2wd front lift and sway bars

[riggsy]

Hello,

New to the forum. Trying to help out my daughter with a 1992 Ford Ranger 2WD.

I drove it home for her from purchase, and the handling at freeway speed was what I would call dangerous. Bumps would cause the front end to shake, and at points, the shake would continue until speed was reduced. My first thought was sway bar end links and suspension components.

I crawled under to measure the sway bar to order replacement bushings, and there is no front sway bar.

Does the sway bar no longer fit with the 2" lift in place? I can find a sway bar at a junk yard or from someone parting out a Ranger, but want to make sure I'm not on a wild goose chase.

Any advice appreciated.

Riggsy

 

[Blmpkn]

TIB suspensions ride like crap compared to the more common SLA setup.. but it shouldn't be giving you death wobble.. even without a front bar.

I'd suggest taking a look at the rest of the front end components.. chances are there's at least a bushing or two that's pretty spanked.

 

[riggsy]

Thanks Blmpkn!

Yes, the inner and outer tie rods look cooked, I've got parts ordered to replace them.

I'm used to working on front wheel/AWD vehicles with CV axles, so ya, the whole front suspension on this is a little weird to me.

The boots on the upper/lower ball joints look ok, but haven't done anything thorough in regards to inspection yet.

Riggsy

 

[JoshT]

Definitely check out the radius arm bushings. At 32 years they'd be worn out on a stock suspension, the lift will put even more strain and wear on them. It's an often overlooked part when checking over the suspension.

 

[riggsy]

As an update, here's what I found once I got the front wheels off.

The 2" front lift was installed wrong (and differently on each side), not great but not the source of the problems. I had grabbed some extra bolts/bits at the junk yard as a just in case, so was able to fix that.

Rented a Milwaukee 1/2" 20V impact driver. Powerful. Made getting things loose a dream. I got a front sway bar, and rebuilt it with new bushings ( both the mount bushing, and the end link bushings).

The driver side lower shock stud broke off the control arm and the shock was just hanging there. I drilled it out and replaced the bolt with a 5/8 grade 8 bolt, and washers to provide appropriate spacing (used the broken off bit as guide).

Inner and outer tie rods were shot. Replaced those.

Left to do:
Passenger side upper ball joint is totally hammered. Push with your hand, easily an 1/8" + of play. Since it's all up on jack stands, I'm going to do all the ball joints, and the wheel bearings on both sides (as one side is all dried out/crusty).

The radius and ibeam bushings were replaced not too far in the past, as they are still bright red =P

Once I'm done, just need to have the alignment done, and I feel better about her driving off into the sunset with it. She has a knack for picking vehicles

Thanks for your help and suggestions

Riggsy

 

[Lefty]

I have a Ranger Edge that was made with a lift. It looked cool but tended to sway and plow the corners. I lowered it 1", which is still 1" higher than a stock Ranger. It handles better now.

You may also check to make sure you have a rear sway bar which is typically mounted in front of the rear axel. That will also help. But safety and handling will be further improved by adding spring pack clamps, especially on a lifted truck. The cost is only $16.00.

JEGS 60883: Leaf Spring Clamp Kit [2.500 in.] - JEGS

Get the Best Performance with JEGS Leaf Spring Clamp Kit [2.500 in.] 60883 parts at JEGS. Shop Now at the Guaranteed Lowest Price!

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note the leaf spring clamp mounted about 6" forward of the axel.