Rear suspension sagging

[WNP 2]

All of the Explorers except the trucks with Automatic Ride Control should sit lower in the rear.

The extra inch lower in the rear helps the truck pass the J-Turn test at Ford. I would not mess with the suspension on any Explorer ever. It is very sensitive to any change. This change means the difference of the truck lifting 2 wheels off the ground in emergency lane change manuevers.

Morgan

 

[xxnodicexx]

do you guys think its better to get the 4dr leaf springs or just go add-a-leaf?

 

[JDraper]

do you guys think its better to get the 4dr leaf springs or just go add-a-leaf?

Unquestionably the 4 door leafs.

 

[MONMIX]

you cant aal the sport mono leafs

 

[xxnodicexx]

that makes my decision easier. thanks

 

[andrewryancarls]

I had a similiar problem on my '99. I went into napa and the suggested a coilover looking shock from monroe. They said it was load sensing and I paid $100 for a pair. I took that factory shocks off that had 50,000 miles and they were shot I didn't even have to try at all to compress them. The new ones I put in were exact factory replacement and I had to compress them in to fit, even with the rear end jacked off the ground. They increased the ride height 2.25" and look and ride great. I see someone else tried this and it might not be the way to go, but I read this after I had done it. I will see how well these hold up.

 

[JDraper]

I had a similiar problem on my '99. I went into napa and the suggested a coilover looking shock from monroe. They said it was load sensing and I paid $100 for a pair. I took that factory shocks off that had 50,000 miles and they were shot I didn't even have to try at all to compress them. The new ones I put in were exact factory replacement and I had to compress them in to fit, even with the rear end jacked off the ground. They increased the ride height 2.25" and look and ride great. I see someone else tried this and it might not be the way to go, but I read this after I had done it. I will see how well these hold up.

By doing that, you have cured the symptom, but not the problem...Your springs are still sagging, but now instead of the spring mounts (which are connected to the frame) supporting the weight of the truck, the body is now supporting the weight of the truck. You should never try to alter your ride height with shock absorbers..

 

[nserafini]

My rear sag is driving me crazy !

I've been searching for a Part # or some indicator that I can find online; but I can't -

Can anyone provide a link to the jc whitney site for a set of rear leafs I can use in a '93 ?

It seems that I can use the ranger or bronco part #'s, but would prefer to verify before I order online -

 

[blackbeauty]

yeah, for sure do the 4 door leaf swap. I did this last week and boy, what a difference. You be very pleased. I paid $80 at a junk yard.

 

[Lloyd10977]

My rear sag is driving me crazy !

I've been searching for a Part # or some indicator that I can find online; but I can't -

Can anyone provide a link to the jc whitney site for a set of rear leafs I can use in a '93 ?

It seems that I can use the ranger or bronco part #'s, but would prefer to verify before I order online -

If you go with Bronco parts from a boneyard, you can come across some good deals. The ride will be slightly stiffer, but the handling and overall ride is GREAT!

 

[96limitedX]

All of the Explorers except the trucks with Automatic Ride Control should sit lower in the rear.

The extra inch lower in the rear helps the truck pass the J-Turn test at Ford. I would not mess with the suspension on any Explorer ever. It is very sensitive to any change. This change means the difference of the truck lifting 2 wheels off the ground in emergency lane change manuevers.

Morgan

really. well how come when they are new they sit right. with no sag?

even my moms 94 does not have rear saG(lucky i geuss) but my dads 97 does have the lefts side sag. but the pass side sits exactly the saem front/back the rear is not lower.

 

[don_varner]

Shackles are what hold the rear of the leaf springs to the truck frame. You won't find 4 leaf springs for your Sport, you have to order them for a 4 door Explorer. The springs are the same length between the Sport and the 4 door Ex. The springs for the sport are mono leafs while the springs for the 4 doors are 4 leaf. (hint** use search button...lots of info already here)

My 2001 Sport has 4 leafs and I just replaced them with new OEM springs after replacing the shocks. It did not fix the sag completely. I am changing the shackles next week.

 

[WNP 2]

If the truck is leaning on one side it will need a torsion bar adjustment. Again I state that the car is engineered to sit lower in the rear. Any change to the rear ride height is going to affect the center of gravitity height. Any change to the CG height will affect how your car reacts in an emergency manuevers. All Explorers except the trucks with Ride Control sit this way. The sport has the most noticible ass sag out of all flavors of Explorer. Take a look at a 2003 Sport and you will notice this.

Anyone that has gone to school for engineering of vehicle dynamics would understand this. If you take a look at many, many high performance cars they are always lower in the rear end.

Morgan

 

[cisurfer]

its a explorer not high performance

 

[coreyk78]

If the truck is leaning on one side it will need a torsion bar adjustment. Again I state that the car is engineered to sit lower in the rear. Any change to the rear ride height is going to affect the center of gravitity height. Any change to the CG height will affect how your car reacts in an emergency manuevers. All Explorers except the trucks with Ride Control sit this way. The sport has the most noticible ass sag out of all flavors of Explorer. Take a look at a 2003 Sport and you will notice this.

Anyone that has gone to school for engineering of vehicle dynamics would understand this. If you take a look at many, many high performance cars they are always lower in the rear end.

Morgan

Any lifted vehicle has it's center of gravity altered, an Explorer is not more sensitive to change than any of the other hundreds of thousands of SUV's and pickups with leaf springs and torsion bar front suspensions. And I would actually be more concerned about what improper sagging rear ride height is doing to caster/camber/toe in the front end more than CG. These are trucks, not sports cars, and your driving should be adjusted accordingly. If youre concerned about your truck rolling in an emergency manuever then maybe you need to increase your following distance so you have more time to react safely, or pay better attention to any obstacles which may be in the road.

 

[BShow]

...maybe you need to increase your following distance so you have more time to react safely, or pay better attention to any obstacles which may be in the road.

These are words that 99% of the drivers that I encounter on the road should take to heart. Although I try to keep a safe following distance, I'm guilty of following too close sometimes as well. I get tailgated almost everwhere that I go. Now that we successfully hijacked the thread...

Does anybody have part numbers for aftermarket leaf springs? I need some new ones, and I dont want to order the wrong thing. Id rather get some new aftermarket ones, since clearly the stock springs are no good. They sag on nearly every explorer I see.

 

[jp450]

you cant aal the sport mono leafs

Sure you can... I have done it... Been driving on it now for about 150K mi.

 

[rcpone]

One of the cheapest components, other then the air in the tires, are OEM shock absorbers. Bad shocks overwork good springs and cause the sag you want to correct. Front and rear stabilizer bars and quality gas charged shocks with proper tire inflation pressures are what prevent evasive roll-overs. A good spring shop can re-arch your springs and put in an extra main leaf and with new shocks will improve handling. My '92 4dr and '97awd have correct ride heighth with preventive maintenance on shocks.

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

putting another leaft isnt the hardest thing in the world an you can save yourtself a bunch of money by doing it yourself.......btw rcpone were in ohio are you from?

 

[pfeffer1728]

saw the post about the 'add a leaf'...how much did that actually help? how hard to install? where to get? more info would be great, im lookin into it myself. any info would be great thanks!