Fast240Z

Rod, I have a '94 Ranger, and it leans to the front drivers side (I wrecked it into a ditch, on the driver's side). After taking a look at it, the driver's side bounces and is easier to push down than the passenger side, and the shock/strut (not sure the difference between the two) on the drivers side seems to not have as much travel than the passenger side. I read someone else's post on here, and they had a similar problem, and someone had suggested springs. Is that the solution for restoring my right ride height? Since I was in the accident, my tires have been wearing very weird, and my alignment is all out of whack, so I just want to get it fixed.

Slow6stang

New shocks and get an alignment for that tire wear. Somthing could be bent on the front end so have a suspension place look at it before doing anything.

RodMoyes

The first thing I would do would be to have a good suspsension shop take a look at it. Shocks alone won't make ANY difference to the ride height (contrary to popular beleif). The shocks (or struts) entire job in life is to control the oscilation of the spring. In fact, the very name "shock absorber" is a misnomer... that is not what they do. They are there to keep the spring from bouncing up and down at will.

Everybody thinks they know a lot about suspension... They don't... unless they've spent a long time WORKING on it. Working in an auto parts store doesn't qualify a person as a suspension expert (Sorry). It is the most misunderstood system in the car.

Since it was in an accident, there could be a number of things wrong with it. If the shock tube itself got bent, that could prevent it from making full travel... but that is just one possibility. Not sure if you're particular truck has torsion bars (Depends on year and other factors), but if so, torsion bars also have a great deal to do with controlling both ride height and stiffness/softness of bound/rebound on the suspension. Have a good suspension shop take a look at it.

Rod.

Fast240Z

thanks for the help Rod, and I have no idea what my truck has on it. If you want/wouldn't mind, I could take pictures of the suspension, damage, etc, and post those here for your viewing. I'm low on cash, and I can't afford to just dump money into it to get it fixed, so I've got to plan as I go. I may call around when I get a chance and see if any suspension shops will take a look at it for free, and I could always get my friend's dad to take a look at it (he used to work at Goodyear, dealing with suspension, he's actually the first person to do any mechanical work to the Z when it was given to me ).

I do know that the cast iron bumper the truck has on it was pushed back on the drivers side, which in return pushed the bumper support up into the fender, and pushed the fender upwards and backwards, and I ended up having to kick my door open because the fender was right on the door lip, and now the door lip is curled (I'll take pics). I compared the frame rails/frame on both the passenger and drivers side, and they look like they match completely, so I'm unsure if it's the frame. Could an accident have distorted the spring in any way?

Fast240Z

Rod, I went to Big O Tires, had them put the truck on a lift, and inspect the damage. They said that the front end needs an alignment (here's the page they gave me)



They also said I needed a camber sleeve set, and that the suspension "housing" is twisted, which is probably giving me the problems I am having. Do you know if the housing parts can be removed from another ranger and put on mine?

RodMoyes

Holy Crap! That thing is WHACK! Between the huge negative camber on the left side, and negative caster on the right side... it should make circles to the right all by itself. Yeah, something is obviously bent. I don't know exactly what they meant by "housing" but I'm sure whatever is bent can be swapped from another truck. Have them be a little more specific in terms of what needs to be replaced...

Rod.

jmmorriso

If the truck has the twin I beam front end, just sell it. they suck. However, they arent super hard to work on. make sure all the balljoint nuts are tight, if one is loose, replace that balljoint, its bent. bent spindles arent as common as you might think, but it is definatley a good idea to replace one if other components on the same side are bent. dont forget to check/replace your steering gear, if the steering wheel is off center going down the road, just replace it, the sector shaft is bent, or if the truck makes a tighter circle one way or the other. Rod, let me know if i missed anything. Ive done a lot of pickup suspension over the last 5 years, but not too many Rangers. If the truck has dual A arm front end, same goes as above, but you might need to take a look at the upper arm mount, from my memory, they are kind of flimsy. Also if the truck is leaning after the suspension is fixed, the frame is bent and you will need to weld a big hook to the fender and pick it up with a forklift and shake the **** out of it I would just take it to a good body shop and have them measure the frame and inspect the suspension. Yes, thats my answer for everything, because thats what I do.

Fast240Z

thanks for the help guys. Actually, the truck does pull to the right, to where I can change lanes by just letting go of the steering wheel. jmmorriso, my ranger has the twin I beam suspension (looks like scissors, kind of). It's a good truck, I can't sell it (it's my father's). I'm going to see if I can get another shop to take a look at it/take the wheel off and see if anything is removable that can be replaced to fix it. Would the alignment fix my tire wear problem? I'm not too concerned about the leaning now, just the tires at this time.

