Harsh ride questions

[Roberto]

I have a '98 XLT, 2WD with 70,000 miles in very good shape. The only thing wrong with it is the harsh ride. It has Rancho 5000's which are hard already, but the problem I see is that the suspension has very little travel, so it bottoms out very often. The bump stop always has a clean mark in the A arm. Is there a way to make the ride better, as in suspension improvements? I don't want a big lift and big tires in it, I like it the way it is now, or a small lift if necessary.
Thanks.
Roberto

 

[X24]

Wow, I lowered the front of mine 2" and cut my bumpstops in half and I hardly hit them. Thats very odd for you to be bottoming out often at stock height. How old are your shocks? Are you sure they are for an explorer? That just seems really weird.

Most stock explorers sit a little lower in the back than in the front. Is yours that way?

If you want to lift the front a little but, crawl under with... I think its a 13mm wrench and crank up the torsion bolts.

Are you the original owner? If not, maybe the previous owner lowered the front a little.

 

[Roberto]

Harsh ride

I am the second owner, and its almost paid off. I am keeping it. Anyway, it sits about level front to rear, I bought the shocks about a year ago, and yes they are for an explorer. So, yours doesn't hit the bump stop, but what about the ride? Is it harsh like mine?

 

[X24]

Yes, my ride is harsh but thats because of my 17" wheels and the lowering. Before I did that it was not so harsh. I only hit the bumpstop occasionally on big bumps. Before I lowered it, I never hit them.

 

[Jason_25]

Maybe your interpreting the ride as harsh because the shocks are so soft (or worn out)?

The ride can be harsh if the shocks are too soft, or if they're too stiff........

 

[Roberto]

Harsh ride

The shocks shouldn't be worn out in a year, since my wife babies the truck. Something simple like driving across a good, level railroad crossing shakes the whole truck, and the occupants heads. It doesn't happen in my Toyota Tacoma or F150 (with Rancho 5000's too) but I see it happen in other people's Explorers. I think that the Explorer has very little suspension travel. ( I may be wrong on this)
Nobody has noticed this?