2006 Ranger STX "Street" Project

[TheTwanksta]

Finally found a BroncoII Rear Sway Bar local, I was holding my toungue until I saw it with my own eyes, as I had to drive two hours to pick it up! haha!

For those of you who have been looking for one of these bars, check out http://www.car-part.com. They have about 30 BroncoII registered in their database across the country. I happened to find one in Lakeland, FL, two hours away from me. I sent an email and had a reponse the next morning. I sent my payment and had them hold it for me and drove down to pick it up the same day. You will want to make sure they go and actually MEASURE the bar. I made it very clear I wanted the 1" rear sway bar and everything was perfect!

Here she is in all her glory, straight out of the salvage yard. I paid $50 for it and they pulled everything for me.

Cleaned up good as new with a little purple power!

Here, you can really see the difference between the stock ranger sway bar(this is the rear bar in the Roush kit from Hillbank Motorsports) and the BroncoII sway bar:

The end links were different from the ones I had installed on my Ranger, so I was worried it wouldnt fit without replacing the ranger endlinks with the ones from the BII, the bar was also shaped a little differently. Good news guys, it bolts right up with the stock ranger endlinks! However, I may try installing the BII endlinks as well(new ones with Energy bushings) since they look a little beefier and they are shorter.

Please excuse the dirty truck, its been raining every day here in Central FL. Getting ready for the new transplant!

You can clearly see here the difference in the thickness of the sway bars.

 

[TheTwanksta]

And since I teased you guys a little bit, here is a shot of my train horns from Train Horns & Train Horn Kits: Loudest Horns Available. I have upgraded them with 1/2" airlines and 200psi, LOVE having them when someone pulls out in front of me or starts merging into my lane. They straighten up real quick! They have been on the truck for over 4 years now and never given me a single problem!

 

[TheTwanksta]

BII Rear Sway Bar Initial Impressions:
Definitely can feel the difference. My truck started out with NO rear sway bar, then a few days ago I installed the Roush kit(I figured Id never find a BII, haha). But this allowed me to get a feel for the stock Ranger sway bar for a few days, which actually made quite a big difference over stock as well. I took the rear sway back off before installing the BII bar and went for a drive around the block, amazing how sloppy the rear felt!

Now, with the BII on, it was just as big of a difference as it was going from no sway bar to the stock Ranger bar. One of the biggest differences I noticed around town is that the truck no longer "rocks" side to side when pulling into a driveway or uneven surface, which used to annoy the crap out of me. Now it just stays FLAT, it really takes a lot to get it to lean now. The BII bar is definitely a suspension upgrade I recommend to all "Street" ranger owners.

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

Sweet truck!, I like the work U've put into it.

 

[TheTwanksta]

Thanks man!

 

[TheTwanksta]

Found out the new Roush front sway bar actually needs upgraded(wider) End links as well, which did not come with the kit. I found that the hole in the upgraded sway bar is actually larger than the hole on the stock 2WD front sway bar.

I didnt notice this when installing it, but after a week of driving on it, I started to hear a clunking noise up front. Turns out the play between the endlink rod and the hole in the new sway bar allowed the bar to break on of the bushing out, allowing even more play in the sway bar/end link.

So today, I picked up some Moog replacements. They have a "Heavy Duty" replacement option, which has a larger (7/16") rod and much nicer bushing than OEM. I will be installing them later today when I get out of work, they should work much better than the OEM.

 

[low~n~blue]

Thanks! I love ford rangers but I think I'm going to an F-150 because the bigger cab and towing. But goodluck on STOTM! You deserve it!

 

[TheTwanksta]

Thanks man, I havent submitted it for STOTM or anything, I dont think..lol. But its not quite where I want it yet. F-150's are sweet too, just a little too big for me(not to mention I cant afford a nice one) haha!

Ill hopefully have the DJM upper and lower control arms on it sometime next month and drop it down to a 5/5, fenders rolled and the stance just how I want it. Its a slow project, but its getting there!

 

[hoosier1104]

Looks like a have a little competition this month for STOTM.

 

[low~n~blue]

check truck nom page =) looks like somebody submitted it for you =D

 

[TheTwanksta]

check truck nom page =) looks like somebody submitted it for you =D

Haha! Nice! Thanks man!

 

[TheTwanksta]

Was able to get home in time to install the new end links today after work, man they were TOUGH to get in! Tons of play in the oem end links, the new Moog ones were TIGHT! Should keep the front end pretty solid now. From what I could tell on the ride home, its even stiffer now than it was before. Im loving it, truck handles great!

Factory Sway Bar End Link vs. Moog Upgraded "Heavy Duty" Sway Bar End Link. The real difference is the actual bolt size that goes through the sleeves is much larger. You can sort of see it in this photo, the bolt size is just barely smaller than the gold sleeve, then compare that to the exposed bolt on the stockers.

Installed:

 

[low~n~blue]

No Problem!! This truck DESERVES to be NOM'D for STOTM!! Nice to see a street ranger build come up.

 

[TheTwanksta]

Fender Roller Arrived, FINALLY get to roll my fenders tonight!

 

[JoshT]

Did you rent it or buy a used one?