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1997 Ranger, regular cab, short bed.

When traveling down bumpy washboarded backroads, the back of the truck loses control and jumps out to the side. It always moves to the right side. It doesn't jump out just a little... it moves out a lot... coming close to almost losing control. It also happens on a single bump on the highway, like a seam in the road or going on/off a bridge that is slightly higher/lower than the highway.

It has done this since I've owned it and it's really getting annoying... to the point that I just want to sell the thing so I don't have to deal with it!

Did Ford use different rated springs on some Rangers? Mine is one of the few I see around here with the back sitting quite a bit higher than the front.

I put new shocks on it which didn't help at all.

Any ideas?

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And if I put a few hundred pounds in the bed, the problem gets better, but doesn't go away.

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Same problem with my 05 ranger

There are 4 spots in town I try to avoid if possible. One is just a simple drain on the side of the road the back end will come loose like it is about to completly fish tail.

The other one I almost wreaked on the highway,. The bridge has like a pot hole and I hit it at 60mph and the truck actually went into the other lane. I went back the next day and watched other people go over with no problems

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Well I guess the problem is not unique to my truck. I've driven our Suburban and PT Cruiser 70 mph down the same roads that the Ranger can't go faster than 35 mph!




I think I've found the solution to my problem...

Part of owning a short wheelbase lightweight leaf sprung truck that was designed in the 80's and hasn't been seriously updated since.

Yep...Rangers are real light in the rear end.

Shocks did help mine, but sure didn't fix it. Another thing that made it a lot worse on mine was when I increased the tire pressures in anticipation of hauling something heavy. Instead of my usualy 35-ish, I pumped them up to the recommended max of 44 psi. With nothing in the bed and driving normally, the back end was skating all over the place on bumps. Depending on where you're at now, you might try lowering your tire pressure slightly to see if that helps.

Mostly, I've just gotten used to it, though. I've never wrecked it, and haven't even ever REALLY turned sideways (just felt like it was going to) unless it was snowy or icy.

The other part of it, is that driving a 2wd truck in New England for a few years now...I've gotten fairly comfortable with the truck actually being sideways, too.

EDIT: For the record...my Escort is actually worse, on dirt. Washboard on a corner will turn it sideways in a heartbeat- way trickier than the Ranger. Not so much on pavement, though.

My ranger's did the same thing. I put Lighter more responsive shocks on and that took 95% of it away. The stiffer shocks make it far worse. Weight in the bed helps a lot. When I put my over the rail tool box in loaded with tools it helps with the wheel hop.

5.0 said:

It always moves to the right side.

Click to expand...

On rereading, this part strikes me as odd. My truck is really only bad if I'm already turning a little bit, and it always goes to the outside of the turn. I have driven Rangers that will hop sideways in a straight line, but even then I always assumed the direction they went was based on the shape of the road/bump that sent it up in the air.

'Course, the crown of the road will tend to pull it down to the right most of the time, so maybe that's all it is.

I know my alignment is whacked because the truck will go to the right real quick if I let go of the wheel, so maybe that isn't helping the situation? I'm thinking I'll just get rid of the truck... it moves out pretty far in the rear, and I don't want to take any chances hauling my 3 year old boy in there. It's bad enough that it's scary... and it takes a LOT to scare me!