Conquering Tremendous Body Roll

[MyExplorer03v8Lim]

Hello Explorers,

I've always felt that the old girl was a little loose. I've taken her to a couple mechanics who've said it's got a very good suspension so not to worry.

I'm used to driving it, but it's very loose around corners and when turning. It just feels like it WANTS to roll over.

I let my cousin take the car out and he immediately identified the suspension as a problem. So my feelings are backed up and I'm ready to fix the problem.

Though not directly part of the problem, I'm going to be upgrading my tie rods to Moog problem solvers, inner and outer. I also noticed some play in the front sway bar bushings, which I don't like at all.

I plan to replace the bushings and maybe brackets up front. I haven't looked in the back yet.

Are there any upgrade stabilizer bars for the explorer? Where should I start looking?

 

[drdoom]

I drive pretty hard on the back roads, the Rancho quick lifts keep it nice and steady. I have the shocks dialed up fairly high also.

 

[swshawaii]

May want to research upgrading sway bars. (Belltech 5543 rear and 5443 front) Not sure about Gen 3, but replacing the undersized 19mm (3/4") rear sway bar on a second gen makes a huge difference. Greatly reduced body roll when turning and straighter tracking when windy or towing. After tires and shocks, by far the best handling and safety upgrade I've ever done.

Maybe upgrade to polyurethane front and rear sway bar frame bushings and front end links before upgrading the sway bar.
http://www.prothanesuspensionparts.com/#

 

[MyExplorer03v8Lim]

Thanks for the replies. I ended up ordering upgraded links and bushings as well as the bushings for the bar itself. Why not.

But I'd also like to replace the brackets and bolts if possible. Does anyone know where to find the u shaped brackets and the bolts that hold them in? Is it a generic part or vehicle specific?

My brackets and bolts aren't bad or anything, just covered 1000% in rust and I figure why not just replace them if I'm doing the bushings behind them anyway.

 

[Renner]

what kind of tires are you running passenger OE rated, LT ? You will get a lot of deflection from stock replacement rated tires i'm upgrading to a LT D or E rated tire for a stronger sidewall. Yeah there will me more weight but here in the desert going off road its well worth it.

 

[TechGuru]

Also be sure you're running at least 35psi in all the tires...

 

[OneHotLX]

Is the body roll or does it feel like it's swaying? If the rearend feels loose like you're on tires with low PSI or bias ply tires you'll want to look at your wheel bearings. They don't seem to make noise like the fronts but you can tell if you jack it up and shake the wheel.