My Ranger Problems and Questions

[ricere]

I am new here, and I registered in hopes of having an expert answer some questions.

Please forgive me if this is not the right forum for my subject.

I have a 2005 Ranger Edge that I purchased new. It is a short bed, regular cab, 3.0 V6, manual transmission, power windows, door locks, keyless entry, tilt, cruise, owl tires and optional wheels. It is bright red and I have a fiberglass bed cover. The truck is very cute and I like it, but it has had one thing or another wrong with it since it was new. I now have 33,000 miles on it.:thumbdwn:

The engine runs fine and the truck drives great. The vibration it has had at 50 mph since new was fixed last week by the dealer when I noticed the front universal joint slinging grease. They replaced it and the vibration is gone. I tried to get them to replace it long ago, but they could find nothing wrong and would not.

Now, the left front suspension is poping and noisy. What could that be? The dealer replaced the steering shaft, and that made the truck drive better, but did nothing for the suspension noise. The noise sounds like it could be a faulty shock binding, or a bushing worn out, but all bushings look new. Could it be a bad shock?

I have more questions about the Wipple Supercharger, the exhaust system, and computer programming, but I will save them for later.

I'm a 57 year old teenager.

Thanks,

Ronnie

 

[schmidlkofer]

is your edge 4x4 could be the front drive shaft i cant reember what its called....could need grease on the shaft i think its a slip yolk....

 

[Dopler174]

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you have a real good looking truck. Post up some pics! I would also make sure EVERYTHING is greased on the front of your truck. If it's still poping, it could be a bad shock, but I would think that it would last more than 40k miles.

 

[ricere]

I forgot to mention that my ranger is not a 4X4. It is a 4X2 and it does not have any grease fittings on the front end. everything is sealed. It is still under warranty and I believe it is nothing serious. I believe it is a bad shock, but the dealer seems to want to do things that are the hardest first, instead of the easiest first.

I would be glad to post some pictures, but I have never had luck doing it on forums. I will clean the truck up in the next few days and take some pictures and try to get some pics here.

Thanks for the replys.

Any other ideas?

 

[ricere]

I would also like to have more power and speed, but I'm not sure if the little difference in power vs cost of a power programmer is worth it.

I like the idea of a wipple supercharger, but how will it affect fuel mileage, and is it reliable power?

This truck is my daily driver and I would rather it be weak and wimpy as long as it is reliable, which the engine seems to be.

Thanks.

 

[dla]

I forgot to mention that my ranger is not a 4X4. It is a 4X2 and it does not have any grease fittings on the front end. everything is sealed. It is still under warranty and I believe it is nothing serious. I believe it is a bad shock, but the dealer seems to want to do things that are the hardest first, instead of the easiest first.

I would be glad to post some pictures, but I have never had luck doing it on forums. I will clean the truck up in the next few days and take some pictures and try to get some pics here.

Thanks for the replys.

Any other ideas?

Do you hear this noise when going over speedbumps? Under what conditions do you hear the noise?

 

[ricere]

Do you hear this noise when going over speedbumps? Under what conditions do you hear the noise?

The noise is hard to describe. It's no worse going over a speedbump than it is just idling around a parking lot. It is not very noticable at highway speeds, but around 25 mph and less it is noticable. Pulling into a parking lot and driving at parking lot speeds it is VERY notiaible. It's like something loose thumping under the left front.

The best I can describe would be like an old, dry-rotten rubber bushing in a front suspension that is worn out rubbing against bare metal. The only problem is my front suspension bushings all look new.

When I shake the right front up and down, everything is as it should be....quiet. When I shake the left front up and down, you feel and hear the noise. I'm thinking I will remove the bottom shock bolts and work the shock to see if that is the problem. If that's not it, I guess we'll have to look at the bushings in the upper A frame.......I don't know.

I always try to diagnose a problem before I take a vehicle to the dealer to ensure he fixes the right thing, but this is a real challenge. They have already put a new steering shaft on it, and it didn't change a thing. My left front wheel bearing was loose, and I thought that was it. I tightened the wheel bearing and that didn't help either.

