For anyone that is curious, I put Highlifter's Rancher lift kit on today. Although it said it will lift it 2 inches, I only got 1 1/2 out of mine. Thank God it only cost $97 (shipped). It raised the bottom of the frame from 10" to 11 1/2".

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Cons:
1) On the front, I had to bore out a hole they drilled in a bracket. It just wouldn't fit right.

2) Took awhile to get the bottom of the front shocks to sit in their new locations. A spring compressor would have been nice.

3) On the rear, I had to remove the differentail skid plate to tighten a nut. (instructions didn't say I had to, but you had to)

4) One of the nuts was too wide and wouldn't fit in the right spot. Had to take it to the grinder and make it skinny.

Pros:
1) Under a $100

2) Used regular shop tools. Did the whole thing with a 10,12,14,15,16,17mm, hammer, prybar and a floor jack.

3) Took just an hour.

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On a scale of 1 to 10, I give their kit a 7. It could have been more Rancher friendly if they took some more time. Oh, if you do it, don't take both rear tires off...Just the right one. If you leave the left one on, you won't have to use 2 jacks as the instructions say. Now I just have to order some new tires and rims. 589M/T's anyone?

Shaun

 

I have the set up your talking about. I have the High Lifter kit and I have the 589 tires. I also have the power kit.
I didn't have any of the problems you mention installing the lift kit. I didn't have to remove any back tires and the nut was a tight fit back there but no real problem. I didn't remove the skid plate either. I'm wondering if you had the right kit.
My brother is living with me and we both have 2000 Ranchers. It took me about 1/2 hour for the lift kit and 20 minutes to do his. I did mine alone and he was here while I did his.
Both of ours just bolted right up in place with no problem that's why I'm wondering if they may have sent you the wrong kit.
Oh and as for the tires, I'm not that impressed with the 589's. Other then raising my Rancher another inch, it didn't really help with traction. I do serious mudding and other then clearance, I don't see them has helping that much. The Rancher will just go through a lot of mud with the dirthooks it comes with. I'm not sorry I bought the tires but I would say don't expect miracles from them. We don't go riding to see how far we can go but if we can get stuck!
I really recommend the Power Kit. I can pop the front end without trying in 3 gears so it really helped the low end.
Long enough I'm shutting up.

 

Hey where did you get and how much is the power kit for the rancher and does it affect the warranty any???

 

I bought the power kit from Highlifter also. I don't remember but I think it was about 330. I'm not sure about the warranty but I would imagine that it would void the warranty. I waited until the warranty had expired before doing any mods.

 

Yeah, it was the right kit. Of course every machine isn't "exactly" the same, so maybe the wholes just didn't line up right for me. I had to remove the skid plate to tighten up on the bottom, outside nut. Maybe there was an easy way, but taking off that skid plate really made it easy.

So you don't like the 589M/S's??? Damn, I was just about to order some monday. No one else has them where I ride. I just thought they would be good. Maybe Mudrunners?? or MudBug's???

Shaun

 

It's not that I don't like the 589's. All I am saying is if you mud, don't expect them to do any better then the dirt hooks. They look cool and do raise the atv. I ended up with the lift kits and the tires raising my atv 3.25 inches. You will also lose power because the 589's really dig in. You will notice a top end speed difference. I also went with Billet Aluminum wheels to help with the additional weight of the tires. In mud, you will dig in where the stock dirthooks will tend to keep the machine more on top of the mud. The 589's do clean well so once you get to spinning, the mud flies. I ride in peat, Mississippi blue mud and clay.
It comes down to this and it's only my opinion. Don't expect miracles. They are still just tires. I would have to reconsider before I bought a tread that aggressive. I'm not saying I wouldn't buy them again but I would reconsider it.

 

Thats cool, do you have any pictures of after lift, if so sendy sendy to me-- zachruschmeyer@hotmail.com

 

I sent them to the address you posted. I have more with them sitting side by side also but I thought the nose to nose shot would show the difference a little more

 

Where are my pics then? lol... Send them to Cliptfc@aol.com

I'll scan mine after the film gets developed if anyone cares..

Hey, what size 589's did you go with? and what kind? I think there are 2 different types? I'm thinking about going with 25x8's all around, or 26x9's. lol, i'm just a kid in a candystore right now...lol. Guess I need to research a little more first.

Thanks,
shaun

 

I have 26x12 on the rear and 26x9 on the front. Since I have 2 sets now, I don't run the 589's all the time. Workind around the house, I use the stock tires but when I go to a riding area, I switch tires. I use the Rancher some for work but I don't stress it here. I have a work atv for that. It's a 300 4x4 with Titan 489's on it and it works well.