I have a extend cab 1994 ranger that is 4wd i am looking for a place to start. I am on a budget to start. I want suspension and tire but what should come first and what about spindle? do they need to be change? I have look at the Camburg ,dixon bros, and autofab. Big qestion is the shocks and coils. I plan on it to be a daily driver so no extreme yet!  

I forgot it is a manual 5 speed if that makes a difference.  

dude im with u as well  i was given a 93 stock reg cab 2wd 5 speed.  but heres a website these guys are giveing my so many tip and hints like no other. SDHQoffroad.com they are located here in gilbert az. my advise yea its bad ass to go with these name brand kits but the are soooooooooooo exspencive and these fab shop are just as good  u know save some money and just part it out and look for the best prices for each piece and fab your own stuff if u can. sdhq quoted me around $3000 for a stage 2 kit with foxshocks   hit me back u bro  

Hey thanks for the web site that should work out great is there any other web pages with forums like this one or the one on SDHQoffroad?  

Are you looking for a lift kit or a long-travel kit? That will make a big difference.

I would steer towards Camburg for a long travel kit. In fact I would stick to Camburg for all of it if you want any kind of performance kit.

http://www.camburg.com/fords1P4x4.html

Lift kits are cheap and there are tons of them out there. Everything from coil spacers to bracket kits.

Shocks and coils are dependent on what you do with it. I'd like to say get a set of 2.5" SAW's or a set of Bilstein 5100's, but those would be for different applications.

So give a little more info and we can help some more.  

long travel is the way i think i what to go, lift kit are usually to rough in the offroad hard pack trails. big question is can i just buy the kit and be ok with stock parts like spindles and hub and the drive line. I see if i get a rear axel from a 96 or newer explorer or ranger i will get a 8.8 rear with disc true or not?  

Yea your knuckles will be fine, as far as I know there arn't any upgraded knuckles available. Some have adapted Dana 44 knuckles but just starting out you don't really need that.

96 or newer Explorer will have disk 8.8 31 spline rear. Rangers never came with disks, and only the FX4LII had the 31 spline rear, but with drums.  

Im in the same boat with a 93 reg cab 2X 5spd. one of my questions is with the equal and unequal i beam setup whats better?  

what advantage or disadvantage between the i beam and a arm type of longtravel set ups?  

Yea, you just asked two different questions there... Equal and Un-Equal are both types of I-Beam... A-Arm is totally different.