When choosing a vehicle to build into a prerunner, most people think of building a truck. The guys over at True Travel Dynamics decided to use their +2″ Ranger Long Travel Kit on a 1999 Mercury Mountaineer.
You might not know this but the Explorer and Mountaineer from 1996 to 2001 all use the same front torsion bar suspension that a Ford Ranger uses, that’s why this kit works so well on this vehicle.
True Travel Dynamics makes 2 kits for these vehicles, the +2″ kit and a wider +4.5″ kit. They both get rid of the factory torsion bars in favor of coil-over shocks and bypass shocks, so you get a much better ride on and off-road.
For this build they went with a set of FOA Shocks, 2.0 x 8″ coil-over shocks with a set of 2.0 8 2-tube bypass shocks to give some tuneability to the front end. Since this Mountaineer has the 5.0L V8 motor they went with a set of 600lb springs.
One upgrade you’ll see on this prerunner that is not included with the kit, but can be upgraded is their heim steering tie-rod kit. It uses 1″ aluminum with a 3/4″ heim on the inner pivot point and a 7/8″ heim on the outer point. Not only is this stronger, it also looks really good.
After installing their kit on this Mountaineer, they installed some McNeil Racing +4″ fiberglass fenders to accommodate the extra track width.
Up front they cut off the lower section of the factory bumper and trimmed the outer edges to match up nicely with the McNeil fiberglass fenders
Then they finished it off with a set of Method Race Wheels and mounted some 285/75-16 tires to complete this subtle but super clean prerunner. It is perfect for daily driving, going out to have fun in the dirt, and just an all around cool truck. Have a look at the pics below and if you’re interested in getting this kit for your Ranger, Explorer, Sport Trac or Mountaineer, then visit:
98-11 Ford Ranger 4WD +2 Long Travel Kit
