Stiff Ranger

[ZMan]

Found this on another automotive forum I'm on..

So my parents bought my brother this truck a couple of years ago, I never really drove it. He complained that it rode shitty and didn't have any grip. I told him it was a truck, and to get over it.

I'm now borrowing said truck for a few weeks--holy shit. The rear end is 100% rigid. Jumping on the tailgate doesn't compress the truck at all, just makes the tire sidewalls flex. Gingerly rolling over speedbumps bounces the back of the truck in the air. the ABS kicks in whenever I brake even sort of hard because there's no grip back there at all. And as i found out yesterday on a wet onramp, it's got some pretty sweet lift-off oversteer.

looking at other rangers, there are generally 2-4 leafs in the rear leaf springs. This one has 8.

Is this a normal thing to do to rangers? Is this some hauling/towing option? I can't imagine this truck is rated to haul as much as these springs can take. I'm about to swap the rear springs/dampers from a parts ranger before it kills my entire family.

 

[Twizzler09]

That looks like something we did to an old flatbed that came into my old job a couple years back. Customer complained that the truck sat too low (it dipped in the back, the flatbed was a modification that weighed a crap-ton more than the original bed...) So we took the leaf springs off an old suburban and added them to the springs on the truck and voila, it sat perfectly. Only problem was the guy got so used to the back-end being squishy.... that when he got the truck back he said it felt too stiff

 

[Hopman]

The last time I saw a truck with that many leaves in the spring packs it had a DOT number & was hauling an excavator!

I don't think it was a factory option. Somebody must've had 'em custom made!

 

[gwaii]

those springs are custom made from a spring shop-you can tell from the square cut ends on the leafs.

 

[86 slo-vo]

lol the last pic explains it all...

 

[daniel3507]

Yeah that last pic definitely should raise some flags

 

[ZMan]

oh ya its completely obvious its custom, just funny!

 

[colby450xc]

Yeah..........Just from the rake of the truck how could you not be curious as to why the back end sits so damn high? And wtf would someone be hauling with such a little truck that it would need that large of a leaf pack????

 

[Hopman]

Yeah..........Just from the rake of the truck how could you not be curious as to why the back end sits so damn high? And wtf would someone be hauling with such a little truck that it would need that large of a leaf pack????

Slide-in camper is about the only reason I can think of.

I had a friend who had something similar done with a '92 Chevy 1500.

 

[adsm08]

Holy Hannah in the morning Jehoshaphat!!!!!!! Our 8500 GVWR 250 doesn't have that kind of springage in the rear.

 

[superds]

I could see that as being a local delivery truck for an auto parts store or brick delivery company.

 

[Hopman]

I could see that as being a local delivery truck for an auto parts store or brick delivery company.

Either that or they were putting Bobcat's in the bed.

 

[dp88]

Maybe he has a Fat chick fetish.... has to get them home some way.....

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

Wait a minute, we need to hook this guy and the guy wanting a 7.3 ranger up...

 

[PickupMan04 FX4 L2]

hmm custom spring pack and a rear swaybar.. id say throw a hard tanneau on it pump the rears up to 100 psi and you have your self a shine / drug hauler...


fishy fishy says i