2WD Suspension Rebuild

[Swifster]

At 273K, the front of the truck is a little tired. I want to do a complete suspension rebuild. The truck is a 2001 with coil springs. What's needed... Do I need a spring compression tool two knock out the ball joints or will the spring just drop and hit the floor? Is it more cost effective to replace the control arms or rebuild them? I haven't done one of these trucks before. What can I expect?

 

[JoshT]

Complete front suspension rebuild. You are looking at upper and lower ball joints and bushings, as well as new shocks. You might also want to look at your inner and outer tie rods, but mine were still good on my 99 4x4 when I did a rebuild at 175K. You've actually got an easier task ahead that I did because you don't have the additional 4wd stuff or torsion bars to deal with. I'd recommend Moog for everything because they seem to last longer than most others out there.

You only option for the upper control arm will be replacement. The uppers come from the factory non replaceable, but I believe that all the replacements have removable ball joints. Passenger side is a one piece control are, simple remove and replace. The driver side could be a one or a two piece. If you have the one piece it's same as the passenger side. With the two piece you can either buy a new outer section, or replace it with a one piece. If you choose to stick wit the two piece I'd suggest picking up a set of pivot bushings for that side. If you aren't lowered, and aren't planning to be you shouldn't need camber/caster adjusters.

For the lower control arm I'm not even sure if they are available complete anymore. I know I was able to get Moog complete lower control arms for my 99 4x4, they included new ball joints and bushings for about the same price as the parts were individually. If you can find them and the price is the same I'd recommend going that route as it's a fair bit quicker than trying to remove the old ball joints and bushings and press the new ones in. Otherwise pick up a new set of ball joints, and I'd recommend bushings too. If you know someone with/have access to hydraulic a press I'd recommend using it to remove and install the new ball joints and bushings. If no press is available you will need a ball joint press kit from the auto parts store. I'd recommend leaving the control arm on the truck to do the ball joint and of course you have to remove the are to change the bushings.

I can't help you with the springs never removed them on a newer Ranger, only on older I beam trucks.

I would personally recommend MOOG for everything. I did lower ball joints at about 140K and used the cheaper stuff from the parts house, by 160K they were bad. I found my cheapest prices at Midwest Auto Parts on eBay, seller midwest-autoparts. If you want to check prices there find you needed part numbers elsewhere and search his store for them. I know I saved over $100 but can't remember exact amounts.

 

[Swifster]

It seems to me I could get used lower control arms and the cost to rebuild them was still cheaper than buying new. I planned on replacing the bushings too. I want to put a new set up shocks, rotors, and wheel bearings. The tie rods ends I will do regardless and I'll have the front end apart already.

I'll put a new set of brakes on the back, new shocks and some fresh gear lube and call the rear end go to go. The U-Joints are original to the truck and will probably do those too.

 

[JoshT]

That could very well be the case. I considered doing that with the control arms from the Explorer engine donor I have for my first gen. All SLA Explorers are torsion bar so they would have bolted right on in place of the one on my 99, but I found a better deal before I got that far. Buying locally the bushings and ball joint would have been about $77 (pretax)per side, the control arms through the seller I mentioned above were $72 per side. That said they don't even appear to be available any more. Sounds like you have the right idea though, get a spare set of arms to put the new stuff in, that way you are ready to swap them out with minimal down time.

Sounds like you have a good plan on the back too. I did the fluid and shocks as well. I still need to do the shoes in the rear, I've had a set sitting in storage for years just haven't gotten around to installing them. Kept thinking about doing a disk swap, but now that I've decided not to I need to get them installed. Need to bleed the brakes, and possibly change the fluid as well. I know I have heavy tires (32x11.5R15 all terrain) but I feel it could stop better. I also want to put better shocks in the rear, installed bilsteins in the front but ran short on cash and threw el-cheapo Monroes on the rear. At 6 bucks a piece I figured they would last a few months till I bought Bilsteins for the rear. My U-joints were fine but I do need to service the slip joint in the drive shaft.

 

[Swifster]

That is the idea. Minimum down time. I have a carport and the local code enforcement guy is a pain in the ass. I want to keep this to a couple days at most. I can get lower control arms for $25 a side, so why not?

 

[JoshT]

If you have everything ready you can swap the parts in the front end in a day no problem. I did it in two days, but as I mentioned I'm 4x4 and was doing it in the afternoons after work. Unfortunately I don't have a carport I was out in the dirt and grass with a jack that was too short. Fortunately for me I don't have to worry about code enforcement (not even sure if I have a code that would apply to that). I'd recommend that you go ahead and start soaking those bolts with penetrating fluid at least a week before you start the project. I didn't have any problems, but Florida has a little more rust issues than Central Georgia.

That's the very reason I kept the old lowers from my truck. I'll probably never replace them again, but dad has an 02 4x4 Ranger. Sooner or later he'll need to do the same job. I have access to a hydraulic press at work, and its better to have the old ones ready to go than fight with that rental ball joint tool.