Yes, Another Sway Bar Question

[Lefty]

Older as in? ????year????

According to the tech page here any SLA Explorer sway bar will fit any SLA Ranger.

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/sway-bar-options-for-your-ford-ranger/

That post on sway bars is most interesting but there seems to be some discrepancies. @lil_Blue_Ford notes...

"The one I’m using on my green Ranger came off a 98 Explorer with the 5.0, it mounted exactly like the Ranger bar but was thicker. I found an even bigger bar on a 97 Explorer 5.0, but it mounted to the engine crossmember instead of the frame in front of the crossmember and would take a little fussing to fit. I went with the bolt on one. "

I'm ready to take his advice except I wonder if the fitment is different from the Edge which was made with torsion bar instead of coil over springs.

 

[Josh B]

Tell us something about the NON SLA versions

 

[stmitch]

I'm ready to take his advice except I wonder if the fitment is different from the Edge which was made with torsion bar instead of coil over springs.

97-01 Explorers were also torsion bar front suspension. The front frame/suspension are identical to the torsion bar Rangers (with minor differences in torsion bar rates, sway bar diameters, etc). All of the hardware should be interchangeable.

 

[Lefty]

97-01 Explorers were also torsion bar front suspension. The front frame/suspension are identical to the torsion bar Rangers (with minor differences in torsion bar rates, sway bar diameters, etc). All of the hardware should be interchangeable.

Thank you, @stmitch! 98 Explorer it is!

I'm sorry to be so fussy about fitment, but I have had my fair share of problems.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

That post on sway bars is most interesting but there seems to be some discrepancies. @lil_Blue_Ford notes...

"The one I’m using on my green Ranger came off a 98 Explorer with the 5.0, it mounted exactly like the Ranger bar but was thicker. I found an even bigger bar on a 97 Explorer 5.0, but it mounted to the engine crossmember instead of the frame in front of the crossmember and would take a little fussing to fit. I went with the bolt on one. "

I'm ready to take his advice except I wonder if the fitment is different from the Edge which was made with torsion bar instead of coil over springs.

Sorry, should have been a little more clear that the 97 Explorer that I saw with the heavy bar was torsion bar suspension (as is the 98 Explorer) and the 00 Ranger I was putting a bar on is a torsion bar. I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I’d have to do to make the 97 bar work, but when I found an almost as beefy bar on a 98 that used factory Ranger mounts, I said that’s money right there.

I never thought to look at my 2wd Ranger to see how a bar would fit on there. I wouldn’t be surprised if it fit fine even with coils since it’s still an A-arm suspension

 

[Lefty]

Good enough, good buddy. I'm going to go the grave yard maybe this week. I will measure my own Ranger first.

My first quest was to repair and restore, but having done all that, my next is to modify, to improve wherever possible. The stock Ranger suspension is not bad at all, but every pickup suffers from poor weight distribution which can most certainly be improved. Thanks to you and others here, I've caught the bug.

I'm still on a learning curve. I'm willing to bet that my next move will be the rear end. After all, a tight turn and a touch on the brakes wants to throw the rear end around too. i'm thinking about a bigger bar there and Duff traction bars too.

I may not really NEED any of this, but I am most certainly having FUN.

I've also learned a little trick along the way that pays for my scrap yard fun. I pull a couple sets of fender flairs while I'm there and sell them. They are very popular items. I can easily pick up a $100.00, sometimes even turning a small profit.

 

[JoshT]

That post on sway bars is most interesting but there seems to be some discrepancies. @lil_Blue_Ford notes...

"The one I’m using on my green Ranger came off a 98 Explorer with the 5.0, it mounted exactly like the Ranger bar but was thicker. I found an even bigger bar on a 97 Explorer 5.0, but it mounted to the engine crossmember instead of the frame in front of the crossmember and would take a little fussing to fit. I went with the bolt on one. "

I'm ready to take his advice except I wonder if the fitment is different from the Edge which was made with torsion bar instead of coil over springs.

I don't mind learning something. After seeing this post this afternoon, I did a little more searching on this.

It seems that 95-97 Explorers used a different swaybar arrangement than the 98+ Explorers and Rangers. The earlier ones had the brame brackets in a different location that may not be compatible with the later models. It sounds like a more important detail may be the bar itself. As @lil_Blue_Ford said, the 97 Explorer bar is bigger, but apparently the 95-75 bars were also hollow. It might be bigger, but the smaller, solid, 98+ bars are going to be as (i4f not more) rigid.

As noted above, all the 98-03 Explorers had torsion bar suspension. The 2wd had the same front suspension as your Edge.

Tell us something about the NON SLA versions

Same link, and there is a whole lot of information on those buried in the suspension forums. Now if you were asking about sway bars for SAS, you're probably on your own.

Good enough, good buddy. I'm going to go the grave yard maybe this week. I will measure my own Ranger first.

You should be good with the front bar from any these:

98-11 Ranger
98-03 Explorer 2 or 4 door
01-05 Explorer Sport Trac

Just find one big enough for your tastes. I'm like 90% positive a 98-11 coil spring Ranger bar will fit as well, if it visually looks the same it most likely will. I'd focus on the torsion bar vehicles though, the 4wd/AWDs will likely have the bigger bars.

If you spot a BII, check the rear for a 1" sway bar. They only came factory on the BII and should bolt right into any 83-11 Ranger.

 

[Lefty]

I don't mind learning something. After seeing this post this afternoon, I did a little more searching on this.

It seems that 95-97 Explorers used a different swaybar arrangement than the 98+ Explorers and Rangers. The earlier ones had the brame brackets in a different location that may not be compatible with the later models. It sounds like a more important detail may be the bar itself. As @lil_Blue_Ford said, the 97 Explorer bar is bigger, but apparently the 95-75 bars were also hollow. It might be bigger, but the smaller, solid, 98+ bars are going to be as (i4f not more) rigid.