I plan on taking it to the dealer this week and hope he fixes it. I'm sick of odd problems.

 

[dla]

The noise is hard to describe. It's no worse going over a speedbump than it is just idling around a parking lot. It is not very noticable at highway speeds, but around 25 mph and less it is noticable. Pulling into a parking lot and driving at parking lot speeds it is VERY notiaible. It's like something loose thumping under the left front.

The best I can describe would be like an old, dry-rotten rubber bushing in a front suspension that is worn out rubbing against bare metal. The only problem is my front suspension bushings all look new.

When I shake the right front up and down, everything is as it should be....quiet. When I shake the left front up and down, you feel and hear the noise. I'm thinking I will remove the bottom shock bolts and work the shock to see if that is the problem. If that's not it, I guess we'll have to look at the bushings in the upper A frame.......I don't know.


I always try to diagnose a problem before I take a vehicle to the dealer to ensure he fixes the right thing, but this is a real challenge. They have already put a new steering shaft on it, and it didn't change a thing. My left front wheel bearing was loose, and I thought that was it. I tightened the wheel bearing and that didn't help either.

I plan on taking it to the dealer this week and hope he fixes it. I'm sick of odd problems.

Put your hand on the upper control arm and have somebody push up and down on the front-end. You'll be able to feel what you hear. If you did it with the shock disconnected it would help eliminate (or convict) it.

On my truck, the upper ball joint was loose from the factory. However, I was experiencing a "clunk" on the rebound from a speedbump. I still have the "clunk" but I did notice a general improvement in "rattling" when the wheel bearing and balljoint were tightened.

I'm assuming you did a visual on the anti-sway bar bushing?

Keep us posted.

 

[bisjoe]

Ronnie,

There are good and not so good an bad techs at dealers. We went through 4 different Jeep dealers before we found one that did a decent job without trying to rip us off on my wife's Liberty.

If it's still on warranty then try a different dealer. If you start out telling them that you are unsatisfied with the one you were going to then they are likely to pay more attention to you, hoping to earn your continued business.

If it's not on warranty, then I'd suggest going to an independent shop that specializes in suspension work, like an alignment shop.

 

[ricere]

It's still under warranty.

I just got out from underneath the truck, and I think I figured out the problem. I took the shock loose, and it's not the shock.

It appears to me the problem is one of the upper A arm bushings is binding up. When you shake the left front and hold the upper A arm at the same time, the A arm vibrates.

I'll take it to the dealer this week and tell them what I found out. Will keep you posted.

Thanks,

Ronnie

 

[dla]

It's still under warranty.

I just got out from underneath the truck, and I think I figured out the problem. I took the shock loose, and it's not the shock.

It appears to me the problem is one of the upper A arm bushings is binding up. When you shake the left front and hold the upper A arm at the same time, the A arm vibrates.

I'll take it to the dealer this week and tell them what I found out. Will keep you posted.

Thanks,

Ronnie

Good find! Now it will be interesting to see if the bushing is just dry/rusted or if it is bad. I seem to remember that rubber bushings were sensitive to running dry, which is why poly bushings became popular.

 

[ricere]

I seem to remember that rubber bushings were sensitive to running dry, which is why poly bushings became popular.

How do you keep them from running dry? I don't see any way to lubricate them. Looks like to me the rubber is out in the open.

 

[dla]

How do you keep them from running dry? I don't see any way to lubricate them. Looks like to me the rubber is out in the open.

I believe the bushing has a steel liner around it. When I've done bushings in the past I've always used white lithium grease on them.

 

[ricere]

UPDATE:

The dealer finally fixed my front end problem. I would have never guessed it was a tie-rod end. They replaced the left tie-rod end they said was "too tight". I think in reality it was binding up.

Now the truck drives as it should. I'm again happy with the truck. I hope the truck goes a long time without any more problems.