What part is this small shock absorber.

[tekkatekka]

1991 Ranger 4x4, 4.0 engine. On the drivers side below the power steering pump and toward the frame there is a small shock that mounts to a bracket attached to the engine. This is probably the original part. What does it do and how critical is it to replace?

 

[Curious Hound]

Engine vibration dampener

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Toss it if you want.

 

[RobbieD]

It's not necessary, but it did take some stress off of the motor and transmission mounts. If you do remove it, then it'd be a good idea to occasionally check that the motor and transmission mounts are unbroken (especially if you beat on the truck a lot).

 

[19Walt93]

It's not to protect the mounts, it's an engineer soaking up the vibration from a poorly balanced engine rather than actually fixing the problem. I'm sure accounting was ecstatic because it was cheap.