explorer 1998, 4 door - suspension, shock absorbers problem

[999fff]

Greetings.
I have a question...
on my Explorer (1998) I have Rancho RS5000 shocks front and rear. But I find that I can feel a lot of the bumps in the road from the front and rear axles (new 2022 leaf springs) and new upper arms with a pivot in the front. Does anyone have these shock absorbers?
Is it possible that they are too hard for normal driving on the road? or that they are perhaps too long or short and there is no proper shock absorption?
I bought them at RockAuto right under the folder for a 1998 Explorer, 4.0 V6.
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I am thinking about getting the RS9000 series, which has the ability to adjust the damping in 9 steps.
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Alternatively, how will the car behave if the shock absorbers are too long or too short? would the shock absorbers work in some way and transfer the shocks to the chassis of the car?

PS: I'm from Europe and I can't just claim and return things bought in the US, so I can't order parts to test and exchange them

Thank you for your help

 

[dvdswan]

Well, to test if they are too short you can bounce the corners up and down and see if they are bottoming or topping out. Shocks just cushion/slow up and down movement, but if you still feel bumps/jolts I would look at the bushings. You may have a few that are just worn out and are metal to metal.

 

[999fff]

Well, to test if they are too short you can bounce the corners up and down and see if they are bottoming or topping out. Shocks just cushion/slow up and down movement, but if you still feel bumps/jolts I would look at the bushings. You may have a few that are just worn out and are metal to metal.

what cases? ... leaf springs are all new, and the chassis also has new silentblocks.

 

[dvdswan]

How was the ride before you replace the chassis parts with the RS5000s?

 

[999fff]

I think it's fine... it's been a while and even longer things have been serviced, including the stabilizer and the like

 

[J_C]

The RS5000 are firmer than some, possibly you want more of an OEM feel road shock instead? If the shocks are brand new, they will break in a "little" bit and be "slightly" softer over time, but never as soft as the RS9000 when set to soft... but you don't need to spend a lot to get RS9000 then end up setting them soft, can simply get one of several brands that offers a near-OEM ride quality like Monroe, KYB, Gabriel.

Harshness on road imperfections can also be caused by high tire pressure.

 

[410Fortune]

Agreed it is not likely the shocks
The shocks only control the rebound of the spring
If you were given the correct shocks from rockauto I would look elsewhere for your ride issues
What are tire pressures?
What is condition of the sway bar links front and rear?
Front wheel bearings and ball joints?
Have you twisted the torsion bar bolts at all?

Rancho 5000 are self adjusting as you drive very much like the Monroe sensation-trac (fyi Monroe owns Rancho)

You do not need 9000s they are adjustable yes, but most people just set them on 6 and forget about it

 

[999fff]

Agreed it is not likely the shocks
The shocks only control the rebound of the spring
If you were given the correct shocks from rockauto I would look elsewhere for your ride issues
What are tire pressures?
What is condition of the sway bar links front and rear?
Front wheel bearings and ball joints?
Have you twisted the torsion bar bolts at all?

Rancho 5000 are self adjusting as you drive very much like the Monroe sensation-trac (fyi Monroe owns Rancho)

You do not need 9000s they are adjustable yes, but most people just set them on 6 and forget about it

The torsion bars are factory set... I was thinking about lifting the front though, but I was told that something might be wrong (I don't know what exactly) with the torsion bars. The rear axle lift is fine, I have factory OEM springs +40 millimeters of travel.
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It doesn't seem to me that it is caused by something else, the bumps are felt from the front and rear axle just when passing over bumps in the road.
If I remember correctly, when I bought my Explorer in 2014, going over bumps was like a slightly bouncy, beautifully damped ride... but now it's the bumps that I don't know what else to look for.
As I mentioned. the front axle as far as the pivots are concerned seems to be fine, no play in the anti-roll bar yesterday. The rear also has no loose parts that would show any movement when the car is raised.
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It really seems to me that the Rancho shocks are either too hard (front and rear) or hard only the front and rear are short, that it does not come in a smooth damping and the shock hits the limit of its length.

 

[J_C]

What are the part numbers for the Ranchos you received? I mean on the box or shock itself, in case they shipped the wrong ones so the invoice is wrong.

 

[999fff]

What are the part numbers for the Ranchos you received? I mean on the box or shock itself, in case they shipped the wrong ones so the invoice is wrong.

one box had the number RS55185 and I don't know the other one, I threw it away on the day of delivery. But the numbers in the roll from RockAuto fit for this number (rear shock). According to the order, the front marking is RS55229.

 

[swshawaii]

With your torsion bar bolts being "factory set" below is unlikely but possible.

Check both rubber bump stops to see if they are bottoming out. A good test is marking them with chalk or similar and driving on rough road then checking them for contact marks on the lower control arms. If the bump stops are constantly making contact it will be a jarring ride and your shocks won't have any down travel. You may also have severely weakened torsion bars.

 

[BKennedy]

What you are describing is most likely from the shocks. You replaced them and don't like the ride. If you liked the OEM ride, then you should replace with the same shocks. Ranchos have a firmer ride than OEM.

 

[999fff]

With your torsion bar bolts being "factory set" below is unlikely but possible.

Check both rubber bump stops to see if they are bottoming out. A good test is marking them with chalk or similar and driving on rough road then checking them for contact marks on the lower control arms. If the bump stops are constantly making contact it will be a jarring ride and your shocks won't have any down travel and you may have severely weakened torsion bars.

yes, the front axle sits on the lower arm stop rubbers. So what should I do? tighten the torsion bolts to raise the front ?

