Help! At the shop, 265/75/16s, Bad Rubbing/Crazy Bouncing after alignment

[SavRanger]

Hello Ranger Forum! I need some quick help and guidance. I have looked around the forum and I see alot of what has been claimed and works for others but currently I am not sure what is going and why!

2001 Ford Ranger Edge 4x4, 4.0L, Supercab, Torsion Bar truck

Just re-did the front end. Put Moog Problem solver, upper control arms, sway bar, new shocks ( I did the work and great improvement), I upgraded to BFGoodrich KO2 265/75/16's, w/2 inch wheel spacers for rubbing along with the torsion key's having to be maxed out just to get around town until the next step. In a straight line it drove very smooth.

I ran out of time myself, so I had the shop install my lower control arms, inner and outer tie rods, do the alignment, and had them put a set of leveling keys (1.5") in to help with the clearance issue. It solved most of the rubbing however it still had a little bit. However the ride went to absolute CRAP, bouncy at 40-50mph, hit the highway (70mph speedlimits here) and it bounced extremely uncontrollably, rode terrible, and had to low speed limp it back.

At this point I have no idea what is going on, if they installed something incorrectly etc.. So they drove it, confirmed my problems, went through it. Took the spacers off, played with the alignment and can't figure out a solution. They said that the limits of all the parts are at their max and in result it has made the ride very hard, bouncy, and uncontrollable. They said they wouldn't have thought stepping up to 265's from 245's would be an issue, but their recommendation is to put 245's back on the front and lower the front back down to put everything back in the correct geometry.

Any thoughts or direction would be extremely helpful and welcomed. Thank You.

 

[SavRanger]

Forgot to mention they said my front cv axles are at about a 35 degree angle as well.

 

[Ranger850]

They said that the limits of all the parts are at their max and in result it has made the ride very hard, bouncy, and uncontrollable.

seems legit

their recommendation is to put 245's back on the front and lower the front back down to put everything back in the correct geometry.

seems legit

I'm no expert on lifts, but having everything maxxed out would likely make the ride extremely bouncy in one direction and extremely abrupt in the other. I would lower it back as close to stock as possible until you have the right equipment for the lift you want. You're going "extreme" on mediocre equipment, at best.
35* is almost ( visually anyway ) 45*, and cv axles work best flat. the more angle on them causes more stress and binding.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I run pretty much that same tire and it is perfectly fine with factory suspension height.

Check wheel spacers

Check balance of tires

Turn your bars down a bit

Double check the install of suspension components

 

[SavRanger]

Thank You.... Before they touched the lower control arms / tie rods / torsion keys and alignment it the tires were driving perfect... Smoother than it has been for a while... They did take the spacers off and it still had the same affect. The tires were hitting the Ford Ranger "Edger" painted fender flares. My bet is something to have to do with the installation of the suspension components. Maybe the lower control arms were tightened on the lift and not underload?? I am unsure of the effects that would cause.... So you can see how bad it is, here is a 15 second video, wait until the camera is moved looking at the side view mirror, this is at about 65mph.

June 1, 2022

www.youtube.com

 

[BiggSherm1988]

I have a key lift but I didn't have any of these issues. when I got it back from the shop that installed the lift and new suspension it was also maxed out too, but I had no problems other than it needing an alignment. My best bet would be that something installed or aligned improperly or a combination of both.

 

[Uncle Gump]

You might be onto something with them tightening the control arms at full drop.

Remember also that the higher you crank the torsion bars the less rebound you have in the suspension. Max crank is never a good thing when it comes suspension ride quality.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Thank You.... Before they touched the lower control arms / tie rods / torsion keys and alignment it the tires were driving perfect... Smoother than it has been for a while... They did take the spacers off and it still had the same affect. The tires were hitting the Ford Ranger "Edger" painted fender flares. My bet is something to have to do with the installation of the suspension components. Maybe the lower control arms were tightened on the lift and not underload?? I am unsure of the effects that would cause.... So you can see how bad it is, here is a 15 second video, wait until the camera is moved looking at the side view mirror, this is at about 65mph.

June 1, 2022

www.youtube.com

Did you ever get this one figured out?

 

[SavRanger]

Did you ever get this one figured out?

I finally got the owner of the shop to hear me out (he was on vacation last week). He is going to check the control arms to make sure they were torqued under load and he is going to remove some of the lift off of the torsion keys (they have them maxed out right now). His thoughts on the jumping up and down could be the front half shafts binding from the angle the torsion keys gave... They are only 1.5" leveling keys, of course with the larger 265/75/16 KO2's on there. I can't imagine that being the issue, or else others would have seen come across it I'd think.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Not sure I've ever heard of the half shafts binding... but it sure will wear them out quicker.

I think if you put a little suspension back in it (turning down the torsion bars) the ride will be greatly improved.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[SavRanger]

Thank You I will keep you informed. I am going to also verify that they put the shock spacers on the front shocks, I'm sure not having those would add to the problem.