explorer 1998, 4 door - suspension, shock absorbers problem

[999fff]

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

I'm still wondering if it could be in the front... clearance between the knuckle and the top pin. Last year, I put new upper pins with arms.

 

[410Fortune]

the ball joint should fit inside the knuckle and is held tight with the pinch bolt. The clearance between the knuckle and UCA (upper control arm) should be just fine with new ball joints and new upper control arms

top pin = ball joint in the usa
upper pins with arms = complete upper control arm with new ball joints

 

[999fff]

the ball joint should fit inside the knuckle and is held tight with the pinch bolt. The clearance between the knuckle and UCA (upper control arm) should be just fine with new ball joints and new upper control arms

top pin = ball joint in the usa
upper pins with arms = complete upper control arm with new ball joints

Yes. I put new arm and pin on both sides. But can't the problem be in squeezed knuckles? after all, it is cast iron and not steel

 

[410Fortune]

nope because the ball joint stud has a notch in it where the pivot bolt rides...so if you seated the ball joint studs into the knuckle fully and the pinch bolts went in....then they are installed properly

you need to do a simple front end shake down test, with the front suspension hanging in the air and both tires slightly off the ground a pry bar is used to look for looseness in the ball joints, control arms, wheel bearing, tie rods

next is checking everything spinning, cv axles, front d shaft, wheel bearings.......any roughness or grinding noises, any notchy spots in the cv axles, worn cv in the front d shaft...will show itself