Hey guys/gals,

Just traded my F150 for a 1998 ranger a couple weeks ago. Its a 4.0 4X4, ext. cab, auto. Got it so i would have something to pull my boat with still, but hopefully get a little better gas mileage with a smaller truck.

Anyway... Guy didn't tell me that there was a broken leaf spring in the back end, and he had a little bit of wire wrapped around it. I know i should have seen it... But the back half of the broken spring swung out and punctured the shock. So now i need to replace the leaf spring and the shock. I put some clamps on it for now, but how hard will it be to fix? I've never done any suspension work.

Also the truck really rocks hard when you come to a stop, and shifts hard in low gears sometimes. When you come to a stop, you can feel it come to a stop like a normal car, but then it will give you another little buck. Then when you take off it will give a nice buck, and also sometimes when it shifts to 2nd. I was worried it was the transmission, but after reading some other threads i'm thinking it might just be something in the drivetrain. What do you guys think? U-joints, differential, something else? I saw another post about just greasing the slip yoke, could this simply be it?

The bumpers are also ridiculously rusty, but unless I replace them, i'm thinking im screwed with that.

Thanks for all the help in advance. I hope this truck will last me a while still, so i'm sure ill be checking out the site alot.

 

The jerking you feel when coming to a stop is pretty common in older Rangers...I think it's the rear axle is just a little bit loose and, especially on take off, it's just twisting. You could beef up your leaf springs, or just make sure all the u bolts and everything back there are right.

The shock should be a 10 minute fix...and the leaf spring isn't even all that bad.