Hey Everyone,

So, I am looking to pretty much replace most of the front end suspension on my 2002 Ford Ranger 2wd (Torsion bar front suspension), but I've noticed this little rubber part that seems to mount onto the frame of the truck. This part on the driver's side is basically worn completely off at this point, so I am looking to replace both of them, but I am having a lot of trouble finding what this thing is called.

So, what on earth is this thing called and where can I get replacements? I am ordering a Moog Problem solver front end kit from Rock auto along with Gabriel ultra shocks, and power stop brake rotors and pads if you folks were curious.

What is this part called?

 

Not totally familiar with the torsion suspension, but I believe that is a bump stop...prevents the lower arm from hitting the frame under sever compression.
Try googling lower control arm bump stop, You will see many different types/shapes. As long as you replace it with one of the same dimensions as far as length you will be OK.
Too long and your control arm won't compress enough, and too short and it could compress too much. Newer urethane material won't break down like rubber does

 

Thanks for the help! I really appreciate it!

 

Hey folks! So I ordered a pair of Energy Suspension "Universal" Poly Bump Stops only to discover the threaded bolt on the back is too thick to thread into the frame of my Ranger (2002 V6 3L, 2wd, Torsion bar front suspension). Apparently the OEM bump stops thread directly into the frame via a 10mm bolt and finding a replacement is a REAL pain in the *** right now.

I see that the length of the bump should be around 2 in from frame to tip based on the passenger side, but I am having a lot of trouble finding a replacement bump stop comparable to the OEM set.

Would any of you be able to point to a good option? Any help would be much appreciated. The driver's side bump stop is no longer usable so I really need a replacement.


Driver's Side

Passenger Side

Length of Bumper

 

Hey Grumpaw, you wouldn't happen to know if there are any that screw into the chassis already? The OEM bump stops screw into the frame with a 10mm bolt and the pair of Energy Suspension "universal bump stops" I got have a bolt thread which is too thick.

Am I going to have to take off the lower control arm to drill the hole out to fit? So far, I have had no luck finding ANYTHING for a Ranger. It's pretty frustrating lol.

 

If you remove what's left of the bump stop, and then un-bolt that brake line from the frame and move it out of the way, does that give you enough room to drill out the threaded hole from the top? Once you drill it out you can use whatever bump-stop you find that matches the height of the old one.

 

Hey Fordzilla! I was trying to avoid drilling out the holes, but it seems there may be no other option at this point. I hope my coordless drill is up to snuff.

I can try to see if I will have enough clearance to fit the drill back there by removing the break line and all that. Unfortunately I am working in my apartment parking lot so I am limited on corded power tools. I may wait to tackle it once I get my suspension parts in, but I'm not sure how bad driving without a bump stop can be.

I'll keep y'all posted!

 

Your truck should rarely hit the bump stop under normal conditions/driving. Vehicles that have weak front suspension will tend to ride on the bump stops, and that creates a very rough ride. Based off of your pictures of the other side, you should be okay until you can replace the damaged bump stop.

Your only other option would be the junkyard; both 1998-2011 Ford Ranger 4x4, and 1995-2001 Ford Explorers should have the same or similar bump stops as your truck.

I believe the factory part number is 2L5Z-3020-AA, but without any image hits on Google, I cannot verify. Ebay shows a few sellers, at $100+ a pop, and there's no actual picture to verify it's the correct part.

 

Didn't realize such a common part would be so hard to get.
I did a bit of googling on Ford Parts Giant web site. It looks like the OE part is 1L5Z-3020-BA, which replaced part F1VY-3020-A.
It shows as fitting a number of cars and trucks, so possible a Ford Dealer in your area might have one to compare..
Looks like they run around $14.00 each.
I would not drill the hole out and would keep trying to get one that properly fits. As Fordzilla posted your truck will rarely hit the bump stop, and you can drive your truck until you find a proper part.
Remember, part pictured in Ford parts may not look like your original as Ford may have changed design or gone to different style. As long as it has the 10mm threaded bolt it should work just fine.

 

That looks to be the one for the coil spring trucks, his will need to be for torsion bar trucks as they are different.

 

My Bad....it is the 2L5Z-3020-AA

 

Just out of curiosity, how much larger than 10mm is the thread on the available bump-stops?
Fantasy Fix: Cut the "too large" stud off flush. Drill and tap a 10mm hole. Bolt from above or use a piece of threaded rod (stud)?
Or: Since these stops are hallow, can you fashion a bolt to go up through it?
A bit of work but would be affordable if done yourself.
Also, what's the story in the picture marked "passenger's side"? The stud on the bumper is way smaller than the hole it is in.

