Noisy front end 1999 Ranger 4x4- finally a quiet truck!

[99RangerGT]

After using the great info from this website for years to fix my ’99 Ranger 4x4 and install a 5.0 and 4R70W transmission in it, I figured it was time to give back with some info that might help other frustrated Ranger owners. My truck had a lot of front-end noise when I bought it with 140K miles back in 2016. Eventually I had Firestone replace the upper control arms (including upper ball joints) because the mechanic there was sure that was the source of my noise. The truck was quiet for about a week, then gradually the noise began to return. I decided to do my own lower ball joints and anti-sway bar hardware and bushings which didn’t help with the noise at all. Assuming that the noise COULDN’T be from the upper control arms since they’d been replaced, I installed new shocks. At this point I’d invested over $1000 with no success. I decided to break down the front end myself and found that the A-Frame bushings, a part of the upper control arm assembly that had been replaced just 1 year earlier (and the warranty was up) were bad again! Turns out that if you tighten the bushings down without allowing the suspension to be at normal loaded level, you’ll tear up the new bushings. The Firestone “pros” had failed to read the installation instructions. These “bushings” are not really bushings at all. They’re rubber filled canisters. When you lock them in place they only allow a certain amount of movement. Go beyond that amount of flex and you tear the rubber, permanently damaging it. The bolts that hold the bushings in place are special, working with eccentric washers that allow the bushing’s position to be moved (adjusted) to allow alignment of your front end. Once the alignment is correct, they must be locked extremely tight to permanently secure the bushing position (until re-alignment is required). Again, the bolts can only be tightened when the suspension is loaded with the weight of the truck, in the neutral position (truck level on flat ground).

So, after installing the new upper control arms I went to the front-end shop for alignment, making sure they knew not to lock the bushing bolts unless the suspension was loaded. On the trip to the shop the truck was completely quiet! Success at last, though the front end was clearly out of alignment and pulling to the right. After re-alignment the truck drove straight as an arrow and was quiet too, at least for about two weeks. That’s when I discovered that the mechanic who did the alignment had failed to tighten the bushing bolts enough. Frustrated, I just tightened them myself. Finally, the front end is quiet and the truck drives like a new one, now with 175K miles. I hope this helps someone who, like me, is about to give up having a quiet Ranger.

 

[Uncle Gump]

They're called torsilastic bushings.

Sorry you had to find out the hard way.

 

[rubydist]

Looks like you have a small exhaust leak on the headers at the collector. What are those headers?