Rough Ride

[Kim]

Man....my Ranger rides reeeally rough. New shocks all around, nothing is bottoming out. Suspension moves by hand, but driving you feel every bump hard and it actually throws the truck around some. A few years ago my Dad had a early 90's Ranger that also dramatically stiffened way up once I installed the new shocks for him. Wrong shocks? I bought them from the same local chain store in both cases.

 

[adsm08]

Sounds like you bought shit shocks.

 

[RonD]

Tire pressure?
Tires are first thing that hits a bump or drop, sidewalls should absorb these unless over inflated
Its YOUR vehicle, so tire pressure is YOUR choice

Disconnect shocks on one axle then bounce that end of vehicle, that's the softest ride you can get with the springs you have
In the rear you can add some weight to soften the ride, Ranger has 1,000 EXTRA pound rating(1/2 ton) in the bed so springs have to be a bit stiff like all pickups

If shocks are too stiff then they can override the springs, shocks are there to dampen the rebound of springs to stop them from bouncing

 

[Eddo Rogue]

+1 crappy shocks...also tire type/pressure...Rangers are picky about these things. I get mad bumpsteer not setup right. I like mine a lil stiffer up front, and baby smooth in the back....drove a wasted buddy home layin in the bed and was told she rides nice.

 

[Curious Hound]

+1 crappy shocks...also tire type/pressure...Rangers are picky about these things. I get mad bumpsteer not setup right. I like mine a lil stiffer up front, and baby smooth in the back....drove a wasted buddy home layin in the bed and was told she rides nice.

Take that with a grain of salt. He was wasted.

 

[sgtsandman]

I'm going to go with the shocks being the issue.

 

[Kim]

Thanks. I'll start checking that stuff out this weekend.

 

[8thTon]

What year, and is it an Edge model? The Edge used the suspension from the 4WD and therefore longer shocks. If you put them on a regular 2WD they can bottom out.

 

[Kim]

This is a 2001 Edge 2wd, 4.0 standard cab.
Ok, looked at a few things. Tire pressures are good 35 psi. I snapped a pic of the shock and took a few measurements that may help.
With the truck sitting static, I measure 17 inches from the bottom of the top shock mount (where the shock butts up into it) to the bottom of the shock where it mounts to the LCA. Raising the front with a jack and letting the suspension hang free with the tires off the deck I measure 19 inches. I really can't bounce the front of the truck very much at all with just my own weight. Not concerned as much about the rear, because it is a truck after all and some kind of load back there would actually help I suppose. I haven't taken the shocks off just yet though because I'll have to get some more time. Thanks for the replies!

 

[Curious Hound]

What kind of tires are you running? Tire size? Rim diameter? You could easily bring your pressures down to 32 front and 30 rear. If you are running large diameter wheels with low profile tires, that also makes a difference. More sidewall softens the ride. I'll let others address the shocks. All I know is that you don't want to go too cheap on them.

 

[RonD]

If possible remove the shocks, or remove bottom bolts, on front and then try to bounce the front
If its still hard to bounce then the "spring's" weight rating is too high and shocks are not the issue

The 2001 Edge 2WD might use torsion bar "springs", and someone may have cranked them to raise the height of the front to match the rear or just to run larger diameter tires
The cost of doing that is free, but it makes for a harsher ride

The Spring weight rating, front and back decides ride quality, the shocks are there to dampen the bouncing after hitting a bump so can effect ride quality if they are too stiff but you need to check springs FIRST because that's where ride quality starts

Pickups often do have stiffer springs in the rear because they have at least a 1/2 ton(1,000lb) load rating over their empty weight, and its just cheaper for truck makers to put in higher rated springs to get that 1/2 ton rating
And that's often why pickups are higher in the back
As an owner you can put in lower weight rated rear leaf springs with an added Overload spring, so when bed is empty you have a better ride but don't lose the 1/2 ton rating

Tire pressure is DRIVER'S choice, period
Tire makers have their recommended pressure range for that tire's load rating, and thats reflected by Fords pressure rating for the STOCK tires that came on the vehicle
But they are not driving the truck, you are, so you need to find the best pressure for YOUR roads and driving conditions

 

[Kim]

Thanks, guys. I removed both front shocks completely and then tried bouncing the front again with my own weight. NOW it seems to bounce like it should! I'm buying some better shocks tomorrow; and not the cheapest Monroe Matics they have in stock again either.

RonD, you're correct: my 01 Edge does have torsion bars in the front and I had already thought maybe someone had cranked them up a bit but I wanted to check the easy stuff first...which is the shocks. Should the new shocks not do the trick after all, I'll re-evaluate the ride height and see about lowering it some. (It does seem to sit a little higher than you'd think a 2wd truck normally would but that was the way it was when I bought it.)

 

[MikeG]

Truck would ordinarily sit 2-3" higher in the back, unless there was some factory package that sat level. If it's close to level the someone may have dorked with the torsion bars.

My experience with shocks going bad is that they have lose resistance to compressing, but that was with the atrociously bad factory shocks on my 97 (twin I beam). With the weight of the beams the truck needed some much better shocks. You could easily compress the factory shocks by hand, not even straining to do it, after just a year or two.

 

[8thTon]

Cranking the bolt on the torsion bar does not change the spring rate or the weight that's on the spring at all, it just props it up - no different than if you put a spacer under a coil spring, or longer shackles on a leaf.

My 2004 2WD is an Edge too. I find that with 35psi front it is more harsh - and also with 35 in the rears unloaded all the time the center of the tires wore fast. I run 32 all around now.

My truck had still poly swaybar bushings up front, and I ended up with slightly softer ones. I liked the response of the ones that were on it but these are probably a better compromise. Of course the swaybar bushings didn't effect ride for straight-on bumps.

Anyway, it sounds like it may be mostly your shocks.

 

[Kim]

Changed the front shocks out for better ones, and success! Thanks everyone!