another Z'ed frame question for 98+ rangers

i'm getting ready to juice my 03 ranger very soon and was wondering if there is an easier way to Z the frame.This is my daily so i can't have my shit tore apart for months.i remember something about someone here using a engine hoist.Also how do you keep the cat and muffler while sporting a 2 1/2" BD? Thanks for any info.

You can Z the front frame in the matter of 1 day..then the next redo your tranny x-member and have your exhaust done...do a custom x-member because the aftermarket ones bolt on through the bottom fo your frame and dont let your truck truly lay flat.

do it in a day, hahahahahaha yeeeaaahhh right..dont z it, its not worth it on a daily. shit takes time to do it right..i jacked my ranger up and held the motor in place with a hoist then dropped the frame out to it , thata way nothing was in my way to do it fast and clean

using and engine hoist is the wrong way, you need to make the clip sit at the exact same angle as stock. theres no precision in an engine hoist.

hes saying to hold the engine up with a hoist THEN cut the frame off and pull it OUT to section it, THEN put it back in.

thats the way I did 2 of them here. one 2 inches, and one 2.5 inches.

email me if you have any questions on Zing the frame on a Ranger.

some pics will help.i've got a from here but it was froma yota.i also got a pic of what one shouldn't look like.

IF has good photos of ones theyve done..simple and dry straight line with 2 lines across cut and then line the 2 lines up make sure there parralell before cut and the gap between lines before hand will be the amount of the z(raise in the front frame section)..u can use engine hoist,jack stands..anything will do as long as u get the end result

Edited: 2/7/2006 9:28:23 AM by msturg

I looked for those pics on IF, but didn't find anything. You guys are scaring me for some reason. Let me explain how I intended to do it and see if it will be ok.

I planned on leaving the engine in place. Pulling the interior, cutting the floor for clearance of the driveshaft. marking out the frame for how far it needs to move, cutting the front portion of the frame force, letting the "doghouse" or fenders supports hold the bumper and portion of the very front frame.

coming back to the firewall cutting the frame and moving it up. welding it all back together, and reinforcing it. obviously i skipped a couple of steps, but overall that's the jist of it. Before I read this post i forgot about the exhaust, that's not a huge deal. Is this project something that I can get the majority of done in a weekend?

what's the best way to support the frame and truck while moving everthing around, I saw that one person used 1x1 tubing to help hold everything in place. There are just a million questions floating in my head. I'm not great with engines so pulling it is prolly out of my league. Sorry for the questions but if you guys can help me answer them then I will feel a lot better about accomplishing this.

we pulled all the front end sheet metal off. jacked the truck up and put it on stands.]
unbolted the engine, control arms and steering.
pulled the radiator and unbolted the front core support mounts.
then we picked the engine up with a hoist from the ceiling.
then cut the frame front clip out and cut it up on the table. sectioed it and raised the control arm mounts, ALL OF THEM.
then we put it back in and plated it.

I have several pics of this on my site and many more on my computer.