 

[999fff]

What you are describing is most likely from the shocks. You replaced them and don't like the ride. If you liked the OEM ride, then you should replace with the same shocks. Ranchos have a firmer ride than OEM.

How do I know the OEM? Rancho were included among the shock absorbers for Explorer 2 generation

 

[swshawaii]

yes, the front axle sits on the lower arm stop rubbers. So what should I do? tighten the torsion bolts to raise the front ?

There's your problem. If your axle is sitting on the bump stops you are bottomed out and have no down travel.

Yes, tighten the torsion bolts until you get adequate bump stop clearance and both sides are close to the same height.
Always check alignment after adjusting the torsion bolts.

 

[999fff]

There's your problem. If your axle is sitting on the bump stops you are bottomed out and have no down travel.

Yes, tighten the torsion bolts until you get adequate bump stop clearance and both sides are close to the same height.
Always check alignment after adjusting the torsion bolts.

alright I got it. But that still doesn't solve the problem that the rear damping is also very hard. I'm still leaning that the Ranchos are tough... they were on RockAuto in the "Heavy Duty" tab... but I don't know what to imagine under the "Increased Handling / Stability" tab...?

 

[J_C]

How do I know the OEM? Rancho were included among the shock absorbers for Explorer 2 generation

The OEM would be the Motorcraft part # designated for your model year, or for the other major brands, they make multiple shocks but one they call OE "ride quality" or similar.

yes, the front axle sits on the lower arm stop rubbers. So what should I do? tighten the torsion bolts to raise the front ?

Can we get a picture? I could easily be wrong, but I don't recall the bump stop being in a location where the axle should (could?) ever hit it, instead of the frame itself. Also, what does "new upper arms with a pivot in the front.", mean? The upper arms always have a front and rear pivot so I don't understand if what you are stating is a contrasting statement to the old arm or something else?

Did you change both the leaf springs and the shocks at the same time, or one or other first and then after which one did you (and was it suddenly) notice the harsh ride? If it was right after the shock change, it seems like with only one variable, it would have to be the shocks at fault. Something you "could" do, is simply take the rear shocks off and see if the harshness goes away... of course you wouldn't want to do any aggressive driving because with no shocks, the rear end will have a mind of its own and be moving all over the place on less than perfect roads.

 

[999fff]

The OEM would be the Motorcraft part # designated for your model year, or for the other major brands, they make multiple shocks but one they call OE "ride quality" or similar.


Can we get a picture? I could easily be wrong, but I don't recall the bump stop being in a location where the axle should (could?) ever hit it, instead of the frame itself. Also, what does "new upper arms with a pivot in the front.", mean? The upper arms always have a front and rear pivot so I don't understand if what you are stating is a contrasting statement to the old arm or something else?

Did you change both the leaf springs and the shocks at the same time, or one or other first and then after which one did you (and was it suddenly) notice the harsh ride? If it was right after the shock change, it seems like with only one variable, it would have to be the shocks at fault. Something you "could" do, is simply take the rear shocks off and see if the harshness goes away... of course you wouldn't want to do any aggressive driving because with no shocks, the rear end will have a mind of its own and be moving all over the place on less than perfect roads.

I can take a photo, but the weather here in Europe is ugly right now... rain, drizzle and overall high humidity and I don't have the chance to lift the car on top of me. During the week, it will probably freeze to -10°C, so I will lie down under the car and take some photos of shock absorbers, springs and silent blocks.
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I never had the courage to try to remove and drive the car without shock absorbers, I was always afraid that the shocks would be too hard on the chassis.
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The hardness was high before the leaf springs were changed because I had hammered +80mm springs using the current Ranchos. in October 2022 I put brand new factory springs +40mm and the hardness dropped 90% for sure, I left the Rancho, just cleaned them and repainted them. But there were still blows when driving over bumps. When driving slowly or when leaving the parking lot at home or work, the car springs and damps beautifully, smoothly.

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Also... You write that Motorcraft is an OEM manufacturer. But there are five subgroups on RockAuto - Original ride quality, Economy, Heavy duty, Increased Handling/Stability and the last one - Adjustable Performance.

I wonder what I should actually imagine under that - Increased Handling/Stability?

In Europe, we do not have such a distribution of dampers at dealers. The other items make sense to me based on the name of the groups.

 

[swshawaii]

Are your bump stops closer to your LCA's than this? Easy to remove and test drive.

Front bump stop removal

I just took a quick look at the front bump stops that I'm going to replace and they don't look very easy to get out. How do you guys do it? Thanks, Jim 99 Explorer Limited

www.explorerforum.com

 

[410Fortune]

I have run Rancho 5000 on many of these trucks and never experienced these issues

If your rear leaf springs are too stiff shocks will not fix the ride

If your truck is riding on the bump
Stops basically it means your front torsion bars (front springs) are toast, however i
Doubt this is the case. Even with 250-300k miles these front ends are not on the bump stops..

Driving without shocks is not that crazy the truck will just bounce
The springs support all the weight of the vehicle and shocks only control the rebound of the spring

Your
Bump stops should have at least 1”’between the lower control arm and the bottom of the bump stop

I Am 99% sure he is referring to the control arm pivot Bushings and saying they have been checked and check out ok