99 Exploder

[Mitch86]

Recently purchased a 99 2wd...I guess it's just a base model...it's been debadged so I really don't know the trim level or whatever. 160k miles
It's been driven by an older lady for the past 15 years so not dogged out... The interior is great besides needing a headliner.. not sure how well she maintained the mechanical parts .

Anyway, so far, I'm liking the Explorer but the suspension is rough. It feels "stiff" and I feel every little pebble and crack in the road. I'm not sure where to start with correcting it. Any suggestions on suspension components I should start with?

I looked under the front and found that this vertical bar is wobbling around loose and making a lot of noise. Pretty sure it has some bushings or something missing. What is it?

 

[swshawaii]

How to: Replace your sway bar / stabilizer bar bushings and end links

 

[Mitch86]

How to: Replace your sway bar / stabilizer bar bushings and end links

Thanks. That's first on the list since I know they're bad. I have a feeling there's more going on under there too.

 

[swshawaii]

Sway bar end links are probably the most common failure with Explorer suspensions and usually the first. Lower and upper ball joints aren't far behind. As with most suspension, steering, and brake parts, replace both sides. Newer style Moog (K700642) with polyurethane bushings are a popular choice. Lot's of great help on EF, always feel free to ask. GL

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...c,1354542,suspension,stabilizer+bar+link,7580

List of Useful Threads - Stock 2nd Gen Forum's Best Threads

 

[donalds]

How to: - 1995_2001 ford explorer sway bar links install lots of pics

 

[J_C]

Unfortunately, the bar links having shot bushings will let it sway side to side more, and may make a clunk sound when you do, but they only firm up the ride. Putting new bushing on will do nothing to soften the ride.

You could have dry rotted body mount bushings, or just newer shocks that are stiffer than your liking, but in general these vehicles do ride a bit rough which is a reason Ford originally spec'd a tire inflation PSI that was a bit on the low side and arguably contributed to the Firestone tire recall fiasco.

Towards that end you can under-inflate the tires but then you may suffer handling and heating issues as well as a fuel economy drop. I mean if deflated too far, if you're running them at 35PSI you could lower it a little. You could get larger tires which by virtue of being larger, support the load with a lower PSI without being insufficient in stability, and provide more cushioning in the process.

Besides the shocks there really aren't any suspension components designed to soften the ride, anything replaced with new components would make the ride firmer. That is unless you see evidence that something stock was replaced with firmer aftermarket components already and you want to switch that back to stock, for example if the rear leaf springs were sagging in the past and they were replaced with new ones that had an additional leaf or were even for a different vehicle.

I guess it depends on expectations and what you compare against. Front torsion bars and solid axle w/rear leaf springs, is not a smooth riding and good handling configuration (one comes at the expense of the other) compared to more modern SUVs or any cars made in our lifetime.

I do find that mine rides less bouncy with a load in the back but that's not the same as the bumps and cracks road feel you describe.

 

[Mitch86]

Took the front drivers side tire off just to have a look and see what all I possibly need to start replacing. Looks like the ball joints are about shot. Is it easier just to replace the whole control arm instead of the bushings/ball joints?

Sway bar bushings look OK to me..?

Of course the stabilizer bars need replaced.

Haven't gotten around to looking at the back, but I'm sure there's some wear back there. I feel like that's where a lot of my noise and "bumpiness" is coming from.

Thanks for the help so far, guys! This is my first Explorer and my first Ford product. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions as I go along trying to get it in decent order.

 

[donalds]

The swaybar bushings look fine

The right control arm is one piece the left one is a two piece design but neither have replaceable ball joints
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...+v6+sohc,1354542,suspension,control+arm,10401
Both are easy to replace

 

[Mitch86]

Unfortunately, the bar links having shot bushings will let it sway side to side more, and may make a clunk sound when you do, but they only firm up the ride. Putting new bushing on will do nothing to soften the ride.

You could have dry rotted body mount bushings, or just newer shocks that are stiffer than your liking, but in general these vehicles do ride a bit rough which is a reason Ford originally spec'd a tire inflation PSI that was a bit on the low side and arguably contributed to the Firestone tire recall fiasco.

Towards that end you can under-inflate the tires but then you may suffer handling and heating issues as well as a fuel economy drop. I mean if deflated too far, if you're running them at 35PSI you could lower it a little. You could get larger tires which by virtue of being larger, support the load with a lower PSI without being insufficient in stability, and provide more cushioning in the process.

