Newbie suspension question...any help would be great

[GetU1]

Hello everyone, I just purchased a 91 reg cab ranger last night for a pretty decent price, but am new to this whole world and new to lifted trucks. The truck has 84,xxx original miles on it and a 3" body lift with oversized tires. I am not a heavy off roader or anything like that, and basically bought the truck to haul my motorcycle and have a 4x4 for the winters here in PA. Now my questions are when I look under the body lift cyclinders the bushings look terrible deteroiating and all, what/where do I purchase these bushings? Also it looks like the shocks and springs are all original and rusty and not good looking. Can anyone give me a suggestion for a good shock, spring, and whatever else I could get to replace these? (was looking at some skyjacker shocks, etc but don't know what I REALLY need) I don't really care about the lift aspect of the truck but since the body lift is already there I guess I'll keep it, as for the rest of the suspension just looking for something that is decent of hauling and occasional off roading. Lastly, my ranger will be taken to my mechanic this saturday for him to look it completely off and get it inspected, I know he will tell me what it needs but I want to have somewhat of a clue and know my options before hand. Thank you ahead of time for any head. And this is a GREAT site

 

[railman]

well, when ya drove it did it seem to "bounce" excessively when you hit any bumps? or, you can do the old push down on the bumper and see if the truck settles right back or keeps bouncing for awhile.....this will tell ya if the shocks are actually bad ( unless you can see where the fluid is actually leaking out of them ) just cause they look rusty doesn't mean they are bad

if it all seems firm, then the shocks are good...

as for the springs, if the truck doesn't look like it is overly "raked" towards the front, then the front springs are prolly ok as well...

the rear springs should have some arc to them...if they look flat or if there are any breaks they will need replaced...if not then they should be ok as well....also while you are looking at the rear springs check the spring hangers, they are notorious for rusting out...

the body bushings can be had from Summit, local parts store or any other number of sources....

and your mechanic will give ya the lowdown on any balljoint, tie rod, or bushing issues in the suspension...

hope this helps....

l8r, John

 

[GetU1]

...

Thanks a ton rainmail, now I atleast can gie my mechanic a heads up on what to pay extra attention on for me. Is there anything else these trucks are notorious for that I should be paying attention too? Basically going to tell my mechanic to check over the whole suspension and 4WD system, since that is the main reason I need the truck and obviously drop all of the fluids and replace them since he doesn't charge me much for that stuff. Lastly, are changing the body bushings a tough job or something he should have no problem banging out in a couple hours? Thanks again and can't wait for it to snow up here so I can go out and have some fun.

 

[railman]

since it has a bodylift, then the factory pain in the butt sleeves should be gone...just a matter of unbolting, lifting one side a little to place the new bushings and repeating on the other side...

glad to help....

l8r, John

 

[GetU1]

...

Perfect

 

[4x4junkie]

Actually the sleeves don't need to come apart for a bodylift, the lift pucks are just placed on top of them. Some trucks have threaded-together sleeves, some are flared. Not sure when the switch was made, or if it's only certain vehicles (my BII has threaded sleeves, my Ranger, flared). The flared ones were a HUGE PITA for sure
If there's a ton of rust, that could present an issue too.

 

[railman]

yeah, i know they don't have to come apart for a bodylift, i was just sayin' that maybe they did to put in the new bolts for the lift ( had to for a buddies truck when he did his bodylift )

good luck anyways, and don't be surprised if they haven't been

l8r, John