I recently bought a Ford Ranger that I did not do my homework on. Here is one of the problems I am encountering.

After I bought it I noticed the ride to be very bouncy and it sagging some in the rear. After inspecting I noticed the leaf springs had rusted off the frame. Not being very technical minded or having the tools to do the job, I talked to a few people who told me that I needed new hangers (old ones needed burnt/cut off) and have it reattached. I had a guy do this for $100.

Then, suddenly the truck is riding like a rodeo bull, tossing me out of my seat with every bump. Apparently, the leaf springs were re-arced or are not the stock springs because it has the truck sitting up about 4 or 5" higher than normal and when comparing to other Rangers I see, you can tell that the springs have a lot more rise in the rear.

Here is my question - Can I put longer shocks on in order to dampen the bumps, like that from a 4 x 4 Ranger? Or do I need to re-arc them back to regular length or replace them with stock? Also, what about shackles, am I supposed to have them on a 98 Ranger 4 cyl?

Thanks for the help guys.... I'm trying to get by without breaking the bank as I bought this Ranger in hopes of saving money after getting rid of a car with a payment on it.

 

If they have been re-arched I would just get some good low mileage stock leaf springs.

 

Thanks KLC. Will I need the shackles, or can they be attached with just the hangers to the frame? So I'm also figuring that getting longer travel shocks will not help?

 

You will need stock shackles too. Or, if you want more height you can get Belltech 6400 shackles. Longer travel shocks won't help and aren't needed with a stock set-up.

 

Ok. Not really looking for more heigth. I don't mind it being higher in the rear, just trying to fix the rough ride.

The only reason I was thinking shocks was maybe to just swap those out instead of doing the leaf springs too.

 

If the shocks are bad then you will need to get new ones. New shocks will make a difference, but re-arched leaf springs would predominately be the cause of the rough ride.