Stock springs, which letter do I have?

Hey Guys,

So I've changed the front shocks with some Rancho Rs5000 shocks; but my be is still there.
I'm guessing I need to replace springs? Seems to be very wobbly & nothing seems broken down there; also it can squeak pretty bad. The shocks helped the situation, but didn't fix.

If it is the shocks, I don't have any stickers on the door to tell me which springs I might have, any ideas?

Also my rear end slides out from under me pretty bad sometimes when hitting something at speed and turning. Cause of the springs also or in need of rear shocks or also?



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No door sticker at all? Also what do you mean by the "rear end slides out from under"?

fastpakr said:

No door sticker at all? Also what do you mean by the "rear end slides out from under"?

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Nope don't see any door sticker, unless it could be on passenger door? I've not looked there.

Basically, when rounding a corner say & hit some rough road or bump & doing some speed say over 40, the bed jumps pretty good & also seems to go either left or right jarringly. Some cause for concern there;couple of he's got scared the damn thing was going to jump into the next lane and hit car next to me.

So basically now a little more cautious to slow down when coming around bends.

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What about the bushings in your rear springs and shackles and sway bar? If they are badly worn, that could cause squeaks, rattles and "loose" behavior.

ericbphoto said:

What about the bushings in your rear springs and shackles and sway bar? If they are badly worn, that could cause squeaks, rattles and "loose" behavior.

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I will take photos, maybe you guys can tell if in need

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The most common spring code I see is B, which is for the two leaf rear springs. I usually see BTB, but I'm not sure that having the code for the front springs will help you that much in trying to find new ones. I haven't found aftermarket front springs yet that go by the letter code, they usually just ask for engine, 2 or 4wd, and maybe splash if you're lucky. Hopefully someone else knows something I don't about where to get front springs by code

Also, every Ranger I have had (several) had the B code rear springs, and they all were prone to what I call "bump oversteer" (hitting bumps, and your track in the rear gets changed from the pre-bump position, either to the left or to the right). This can be quite scary, one time I actually had the rear "hop" into the other lane after hitting a horrible bump I couldn't see in time. Luckily no one was coming.

Just getting new 2 leaf rear springs helps, but I have had the best results going with the 3 leaf tow package springs, and more leafs to taste. I put new 3 leafs in my old ranger, and a short add a leaf, that truck rode great. And the bump oversteer was significantly better.

On my current truck, I got new 3 leaf springs, added a long add a leaf and a short add a leaf. It feels just a hair oversprung and has the characteristics you would expect as a result of that (takes bumps a little hard, very stiff in the rear) but I actually like it the best so far. Virtually none of the rear end shifting over bumps. This is a pretty insane spring pack, but I do haul soil and mulch etc in my bed and sometimens tow an 800 lb mower, so I really needed the help back there

If you get new springs, honestly just press the new rubber bushings right out and put polyurethane ones in instead. You won't regret it. My brand new rear rubber spring eye bushings got shot in a matter of months. Definitely worth doing the same to the shackles as well. Granted I have no idea what brand the rubber bushings were, they came pre installed in my new springs, but poly is worth the money and better than even OEM rubber ones IMO

If you aren't sure if your shackle or spring bushings are bad (they probably are, its common), jack the rear of the truck up, put jack stands on wooden blocks under the frame rails, take your rear wheels off, see if you can move the axle around side to side, or if it clunks up and down. **Please do not push your truck off the stands by accident though.** You shouldn't have much movement of the spring up, down, or side to side, relative to its hanger, or relative to its shackle, and you shouldn't see movement of the shackle in its bracket, other than the shackle pivoting when spring is compressed or extended.

My truck has 4 Rancho Shocks and all four of them are completely shot! I don't know when they were put on the truck, but they're coming off real soon I have new ones sitting on the Shelf at home.