RodMoyes

Generally speaking, a lot of other things have to happen before you tweak the steering gear... I would concentrate elsewhere first. It's possible that a spindle got bent, or even the spring itself got whacked out. The description they gave you at the shop was really vague. As far as tire wear goes, the toe is not that bad surprisingly... and it can be corrected. It's the extreme negative camber that is going to shred one tire. The caster won't cause any tire wear at all but it will make it pull badly, also the camber is "pushing" it to the same side that the caster is pulling to. It's a double whammy. It's both a"push" and a "pull" Gnarly! There are some eccentric cam kits that can correct most of the camber problem. the caster is beyond help though... Something is bent badly to be that out of whack.

Rod.

Fast240Z

thanks for all of the help Rod! I don't know what the issue is or what is bent, but I am going to have to work on the truck this weekend, the slave cylinder went out AGAIN, so I'm going to have to be under it anyways, so I'll take the wheels off and see what the issue is. I'm not real sure as to how to describe what I've seen so far, but the suspension (shocks and springs) bolt from the I-beam/wheel hub/whatever it's called, and bolts onto the frame rail, right? Well, the part that bolts onto the frame rail, and the suspension bolts onto it, seems to be bent upward and back a little on the driver's side, as opposed to the passenger side. It's hard to explain without knowing the right jargon to use, but I'll take pics of what I see and post them. I just hope I can get it fixed.

jmmorriso

Chevy pickups 88-98 every time a tierod gets bent, the sector shaft twists. Ive done enough of them to know. Lots of cars dont have this weak spot, but a thourough check never killed anyone. Every semi that I do any front suspension on gets a steering gear. There have been very few cases, but occasionally a few years after a truck has been wrecked and repaired, the sector shaft will break, the truck slam into a busload of kids or a minivan full of clergy... Theres a reason its called playing it safe. If you crash your car due to stupidity and die, so what. If you take someone else out on your way, you are a real ***** to say the least and deserve to die.

jmmorriso

Are you talking about a bracket that bolts to the bottom of the frame and has a big arm going from it to the front by the wheel? If it bolts on its not to bad to replace, if you have some patience, the truck has to be on the ground to tighten/loosen the big *** nut on the trailing arm, or big arm rod thingie. I dunno what the hell to call the parts on one of those damn things.

Fast240Z

jmmorriso, no, I'm talking about the bracket that the spring and shock attach to on the frame. I'll take pics of it when the truck is off of the ground.

I also don't know if you're aware, but Rod used to be a store manager of a big o location (right Rod?) so I know he has some knowledge of what's going on too. I'll take both of your guys' advice into consideration, and do whichever one seems to be the best for my application.

RodMoyes

Uhem... That's "Owner/Operator"

Rod.

Fast240Z

the part circled is what I think might be bent, just the bracket though.

that's not my truck though.

jmmorriso

Ha Ha! twin I beam. Well, that bracket being bent would explain the ride height, but as for the camber, i dunno,probably the knuckle or balljoints. You will probably need the use of a press to do the balljoints. I know Rod owns a Big-O, at leas one, right? Yeah, if I wasn't sooo badass, I would be asking him tire/wheel/suspension questions. Frankly, I wouldn't be comfortable giving you advice without him looking over my shoulder, as it were. The one thing I learned on this board is that Rod is almost always right, except about Chevys

RodMoyes

^ Funny...

So the upper spring seat is bent... that's not good, but it's not the end of the world. If I'm not mistaken, that is welded to the frame. It may need to be cut off and a new one welded on. I would also expect the bottom knuckle to be bent as well. I doubt that the frame itself is bent... even a ford ranger frame is pretty stout. It should take more than a ditch ride to bend it. I would look for a junker in a yard that is the same year and just grab all the front suspension from that corner if you can. Ford probably sells that upper seat but you may need to order it in. Other than that, I think you'll be OK.

So the answer to wether I own one or more Big O Franchises... I own one store, that is more than enough.

jmmorriso

The spring seat would be a lot easier to fix, given the right equipment. Im big on fixing stuff, even when its not broken Its also not uncommon to see the frame bent right around the front cab mount, where it steps up/in. Just trade it in for a chevy colorado, the guys at the dealership will just think thats how fords are and give you hig book on the trade in. Bowtie Power!

entropy31

bah, HAMBURGER POWER!!!!!!