As noted above, all the 98-03 Explorers had torsion bar suspension. The 2wd had the same front suspension as your Edge.



Same link, and there is a whole lot of information on those buried in the suspension forums. Now if you were asking about sway bars for SAS, you're probably on your own.




You should be good with the front bar from any these:

98-11 Ranger
98-03 Explorer 2 or 4 door
01-05 Explorer Sport Trac

Just find one big enough for your tastes. I'm like 90% positive a 98-11 coil spring Ranger bar will fit as well, if it visually looks the same it most likely will. I'd focus on the torsion bar vehicles though, the 4wd/AWDs will likely have the bigger bars.

If you spot a BII, check the rear for a 1" sway bar. They only came factory on the BII and should bolt right into any 83-11 Ranger.

Thanks Josh. Thanks a lot for all that hard work!

You must be right! I went shopping on the internet only to find out what you just said, that those Explorer bars were the same. It's 90 degrees this week. Now I just might pick up a used one on Ebay and save myself the blood, sweat, and tears.

I will look for a BII rear sway bar too. With bigger wheels and tires, I get a real sure footed feeling except when I over steer at higher speeds. With your help I'm sure that will be corrected.

 

[Josh B]

Josh B said:


Tell us something about the NON SLA versions
Which I know nothing of much less the SAS

I have two simple versions, a 93 Ranger 4.0 w/M50D 4X4
and a 96 Explorer w/A4LD, which I wish to ditch Xcepting the rear diff which I believe is a 31 spline and a bit wider.

Any suggestion would be very much appreciated

 

[JoshT]

I have two simple versions, a 93 Ranger 4.0 w/M50D 4X4
and a 96 Explorer w/A4LD, which I wish to ditch Xcepting the rear diff which I believe is a 31 spline and a bit wider.

Any suggestion would be very much appreciated

Just checking, do you know the terms we use to refer to Ranger/Explorer suspensions and what they mean?

SAS = solid axle swap
SLA = short long arm
TIB = twin I beam
TTB = twin traction beam

SA never came in a Ranger, hence the second S.

SLA is what's talked about in the thread for Lefty, and includes 96-03 Explorers and 98-11 Rangers.

TIB and TTB are the 2wd and 4wd versions of the suspension used in BII, 83-97 Rangers, and 91-95 Explorers. These are well covered in the link above and in the suspension sub forums.

My only addition to what those provide is if offroading a lot, it might be worthwhile to investigate endlink disconnects. It seems that a lot of people choose to ditch the on the 4x4s all together since they restrict flex. If I offroaded much I'd go for the disconnects for easy switch between on and off road.

 

[Lefty]

FYI: I went with the 1997 Explorer front sway bar. It might be hollow. It might not be the absolute best, but it was only $28.00 and still better than the original ranger bar. Explorers are heavier, especially this one. It was from a V8 4WD. And just like @lil_Blue_Ford said, it appears to be a direct bolt-on.

If I remember correctly, it is always good to beef up BOTH front and back at the very same time. I have put leaf spring clamps on the back already. They tend to help the rear sway bar. But if I need more, I will also look into a Bronco II bar. Thanks for all your help, guys.

And, as long as the weather has been so nice, I need yet another project, so I took the advice of @PetroleumJunkie412 and @cbxer55 and ordered a pair of Jame Duff traction bars. They are not really necessary, but I get off road a little sometimes. Why not?

 

[Lefty]

Just checking, do you know the terms we use to refer to Ranger/Explorer suspensions and what they mean?

SAS = solid axle swap
SLA = short long arm
TIB = twin I beam
TTB = twin traction beam

SA never came in a Ranger, hence the second S.

SLA is what's talked about in the thread for Lefty, and includes 96-03 Explorers and 98-11 Rangers.

TIB and TTB are the 2wd and 4wd versions of the suspension used in BII, 83-97 Rangers, and 91-95 Explorers. These are well covered in the link above and in the suspension sub forums.

My only addition to what those provide is if offroading a lot, it might be worthwhile to investigate endlink disconnects. It seems that a lot of people choose to ditch the on the 4x4s all together since they restrict flex. If I offroaded much I'd go for the disconnects for easy switch between on and off road.

Thanks for the info. I'm a total noob. I get offroad for farm work sometimes, not often or enough to disconnect the end links.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

FYI: I went with the 1997 Explorer front sway bar. It might be hollow. It might not be the absolute best, but it was only $28.00 and still better than the original ranger bar. Explorers are heavier, especially this one. It was from a V8 4WD. And just like @lil_Blue_Ford said, it appears to be a direct bolt-on.

If I remember correctly, it is always good to beef up BOTH front and back at the very same time. I have put leaf spring clamps on the back already. They tend to help the rear sway bar. But if I need more, I will also look into a Bronco II bar. Thanks for all your help, guys.

View attachment 94060

And, as long as the weather has been so nice, I need yet another project, so I took the advice of @PetroleumJunkie412 and @cbxer55 and ordered a pair of Jame Duff traction bars. They are not really necessary, but I get off road a little sometimes. Why not?

You'll like them. A lot.

 

[JoshT]

Thanks for the info. I'm a total noob. I get offroad for farm work sometimes, not often or enough to disconnect the end links.

That one was for Josh B

 

[Lefty]

I have the traction bars by Duff on my 2011. Was the best handling improvement I made yet.

I took your advice and installed the Duff traction bars. I'm not entirely sure if this was a handling improvement, but i'm glad I have them. My little 3.0 liter is certainly no hot rod, but i noticed right away that the shifts were cleaner.

Thanks!