw. Thanks for the info.
@tallsville Thanks I will check them out. They look like they are too wide but I will investigate.
I got a hold of trail worthy fab and they do recentered H1 wheels. You can pick the several options and they have a 5x135 center available. More cash than I was looking to spend on wheels but for the tires that will last nearly forever I think its a fair trade off.
@tallsville Thanks I will check them out. They look like they are too wide but I will investigate.
I got a hold of trail worthy fab and they do recentered H1 wheels. You can pick the several options and they have a 5x135 center available. More cash than I was looking to spend on wheels but for the tires that will last nearly forever I think its a fair trade off.
RollinKaos
Active Member
Looking at your pics and taking what Thermo and Southern have said, Think it is possible to not use the body lift and just go 6 suspension with mild / moderate trimming?
tonydiv
technical advisor
My truck had Weld forged wheels 16.5 x 10 with a 5 x 135 bolt pattern, so they do exist. I was tempted to pick up a set of those military tires, but heard that they were junk on the road so I never pulled the trigger.
There are always wheel adapters. you'll just have to adjust the backspacing of the wheel that you buy by the thickness of the adapter.
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