2005 Ranger Edge Torsion Suspension REPLACING / or...UPGRADING?

[dviensanchez]

Hello fellow Ranger Enthusiast. I need a little guidance or advice on what i should be doing with 20 year old suspension. For the readers who prefer skimming just refer to the bold text and their corresponding subsection in bold colored font.


This '05 Ranger looks like its been dragged through salt water and mud. I'm glad the PO got 230k plus miles on this baby but i feel its time to swap, well, everything out. All of the rubber is dry rotted and i feel the smooth rides she once had are far behind us. Currently i have a EDGE trim model with torsion bars. I've decided to go OEM with whatever i can source. Thank goodness they still sell the Torsion bars on the Ford website. Everything other OEM part Motorcraft had for this feat of engineering seems to be quickly disappearing. Just to put it out there after all these years, should i be doing anything for the leaf springs in the rear besides changing out the disintegrated bushings? In fact I'm pretty sure all the bushings including my sway bar stabilizer bushings are cooked (literally) do I'm changing those too.

CONTROL ARMS:
I'm on the fence about going OEM with the upper control arms and have been looking into a MEVOTECH TTX product for a possible swap. the zerk fitting service ports seem like a plus up. Ford does sell the OEM uppers still, but again they don't seem very beefy compared to the TTXs. I'm asking anyone who is familiar with this suspension whether i should change my Lower control arms at all. I know the ball joints have to be replaced at least but at this point i feel like full on replacements given the amount of blanketed corrosion would do me better at this point. For the lower arm assemblies however, it has been a nightmare to find passenger side Motorcraft P/N: 7L5Z3078A. Ford parts giant still has the left drivers side lower OEM control arm but therein lies my dilemma. Should i just go aftermarket on those as well? I am not familiar with suspension brands and the more research I'm trying to do on these brands the more I feel Google's AI responses are just ads that say very vague and generalized responses like a palm reader at a psychic shop ..." products are great but have mixed review among customers" ... yeah you can say that about anything. Mevotech, Detroit axle, MOOG, Dorman. I just want to know which way the community leans in terms of quality... Price is not really too much of an issue since I've always understood that you get what you pay for.... Anyway i may pull the trigger on this OEM passenger side lower control arm if push comes to shove but that would be source through Ebay. The seller only has a photo if the product label and virtually no other pics of the actual arm so that is a sketchy prospect at best. Do I even need to be concerned with replacing these lower control arms at all? Should I just try for new ball joints?

SHOCKS (front/rear):
I know I'm going aftermarket on these for sure. Does anyone have anything to suggest when it comes to products or size? I'm not doing anything crazy with the Ranger. Currently she's on KO3 tires and I had raised the front end and is now leveled with the back (I don't do too much hauling). I've been looking at Bilstein 4600 since most reviews and threads I've seen about them seem to be positive. I guess my main question here would be can i go with the 5100s instead because of the factory torsion lift capability?. I know the 4600s are for stock ride height but i have my front end raised about 1.5 inches maybe more. Would 5100s be good to run as well? Would I have any issues installing those 5100s? My understanding is that they are the same size just the 5100 is favored for builds with higher than stock ride height and coated in zinc for corrosion prevention.

TIE RODS:
This ones simple gents... Ford still sells the Motorcraft brand Tie Rods... Main question here is, is there a drawback or issue with the OEM tie rod ends I don't know about that would justify buying a aftermarket product instead? And if so, any suggestions on products? I could be over thinking this since they are just tie rod ends. I just don't know what I don't know

TORSION BARS:
Ford seems to still have these in stick atm. Thoughts on whether i should bother changing the torsion bars/ keys after 20+ years? I'm almost positive that the OEM rubber pads above the keys are disintegrated by now so those need to be changed out.


Any input/knowledge is welcomed from anyone familiar with this Ranger suspension. I attached pics of Ol' Ranger so please take a gander so ya'll know what I'm working with

 

[sgtsandman]

Hello fellow Ranger Enthusiast. I need a little guidance or advice on what i should be doing with 20 year old suspension. For the readers who prefer skimming just refer to the bold text and their corresponding subsection in bold colored font.


This '05 Ranger looks like its been dragged through salt water and mud. I'm glad the PO got 230k plus miles on this baby but i feel its time to swap, well, everything out. All of the rubber is dry rotted and i feel the smooth rides she once had are far behind us. Currently i have a EDGE trim model with torsion bars. I've decided to go OEM with whatever i can source. Thank goodness they still sell the Torsion bars on the Ford website. Everything other OEM part Motorcraft had for this feat of engineering seems to be quickly disappearing. Just to put it out there after all these years, should i be doing anything for the leaf springs in the rear besides changing out the disintegrated bushings? In fact I'm pretty sure all the bushings including my sway bar stabilizer bushings are cooked (literally) do I'm changing those too.

