Explorer gets bouncy/kinda like floating above 80mph

[J_C]

So, just wondering, if you carried 200 lbs of kitty litter sacks on the back seat floors, would it stabilize or lower the center of gravity enough?

It will stabilize the ride if you have a like-new rear leaves or the monroe coilover shocks, but not because of the lower ride height but rather more preload on the springs. The result is not better handling but rather a smoother ride over bumps. Having old leaves does the same thing. I'd forgotten what mine rode like when newer since it gradually changed but the moment I put the monroe coilovers on, i was instantly reminded.

 

[joney]

Enough for what? You’d never carry it low enough. Pretty much all the weight you carry in the cab will raise its center of gravity and increase braking distance.

It will stabilize the ride if you have a like-new rear leaves or the monroe coilover shocks, but not because of the lower ride height but rather more preload on the springs. The result is not better handling but rather a smoother ride over bumps. Having old leaves does the same thing. I'd forgotten what mine rode like when newer since it gradually changed but the moment I put the monroe coilovers on, i was instantly reminded.

so if my leaf springs are flat after 175k, better ride than if new? Who knew. Whatever I have, it's stock on the 98..

 

[J_C]

^ There comes a point where it won't be true like if your bushings are shot, but this is the trade-off, handling vs smooth ride over bumps, but not so smooth cornering of course.

In other words when these were new, I'd have described the unloaded rear end as "very busy". It's a combination of the wheelbase, width, high center of gravity, and weight capacity in a relatively small vehicle, and the torsion bars in front don't help one bit. Heh, my '98 even after upgraded, is the worst handling vehicle I've ever owned except for an '85 GMC Jimmy (aka Chevy S10 Blazer). Maybe I'd not care as much if there weren't all the freakin' DEER around here that I have to dodge.

The solution? Don't drive over 80MPH, lol. It handles fine at posted speed limits.

 

[wankel1308]

Thank you 96eb96, I'll get some monomax shocks in the front, and get those nice monroe coil-over ones in the back. Which will help since I get this a good bit of weight in the back most of the time. I'll also get a poly kit for the front sway and rear stabilizer. I don't care how hard it rides as long as it will stay planted (for an SUV).

I did the exact same setup on my '94 sport and love it. Nice tight ride and the monroe helpers really put the rear end back up where it should be.

 

[C420sailor]

It ain’t cheap, but I did a full suspension on my ‘99 EB. It was vague and floaty...did UCA, LCA, ball joints, tie rod ends, shocks all around, rear leafs, sway bar bushings and links all around, etc etc.

The ride is TIGHT even with Monroes. Handles beautifully. Noticeably tighter than my ‘98, which makes me wonder if the EB has stiffer torsion bars.

 

[CDW6212R]

It ain’t cheap, but I did a full suspension on my ‘99 EB. It was vague and floaty...did UCA, LCA, ball joints, tie rod ends, shocks all around, rear leafs, sway bar bushings and links all around, etc etc.

The ride is TIGHT even with Monroes. Handles beautifully. Noticeably tighter than my ‘98, which makes me wonder if the EB has stiffer torsion bars.

Check the end of the torsion bars, the spring rate character is stamped into the front end of them. There are two characters there, one is the L or R and the other is the spring rate.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Also should have the spring code on the door.

 

[swshawaii]

Installing coilovers to compensate for shot springs is shoddy work, IMO. The upper shock mounts aren’t designed to support the vehicle like that. Putting a band aid on a gun shot wound.

My trucklet had well over a dozen salty northeast winters and 220,000 miles when I did the leaf springs. An impact made quick work of the hardware. Presoak in penetrant. Do it once, do it right.

2000 mercury mountaineer awd rear leaf springs saggy need to replace

Mountaineer 5.0L all wheel drive, rear leaf springs have 225,000 miles pulling a enclosed trailer and boat trailer. They have gotten saggy and when enclosed 6'x12' trailer is attached it sags in the rear. Without any trailer attached it is lower in the rear end. Can anyone give me a good...

www.explorerforum.com

It ain’t cheap, but I did a full suspension on my ‘99 EB. It was vague and floaty...did UCA, LCA, ball joints, tie rod ends, shocks all around, rear leafs, sway bar bushings and links all around, etc etc.

The ride is TIGHT even with Monroes. Handles beautifully. Noticeably tighter than my ‘98, which makes me wonder if the EB has stiffer torsion bars.

@C420sailor
Did you end up installing the Monroe 58617 load assist coilover shocks? if so, no issues with upper shock mounts?

 

[C420sailor]

No coil overs, standard shocks. I installed new leaf springs.

 

[Chris_A.]