 

It looks like the bump stop for the torsion set up sits inside a metal cup affair...probably why Ford is so prowd of their part for $100 bucks.
But for the life of me I can't think of any reason the cheaper coil spring bump stop for $14 bucks wouldn't work....as long as the threads are the same.
After all, it just stops contact, and the original one pictured doesn't look like it's been compressed too much...looks just dry rotted away.
If it were mine I'd just look at using the one for the coil spring set up if the threads are the same, and I'm betting they are.
Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Hey folks!

So what I think happened is that I was oblivious that my front end suspension needed some work for quite a long while and over time my driving cause my driver's side to hit the bump stop repeatedly over the years wearing it off to basically a nub. In the photos I am only showing the driver's side after I removed the bump stop (all that was really left of it was the metal cup the foam rested in). So now I intent to effectively over haul the front suspension with Moog Problem Solver parts and Gabriel Ultra Shocks.

As for drilling it out, I went down to my truck this morning to check if Fordzilla's idea of moving the brake line out of the way to fit a drill in would work and ... Well, I think it might, but it would involve removing the metal bracket from the frame and even then I'm not so sure if the brake line leading to the caliper's line is flexible so it would be at risk of breaking. If I really wanted to drill out the hole I think the best bet would be to do it after I remove my lower control arm and then carefully drill upwards to widen it for these universal bolt on bump stops to fit.

Here's a photo of what I'm talking about for reference:

Red: Threaded hole that the OEM Bump stop threads into. Blue: Brake line bracket.


If You're curious, these were the bump stops I ordered that have a thread too lard to it into the frame (https://www.energysuspensionparts.com/9.9101). It looks like most of Energy Suspension's parts use this same sort of thread or are pull throughs which I don't know would work for my application.

As for the OEM bump stops they are like a thick rubber-like cylinder (open on the inside) to allow on the inside to allow for a socket to reach the head of the bolt which holds the metal cup to the frame.

I guess I'll do a little more digging to see if there is an adequate replacement.

 

So, I don't own a tap set unfortunately. The Bumpstops themselves I ordered as a replacement are not hollow and seem to have their poly molded around the bolt they use to attach it.

Here's a few photos of the Energy Suspension bump stops I ordered and one of it compared to the OEM bolt.


OEM bumpstop bolt (below) Vs. Energy Suspension replacement (above). The Energy Suspension one is too thick and I think its threads are too coarse?.

Side view. The tier's are hollow but the thick part towards the top is completely solid and molded around the bolt.

bottom view. It is hollow through the "tiers" and then solid the rest of the way

 

I looked around the Energy suspension website and found a pair of bump stops that may work for me (https://www.energysuspensionparts.com/9.9138). This pair are ones designed to be bolted onto the frame using the OEM bolt as opposed to having the bolt incorporated into the bumper itself, if the instructions are to be believed ( https://www.energysuspensionparts.co...sion/17168.pdf).

The only down side I see is that it is a little bit shorter at 1.85 in as opposed to the roughly 2in I measured the OEM ones as being. But I think that would be good enough. As long as the difference isn't too great, it should be fine, right?

 

I think you just found some bump stops that will work for you.

 

Just as an update to keep someone else who has the same problem informed:

The Energy Suspension replacement Bump stops I bought do not have the best quality control in terms of the placement of the internal washer that they are molded around. In one of them it is slightly higher than the other causing the thick washer that is supposed to sit in between the internal washer and the frame to poke out a bit which may impact the total length of the bump stop. Additionally, the bolt hole for the washer barely fits the head of the bolt. The bolt I have will probably still work, but you may want to put a smaller washer to go into the hollow just to give the head a bit more to hold against.

Here are a few pictures of what I'm talking about:

This is the top side of the bump stops that are to butt against the frame. The thick washer is supposed to sit in the recess and be the buffer between the internal washer that the stop is molded around and the frame (See left). You may receive one which have the internal washer slightly higher in the bump stop causing the other washer to sit higher.

The OEM bolt may work, but as you can see the internal washer of the bump stop has an opening that's a bit big. You may want to put another washer with a better fit onto your bolt before you use these just to be sure it has a good hold on the bump stop.