CONTROL ARMS:
I'm on the fence about going OEM with the upper control arms and have been looking into a MEVOTECH TTX product for a possible swap. the zerk fitting service ports seem like a plus up. Ford does sell the OEM uppers still, but again they don't seem very beefy compared to the TTXs. I'm asking anyone who is familiar with this suspension whether i should change my Lower control arms at all. I know the ball joints have to be replaced at least but at this point i feel like full on replacements given the amount of blanketed corrosion would do me better at this point. For the lower arm assemblies however, it has been a nightmare to find passenger side Motorcraft P/N: 7L5Z3078A. Ford parts giant still has the left drivers side lower OEM control arm but therein lies my dilemma. Should i just go aftermarket on those as well? I am not familiar with suspension brands and the more research I'm trying to do on these brands the more I feel Google's AI responses are just ads that say very vague and generalized responses like a palm reader at a psychic shop ..." products are great but have mixed review among customers" ... yeah you can say that about anything. Mevotech, Detroit axle, MOOG, Dorman. I just want to know which way the community leans in terms of quality... Price is not really too much of an issue since I've always understood that you get what you pay for.... Anyway i may pull the trigger on this OEM passenger side lower control arm if push comes to shove but that would be source through Ebay. The seller only has a photo if the product label and virtually no other pics of the actual arm so that is a sketchy prospect at best. Do even need to be concerned with replacing these at all? Should I just try for new ball joints?

SHOCKS (front/rear):
I know I'm going aftermarket on these for sure. Does anyone have anything to suggest when it comes to products or size? I'm not doing anything crazy with the Ranger. Currently she's on KO3 tires and I had raised the front end and is now leveled with the back (I don't do too much hauling). I've been looking at Bilstein 4600 since most reviews and threads I've seen about them seem to be positive. I guess my main question here would be can i go with the 5100s instead because of the factory torsion lift capability?. I know the 4600s are for stock ride height but i have my front end raised about 1.5 inches maybe more. Would 5100s be good to run as well?

TIE RODS:
This ones simple gents... Ford still sells the Motorcraft brand Tie Rods... Main question here is, is there a drawback or issue with the OEM tie rod ends I don't know about that would justify buying a aftermarket product instead? And if so, any suggestions on products? I could be over thinking this since they are just tie rod ends. I just don't know what I don't know

TORSION BARS:
Ford seems to still have these in stick atm. Thoughts on whether i should bother changing the torsion bars/ keys after 20+ years? I'm almost positive that the OEM rubber pads above the keys are disintegrated by now so those need to be changed out.


Any input/knowledge is welcomed from anyone familiar with this Ranger suspension. I attached pics of Ol' Ranger so please take a gander so ya'll know what I'm working with


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Like any spring, they will sag over time due to wear an tear. So, you could replace them. Shop around for the best price. Tasca tends to have the best prices. Conversely, you do have the ability to crank the keys some to make up for any sag that may be there. You can only do that so many times before you will need new bars, but it is an option.

Mevotech TTX are a good product. Just make sure they are for an Edge and not a 4X4 Ranger. There are some differences in the knuckles between the two. I think the ball joints are smaller on the Edge. I have the TTX because of their reputation and the fact that they have grease fittings. As far as just replacing the ball joints, finding ones for the upper control arms is kind of tough. I ended up just replacing the entire arm. Though, doing that will require an alignment, where as if you can just replace the ball joints, you won't need one. If memory serves, you need to have a control arm that has removable ball joints. I don't know what to look for to determine if you can do it or not. Typically, Ford does not install upper control arms that give you the ability to do that.

For shocks, some of them will be listed with a suspension range they will match, like stock height 0" - 2", lifted 1.5" - 4", and so on. Rancho has been listed that way and I have seen some Bilstein listed that way as well. So, it depends on how much lift was put on the front end to level it as to which shock to pick. Sometimes, you need to do some digging, like going to the manufacturer's website to find that information as far as which shock model number fits what ride height. Rock Auto is often helpful in that way as far as their listings go and you can use that information to shop around elsewhere.

Tie rod ends. The only thing I have against them is the same thing I have against Motorcraft ball joints. No grease fittings. I replaced mine with Mevotech TTX for that reason.

 

[Curious Hound]

FYI. Only one thread per subject please. That eliminates confusion from some of your replies being in one thread and some in a different thread. All the info will be organized in one place. I deleted your second thread and moved this one to the proper forum since it already had a reply.

Thanks.

 

[dviensanchez]

FYI. Only one thread per subject please. That eliminates confusion from some of your replies being in one thread and some in a different thread. All the info will be organized in one place. I deleted your second thread and moved this one to the proper forum since it already had a reply.

Thanks.

Yes, sorry i was trying to figure out how to delete the last one i made in the GENERAL DISCUSSION. I'm new here and just figuring out how to navigate the forums.

 

[Curious Hound]

Yes, sorry i was trying to figure out how to delete the last one i made in the GENERAL DISCUSSION. I'm new here and just figuring out how to navigate the forums.

No problem. We're here to help.