Hi all,

I recently bought a 1998 4cyl 5speed shortbed and I think there's a lift kit or something because it looks higher than the other Rangers. the problem I found out is that the driver's side is about 1/2 to 1" lower than the passenger's side. Even puting on jack stands the difference is pretty noticeable. Would someone help me figure it out?

Thanks
Esh

 

Search "Ranger Lean."

 

your torsion bars are cranked too high i think

 

Its because of your gas tank and battery and driver and other heavy miscellaneous items on the drivers side.

 

pics of truck?

 

Here are some pics:

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Thanks for the tips

 

There you go. Heres a link to help you post pics.

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...-pictures.html

 

body mounts maybe? doubtful because its the whole left side.

my guess is something to do with the suspension, if the right sides shocks/coils/leafs were changed and the left weren't.

my friends blazer was apparently driven by a heavy guy before him because it sags really bad on the left side as well, all he did to fix it was take the left and put it on the left so its a little more even when he drives it.

 

I searched for "Ranger Lean", and that explains a lot. Mine is a 98 4x2 (not even torsion bars) so there's not much I can do about it. Does anyone know a bettter easy fix than switching the sway bar links' bushings?

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ht=ranger+lean

 

Wow, that does really lean now doesn't it. I don't know if it's just the way the picture was taken, but the shot from the rear looks like it's leaning really bad.

 

Yeah, I think it got worse lately because I didn't even notice it when I bought it and I woudn't have if I saw it. It's been a nice ride though. I'll have it figured out.

 

Hmm, inspect your leafs... see if they are straightening out a bit on the drivers side on the rear - that has a pretty bad looking lean, its alot more then 1/2" to 1", its more like 2 inches from the rear - that looks like a bad leaf pack on that side to me.

 

I measured the leafs and they are like 1/4 ~1/8 lower. i had an though. how about putting some spacers between the body mounts and the body? Have anyone tried that before? Do you think I'd have any future problems by doing that?

 

Don't do that your asking for trouble. I would check to see if your coil on the driver side is sagging along with the leaf pack. Might be time for a lift!

 

does it have a sway bar? if not theres your problem

 

ya that is a pretty bad lean. i got my truck and noticed that it leaned to the left a tad....but i think its just shocks so i got some new ones...but ive never seen one that bad before.

 

thats pretty bad, i have the lean in mine, but its not that noticable



i see your in the same area as me

 

Yes It does have a sway bar. All the bushings and body mounts are in good condition too. You guys are right, I won't try anything stupid. It may cost more in the long run (if it ever runs lol). Do I have to have spring compressors or any special tool to disassemble the front suspension? I saw that though it is a McPherson, it's built in an awkward position.

 

It is not a macphearson strut system it is a dual control arm coil sprung suspension. All you have to do is unbolt the upper and lower control arms and lower the bottom control arm all the way down and the spring will fall out eventually. Then you can replace the spring and bolt it all back up.

 

any more pics from other views of the truck?

 

Here we go.

 

I had the same issue and experimented with all sorts of fixes. The best and safest fix for me was to swap the front springs. You could also replace the springs with new ones. This is really easy to do either way.

 

Yup, swap sides with the front springs OR get a rubber spacer for under the left spring. or just buy new springs. from the height it looks like it has aftermarket springs.

 

Thanks for all suggestions. Would someone give me step by step instructions about how to do it? I'm working on it and couldn't get the uper arm ball joint to come off.

 

You need to pull the bolt out, then spray that area with some WD-39 then pry it up. Try not to break the boot.

Not sure which method you are using but give us some clues and we will help.