Hello,

I recently bought a ranger because my daughter is interested in wrenching and thought it would be a fun project to do together.

I've rebuilt several cars in the past, but this has never come up.

The ranger I bought came factory no ac.

I plan on installing factory ac and have done all the reading on what goes into that.

But when I went to purchase springs, there seems to be a difference between springs for a ranger with ac and a ranger without ac. I can't fathom what would be different about springs regarding ac. Since we plan on putting ac in, we should get the springs for ac right? Would is cause an issue because the truck doesn't have ac yet? Super confused haha any help would be appreciated.

 

Welcome to the forum

What YEAR Ranger and what engine?

No, no difference in springs with or without AC, odd qualification for springs or shocks

 

It's a 94' 2wd with the 4cyl 5spd

Yeah I thought so as well. It's was bugging me though that's why I figured I'd ask and check

 

Only thing I can think of is there was a different "spring option" in a sub-model that included AC, i.e. an XL(no AC) had different spring package than an XLT(had AC)

But can't think of any reason the added 30lbs from compressor and condenser would make any difference in required spring rating in the front
The 2.3l Lima engine is rated at 400+ lbs, built like a tank, lol, weighed the same as a V6, almost same as the 302 V8

 

Ok thanks. It is an xlt but factory no a/c.

As of right now the truck is so bouncy I'm sure the shocks are completely blown. So I was gonna go ahead and replace the springs as well while I'm in there.

As far as a project truck its in really good shape, runs great just needs some steering work and suspension work. Not looking for anything fancy so I was just gonna replace with some Gabriels or Monroe's probably

 

Bouncy is better than stiff, lol
I would leave springs as is and get new shocks

If springs are too stiff then ride will be stiff and no shock can correct that
Bouncy can be helped by shocks slowing compression and rebound, so you can adjust the ride to your liking

Rear of pickups suffer from this, most are rated at minimum of 1,000 extra pounds, 1/2 ton rating, so makers just stick in stiff springs to get the 1/2 ton rating
So empty bed ride is harsh, can be fixed with lower rated leafs and an overload leaf for extra weight when needed

But your coils could be worn out, but I would add the new shocks first, if you still have the issue then its just the one extra bolt to remove before dropping the lower A-Frame