Besides the shocks there really aren't any suspension components designed to soften the ride, anything replaced with new components would make the ride firmer. That is unless you see evidence that something stock was replaced with firmer aftermarket components already and you want to switch that back to stock, for example if the rear leaf springs were sagging in the past and they were replaced with new ones that had an additional leaf or were even for a different vehicle.

I guess it depends on expectations and what you compare against. Front torsion bars and solid axle w/rear leaf springs, is not a smooth riding and good handling configuration (one comes at the expense of the other) compared to more modern SUVs or any cars made in our lifetime.

I do find that mine rides less bouncy with a load in the back but that's not the same as the bumps and cracks road feel you describe.

It's hard to describe exactly what I'm feeling going down the road. Lol. I don't expect a luxury ride from a 99 Explorer at all...but I'd expect it to be smoother than what I'm getting and not to feel every little pebble or crack in the road resonate throughout the vehicle.

Needs new tires also, so that could be some of it.

I'm guessing there's a lot of wear and tear on a lot of components that's contributing to the ride quality. I'll be replacing the shocks and other little odds and ins such and control arms etc as I can and hopefully that smooths it out a bit. It's not terrible as it is, anyway.

 

[Mitch86]

The swaybar bushings look fine

The right control arm is one piece the left one is a two piece design but neither have replaceable ball joints
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...+v6+sohc,1354542,suspension,control+arm,10401
Both are easy to replace

Thanks for the info. I watched a video earlier on replacing control arms and they said it was possible to change out the ball joints and bushings but it would save a lot of time and hassle just replacing the whole thing.

Looks like there are some cheap replacement options... Is there any brands on Rockauto I should stay away from or any that I should try to stay with on all the parts? (Moog, mevotech etc)

 

[donalds]

The pebbles on the road
When I put anymore than thirty five pounds of pressure on the tires my wife tells me she can feel the road
When we put new tires on it it got way better
New oem shocks and now it rides like a new suv

All my suspension parts are new front and rear
Never did body mounts bc mine were fine

All that said she can still feel the road it is a suv ...one of the old good well built ones...

 

[donalds]

Thanks for the info. I watched a video earlier on replacing control arms and they said it was possible to change out the ball joints and bushings but it would save a lot of time and hassle just replacing the whole thing.

Looks like there are some cheap replacement options... Is there any brands on Rockauto I should stay away from or any that I should try to stay with on all the parts? (Moog, mevotech etc)

I like moog .movotech .and motor craft
I have movotech upper control arms and lower control arms I like em so far
Btw welcome to the forum s
People will give their opinions I'm sure

 

[Mitch86]

I like moog .movotech .and motor craft
I have movotech upper control arms and lower control arms I like em so far
Btw welcome to the forum s
People will give their opinions I'm sure

I'll probably go with movotech in the cases that Moog is a lot more expensive. I know Moog is supposed to be the good stuff. Thanks for the welcome and the help!

The pebbles on the road
When I put anymore than thirty five pounds of pressure on the tires my wife tells me she can feel the road
When we put new tires on it it got way better
New oem shocks and now it rides like a new suv

All my suspension parts are new front and rear
Never did body mounts bc mine were fine

All that said she can still feel the road it is a suv ...one of the old good well built ones...

Ah...well I plan on replacing all of the suspension parts I can a little at a time plus some new tires. I'm confident it will ride better . . . as far as feeling the road goes, maybe I'll just have to get used to some of it .

It's an $800 SUV at this point, so I can't complain too much. I'm going to put a little money in it and drive it til it won't go any more. Lol

 

[roscoe 0202]

change your shocks first that helped my ranger more than anything else.
roscoe

 

[Mbrooks420]

These ride rough. There’s not a whole lot you can do. P radials without tons of bands run at 30-32psi help. The tire shop left my BFGs at 50, and it was like riding on cement tires.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Universal VIN Decoder - Decode This VIN Decoder

Put your VIN on here for a detailed report of your model. There’s one that recreates a build sheet as well, but a quick search didn’t pull it up

 

[RandomNerd2000]

The build sheet one is the etis page on the Ford website, hasn't worked for me in months.

 

[Mitch86]

Notice anything missing from this bolt holding on the leaf springs?

And the other side:

Looks like I need to get under the truck and see what all I'm really dealing with.

 

[donalds]

 

[swshawaii]

Blue Loctite and torque to spec.