I agree with most of what was suggested. Start with a front end check/alignment. Replace roll bar bushings front and rear. No, they are not sway bars. As a short wheel base vehicle, most of anything that you put into the vehicle will end up on the rear axle. Put the hd shocks on the rear first. Leave the front shocks alone till you test it with the rears. Change the front shocks if you are not satisfied. If you cannot get new rear springs, a set of adjustable helper leaves might give you options for stability vs ride quality. I would not recommend the use of coil over helpers in the rear as they can make the handling worse. This is due to the upper mounting point being narrower than the lower mounting point. If you are running "tall" or off-road tires, some of your bouncy is in the tires. If so, you may need to consider different tires. Another thought is where you load things. Shifting weight (that you are carrying) or if not needed, removing it, will act as more front end weight and will reduce the floating feel. Consider tire pressure as well. Overloaded/under pressure tires will feel the same way. If none of the things suggested helps enough, you could consider adding a watts linkage which will eliminate rear sway except for what is in the tires.

Or just slow it down. These vehicles were designed for a maximum of 65mph.

 

[Mbrooks420]

They technically would be anti-roll bars.

These vehicles are absolutely not designed for a max of 65mph. Makes the 95mph limiter seem kinda silly. That’s not even the speed limit in most places.

 

[swshawaii]

These vehicles were designed for a maximum of 65mph.

Definitely a head scratcher. Source of information?

 

[CDW6212R]

Definitely a head scratcher. Source of information?

Nah, just more of a ton of bad information on the web. Ask some of these new people what an air cleaner is, that stumps most new car owners. IMO, they learn what a cold air intake is before they own a car.

 

[swshawaii]

Read on the internet saying nitrogen filled tires improves ride quality and MPG.

Maybe the OP's just using "regular" air? Anyone tried helium?

 

[CDW6212R]

I'd thought of using Nitrogen in my tires once. I was at a shop having tires put on that I had ordered online and shipped there. The cost would have been about $40 more for the set, and I passed. It is supposed to not change pressure as much with temperature changes, plus be less likely to leak out, but the possible gain wasn't worth $40 to me.

 

[Chris_A.]

Definitely a head scratcher. Source of information?

Common sense? What was the maximum legal speed at that time? In my opinion, (I do not believe) that Ford significantly changed much of anything from the previous years that were only certified to 55mph. Most of the changes are body/aerodynamic. Read the labels on the vehicle. “This vehicle conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) in effect on the date of manufacture shown above.” What was the minimum that Ford had to do to sell them?

My question would be (because I do not know or have not been able to find out): "Am I required to have my vehicle recertified in order to run my vehicle at a higher than manufacturer certified speed?" "Can I be stopped and fined?"
What is enough over the speed limit to be considered reckless driving? Generally, 15mph over posted. If this is true, what is the answer for the federal certification? Can I, arbitrarily, load my vehicle to whatever load that I desire? We know this answer is categorically "NO!". So, what is the legal difference? My guess is none.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Common sense? What was the maximum legal speed at that time? In my opinion, (I do not believe) that Ford significantly changed much of anything from the previous years that were only certified to 55mph. Most of the changes are body/aerodynamic. Read the labels on the vehicle. “This vehicle conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) in effect on the date of manufacture shown above.” What was the minimum that Ford had to do to sell them?

My question would be (because I do not know or have not been able to find out): "Am I required to have my vehicle recertified in order to run my vehicle at a higher than manufacturer certified speed?" "Can I be stopped and fined?"
What is enough over the speed limit to be considered reckless driving? Generally, 15mph over posted. If this is true, what is the answer for the federal certification? Can I, arbitrarily, load my vehicle to whatever load that I desire? We know this answer is categorically "NO!". So, what is the legal difference? My guess is none.

Absurd. There is no certified speed for the car. If so it’d be posted on the door jam, like the weight limits all are. The first and second gens are extremely different suspension wise.

 

[Mbrooks420]

There’s places with speed limits in excess of 80mph. Why have a speed limiter in the 90s if a car is “certified” at a little over half that speed. Why doesn’t this show on the manufactures window stickers? Why isn’t it posted on the car somewhere? Is everyone supposed to guess and just adhere to slower than the speed limit for this made up number?

 

[94Eddie]

I'd thought of using Nitrogen in my tires once. I was at a shop having tires put on that I had ordered online and shipped there. The cost would have been about $40 more for the set, and I passed. It is supposed to not change pressure as much with temperature changes, plus be less likely to leak out, but the possible gain wasn't worth $40 to me.

I had nitrogen put in my tires once when I had new tires installed because it was on special for $25. I did it to just see whether it was worth it. The only thing I can say it did was that I never once had to put air in those tires as long as they were on the car. I probably drove them for close to 45k-50k miles. They stayed dead on the original PSI they were set at. IMO, where this is worth doing is if the user will never check their air pressure and won't respond to a TPS warning. An example of where I would consider this would be if I had a daughter that was going away for a long time to college etc. and she was terrible at paying attention to things like tire pressure.

 

[CDW6212R]

That's what I thought it would be good for. I have to alter the pressure when the temps go up or down a lot in days time. I wonder how the TPMS works to have a different limit range and warning signal for those. My dad's old car has one tire that loses a little pressure over weeks, and you can see it in the TPMS data on the dash.