Hi guys ....I have a 2000 regular cab stepside ranger.....My truck looks great and has a killer sound system in it....but it rides like crap.......The only thing that I know that is not a problem is the tires...They are brand new....I am sure all of the front end of my truck is stock from the factory........Any help or things I need to have checked out would help...Thanks....

 

well we also need to know if your 2wd or 4wd. that would help a lot.

 

Run the correct tire pressure, keep up on maintenance. This includes a full check of the front end components, ball joints, tie rod ends, and hub/bearings. Replace anything with play. New sway bar end links will help if your are worn out, but removing the sway bars altogether will much it ride 10x better. Better shocks also make a huge difference.

 

its a TRUCK

 

yeah.....it is 2wd.....I just don't want to go to automotive shop and get robbed

 

Trucks aren't known for having an exceptional ride, I'd just put up with it

 

when I go over a speedbump...the front end of my truck kind of makes a hee honk.....like a donkey....noise......No jokes please..........

 

lol, I know the sound

 

Ball joints, control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, shocks?
Have a friend bounce the truck around while you are underneath.

Downey just because your truck rides like crap doesn't mean every truck has to. My Ranger and Sport Trac both rode smooth and very comfortably. My wife's Explorer was a little rough because both sway bars were connected and the shocks were worn out. It was still a pretty decent ride though considering everything on it was stock with 110k miles.

 

take out your front sway bar. it really softened up the ride of my truck

 

I know some stuff needs to be replaced....the parts are 9yrs old....I just don't know what to replace??? and I don't wanna go to a shop and they go....well most of your frontend is almost 10yrs old....you need to replace everything.....

 

Well what do you expect us to do for you? None of us can diagnose your truck remotely. Figure out what parts are worn out (one way or another) and replace them. None of the front end parts are that hard to replace yourself.

 

well Alrighty Then

 

Sounds like my truck, I bought it new and from day one it hits hard. I swapped the OEM tires for BFG's Radial T/A's and got rid of the heavy duty stock gas shocks for Monroe-matics. It still rides like a buck board, seems like the wheel has no travel up into the wheel well. Is there a lesser rated spring for a 2007 Super cab with a 2.3 4 cylinder/ auto/ 2WD, other then what it came with from Ford?

Never thought of getting rid of the sway bar? Any risks of that with roll over threats?

 

I ran my 98 ranger 4x4 and 05 sport trac 4x4 (both on 3" body lifts with 33s) without sway bars 90% of the time. There is more body roll, but it is very controllable. It is most noticeable when making an aggressive direction change. Otherwise, the ride is SOOO much better, especially over pot-holes, speed bumps, uneven pavement or driveways, etc. You can remove one sway bar end link up front (15mm and 16mm wrenches if I remember right) in less than five minutes and it is disconnected. If you don't like it, throw the end link back on.

 

my grandpas 2wd ranger doesnt ride real great...my 03 FX4 if you want to feel something that really rides rough drive that

 

Thanks, I don't go off roading or tow anything with it, its a daily driver and just makes me cringe when I get off a well maintained road. Even some sewer covers makes me feel like I'm crossing a set of rail road tracks

 

the rangers never really rode that great to begin with...

 

i bet your truck rides like a dream compared to mine. lol

 

Definitely try disconnecting the sway bar then, it makes a huge difference. Of course if you have loose wheel bearings, ball joints, etc it is going to be rough anyway.
My Ranger had bilstein shocks, 33" mud tires, and moog front end components with the sway bar disconnected, and every time someone rode in the truck they were shocked out how smooth the ride was.

 

I found out that if you drive a commercial Vehicle for about 5 hours it makes the ranger drive like a dream

 

Now I'm curious about taking off the sway bar, is there a How to somewhere?

 

It is pretty straight forward.
- Crawl under the front of the truck with a 15mm socket and 16mm end wrench (or the other way around, whatever).
- Locate the sway bar end link on one side of the truck. It is basically one long bolt with a nut at the end, with bushings and a spacer in the middle.
- Remove the nut while holding the bolt.
- Slide the bolt all the way out (up).
- Remove the spacer that sits between the lower control arm and the sway bar.

You only need to remove one end link, it is perfectly fine to leave the other side connected.

Drive gently at first until you get a feel for the different behavior.

 

I put on a set of after market link pins for the sway bar, the oem's bushing seemed to be a hard resin instead of being made of rubber. I'll let you know if it eases the harshness in the ride. Didn't take long at all. Thanks for the info with not using the sway bar at all. I'll go that route next.