Need help finding a suspension part or substitute.

[reed_rosa]

Hi,
Please forgive me if this question has been answered. I've searched, without luck and I'm not a mechanic.

I took my 2WD 1996 Ford Ranger v6 3.0L to the dealership because I was hearing a banging noise when starting or stopping.

The said I needed the following two parts, that Ford doesn't make anymore, in fact, it took a lot of asking just to get part numbers.

The parts I need are:
F57Z 3306 AXLE
-and-
F57Z 3007

The said they are part of the I BEAM and Bushings for same.

I've googled a good bit and can't find a parts schematic, nor can I find anyone selling these parts.

Can anyone recommend a dealer with these parts or a substitute?

Thanks in Advance,
Reed

 

[adsm08]

Knowing exactly what those parts are would be very helpful. I don't have a lot of suspension base numbers memorized.

 

[cvar]

Hmm, dealership says your TTB (Twin Traction Beam) front axle is bent? Not bloody likely. Chances are you only need the rubber pivot bushings, not the whole axle. A junkyard would have an axle. Bushings are available at many auto parts stores. See parts here (diags but no parts # listed):

http://www.silverstatefordparts.com/parts/1996/FORD/RANGER/?siteid=214290&vehicleid=1138092&section=FRONT%20SUSPENSION&group=FRONT%20SUSPENSION&subgroup=SUSPENSION%20COMPONENTS&component=Axle%20beam


What is part F57Z-3306? Are your sure? Did you mean F57Z-3006 and F57Z 3007? Your front I-beam (part 3007) is shown here:

 

[reed_rosa]

cvar - thanks you are correct, I miss keyed the part, it is F57Z-3006.

I'm with you, I thought saying the whole AXEL went bad seems kind of extreme, I guess now I'm in search for part number for the rubber piviot bushings. With 100+ thousand miles of abuse I can see those going bad.

Reed

 

[cvar]

Um, the bushing part # was also shown at the bottom of that photo that I posted. That's IF this particular bushing was worn. A big IF, cuz I wouldn't trust what that dealer told you. Not after that diagnosis.

Jack up the front, and jiggle stuff around. Chances are you'll notice something amiss. Have you inspected all the rubber bushings up front? Including your axle pivots, radius arm bushings, sway bar bushings, sway bar links, ball joints, shocks, etc. Mine are same vintage, and going bad.

Bushings are like these: http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fr/full.aspx?Page=109

.

 

[reed_rosa]

Just to give a bit of non-closure to this story.

I went over to a couple of friends who have lots of years of auto work under their belts.

Both of them heard the noise, they looked at everything underneath (man having a lift is SWEET) and did some push / pull test - they said everything looked great.

Their best guess is something like a planetary gear in the transmission with a bad tooth.

Their advice is to drive it until it breaks, and then it will be much easier to find what's causing the noise. Once that happens, I will be sure to update this thread.

Reed

 

[Surrey]

Just to give a bit of non-closure to this story.

I went over to a couple of friends who have lots of years of auto work under their belts.

Both of them heard the noise, they looked at everything underneath (man having a lift is SWEET) and did some push / pull test - they said everything looked great.

Their best guess is something like a planetary gear in the transmission with a bad tooth.

Their advice is to drive it until it breaks, and then it will be much easier to find what's causing the noise. Once that happens, I will be sure to update this thread.

Reed

The problem with that strategy is you run the risk of breaking down somewhere shitty.

 

[Captain Ledd]

My "banging" when starting or stopping was when the inertia ring broke off the rubber isolator on the rear driveshaft (it's up at the end of the transmission). Depending on where it stopped it might have appeared perfectly fine on the driveshaft.

Mine's a 97 and I've never done any front bushing work, now had 220,000 miles on the clock. Though I'm thinking the time might be soon, steering is getting just a bit squirrely (but no banging).

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I have replaced the axle pivot bushings in an early Explorer with the polyurethane ones. Its not too hard, but unless the axle pivot bushings are bad, I would not suggest doing it.

The radius arm bushings (not shown in the fig above), but item 16, the radius arm stabs thru them (the rear, pointy end in the pic) and they will go bad and you really cannot feel it with the vehicle on the lift, as the axles hang down and put everything in a bind. The clue to the radius arm bushings being bad are tires that wear funny, and the toe in and out constantly changes. These bushings are also not difficult to replace, but I don't suggest it unless you have jack, jackstands, and enough tools to drop the axles out of the vehicle. Again, polyurethane ones are great, and never wear out, though I changed my poly ones recently because they squeaked bad.

Charles

 

[naford]

If it happens at low speed can you have somebody stand outside and listen to give us a front to back and side to side. Maybe if we had a corner to work with. If it's in the middle driveline could give you a clunking noise as it's loaded and off loaded. I know that there are several articles about greasing the slip joint between the transmission and the driveshaft maybe that's the issue.

I wouldn't wait for something bad to happen. You could be trading a cheap fix for a more expensive problem. Like if all you had to do was to replace a bushing in the front end it would be cheaper than if you had metal on metal contact.