2 or 3" lift, cost, difficulty,

hey i was just wondering how much it costs to put a 2 or 3" lift on a 98 4x4. i also would like to know how difficult this is, and the parts that would need to be replaced or modified. i've never done a lift before and i don't even know the first thing about one, but i look on cardomain.com and almsot every ranger there has at least a 2 inch lift. also if someone could reccomend tires. i want something that looks good with the lift and won't be bad for some light offroading, but would also be good on the highway and around town. thanks in advance, and please feel free to leave any other information you think i might find useful.

hey i was just wondering how much it costs to put a 2 or 3" lift on a 98 4x4. i also would like to know how difficult this is, and the parts that would need to be replaced or modified. i've never done a lift before and i don't even know the first thing about one, but i look on cardomain.com and almsot every ranger there has at least a 2 inch lift. also if someone could reccomend tires. i want something that looks good with the lift and won't be bad for some light offroading, but would also be good on the highway and around town. thanks in advance, and please feel free to leave any other information you think i might find useful.
As far as the cost goes, this depends on if you are going to do the work yourself or not. The prices of all lift kits should be well posted. The most important thing to remember is to change your ring and pinion gears to match your new tire size in order to maintain your original RPM's and shifting of the vehicle. You also want to be able to drive at hiway speeds and be confident that your vehicle is safe. Your tires should perform well on the hiway as well as when you do some offroading. Do not overlook these issues as you will be very dissapointed and wished you'ed never made the changes before proper planning....... I just want to help you in the right way.

so here's the deal-
Performance Accessories make a 3" body lift - which just lifts the body higher off of the chassis - for like $180. This still makes clearance for bigger tires and gives that cool look - good for people like you and me who mostly stay of the highway - leaves the suspension 100% stock
Homemade 2" suspension lift - this is what 'eveybody has' on cardomain. For the rear, they put in an add-a-leaf kit - which is a new leaf spring to through in the pack and a new center pin - from companies like Rough Country and BDS and Fabtech - cost about $40. these will stiffen the ride a little and lift 1.5" - 2". For the front, they crank the torsion bars - this is free EXCEPT for the wheel alignment that you MUST do afterwards which may cost as much as $150 since they may have to put in new camber kit. - Even so, $200 for a 2" lift is very reasonable.
Things to consider...
Stock - go with 31x10.5 tires, stock rims good- gears ok, speedo reads 3mph slow
3" body lift - go with 33x12.5 - needs new rims (wider), new gears (unless you are ok to go a little slow and already have 4.10), and you're speedo will be off a good bit - should get new speedo gear
2" Homemade - 32x11.5 - stock rims OK, but wider suggested - gear change is up to personal discretion, and same with speedo change

a 3" body lift is fairly simple to install and will give you clearance for some 33" tires. the kit from performance acc comes with very detailed instructions.i added a jet chip, k&n filter & a gibson exhaust and have about the same power as it had before the bigger tires. BFGoodrich mud terrains work pretty well on or off road.

thanks guys, i haven't decided on actually buying a ranger yet, but i wanted this info becasue if i did it would definatly have to be lifted. i may look into the new 150's since working for a dealership i can get huge discounts on new vehicles. thanks again