HELP with suspension

[Rage4order]

I have a 96 Ranger and put new shocks on a short time ago and the ride is still terrible. Im pretty sure it's not the shocks, Can anyone give me any advice as to what to check next. Every time i hit a bump, rut or pothole it bangs from the front and rear. If I dont get this fixed soon the dentist is gonna have to put in a set of false teeth !!

Thanx!!

 

[bcost882]

what kinda shocks did you put in and are they big potholes?

 

[Rage4order]

They KYB GR-2's all the way around and the size of the pothole doesnt matter. it bang around on what seems to be the smallest bump or road imperfection.

 

[Spowerback]

monroe magnium serie reflex kyb gr2 procomp Skyjacker Superlift TRAILMASTER Rancho Series RS5000 Bilstein buy cheap dollars a you decided

 

[rurouni20xx]

spowerback english please? sounds like you bought soft shocks to be honest. i went with gabriel ultras and my ride is plush (no bottoming). the other thing you have to remember is the ranger is a lil ruff so youll have to put up with some bounce/jerkiness from it. take this test for your truck, have a buddy with a tape measure. measure the top of the bed to the ground at the wheel (axle). stand in the bed (or if your skinny find something that will make around 200 lbs) and measure the bed again. if it sags more than 1.5 inches than your shocks are soft, find harder ones. jump up and down on the rear bumper and see if it bottoms or comes close to bottoming too. you can do the same with the front bumper as well or lean on the hood on one side and shove on it. you shouldnt be able to shove more than 4 inches on it if they are good and stiff.

 

[Rage4order]

Thanks for the info. If this test fails, should I consider looking next at the ball joints, springs and control arms in that order? BTW thanks for askin Spowerback to speak english, I was confused at that too, but since bein a new guy, I didnt want to piss anyone off

 

[gnarlycharlie4u]

what tires are you running? what's the size/condition of them?

 

[Rage4order]

Jeez, off the top of my head I cant remember. They are standard size for that vehicle and they are in ok shape. probably about 6 months old

 

[Spowerback]

speak english not working longer

 

[92ranger2wd]

Check your radius arm bushings and radiator support bushings. Replacing both of these made my ranger ride/sound much better.

 

[gnarlycharlie4u]

Now the real question is just how FAST are you hitting these bumps and potholes?
Also, those 6 month old tires... if they have a heavy load rating; they're probably weighty tires and that'll make potholes feel hella worse.

Check balljoints, tierods, alignment...front body bushings, bushings on front swaybar if you have one.

+1

Check your radius arm bushings and radiator support bushings. Replacing both of these made my ranger ride/sound much better.

seriously?

monroe magnium serie reflex kyb gr2 procomp Skyjacker Superlift TRAILMASTER Rancho Series RS5000 Bilstein buy cheap dollars a you decided

lol easy on the acid... ok?

 

[92ranger2wd]

seriously?

Yes, seriously. The OP spoke of a loud banging noise that was present when going over bumps. My truck had a rotted out radiator support with broken support bushings. The result was that the radiator support would "BANG" and slam against the frame when going over bumps, even small bumps and at every speed. Likewise, when I would hit the brakes, my worn out radius arm bushings would cause my entire tire assembly to slam backwards. After fixing both of these problems, my ranger rides about as smooth as I could hope for a TTB.

 

[rurouni20xx]

my radius arm rod bushings would bang when they were toast as well, my current 92 2.3 truck makes a click noise and feels like the front wheels roll back 2 inches when the brakes are applied. i have new ones just havent had a chance to install them. one other question, how much air are you running in your tires? i run 40 psi in my 215/70r14s for fuel economy and they are quite ruff. around 32-35 is comfortable. if your under 20 you could be hitting a rim which will bang pretty good too lol. as for the english plz quote ive noticed he talks gibberish everywhere he posts and i can never make sense of what he says. the lay off the acid was pretty good tho, its either acid caffiene red bull or shrooms. that or somebody needs some ritalin.

 

[gnarlycharlie4u]

my radius arm rod bushings would bang when they were toast as well, my current 92 2.3 truck makes a click noise and feels like the front wheels roll back 2 inches when the brakes are applied. i have new ones just havent had a chance to install them. one other question, how much air are you running in your tires? i run 40 psi in my 215/70r14s for fuel economy and they are quite ruff. around 32-35 is comfortable. if your under 20 you could be hitting a rim which will bang pretty good too lol. as for the english plz quote ive noticed he talks gibberish everywhere he posts and i can never make sense of what he says. the lay off the acid was pretty good tho, its either acid caffiene red bull or shrooms. that or somebody needs some ritalin.

ah... you learn something new every day i suppose.

and yea Spowerback's spastic word vomit was reminiscent of some trip reports on Something Awful or Bluelight. haha