NEED a softer ride!!!

[Bronco351]

Hey guys

Our 76 bronco rides like a metal wagon with plastic wheels. Every little bump in the road and the truck sounds like it's going to fall apart and the fillings are going to fall out of my teeth.

I'm looking into bilstein shocks to replace the ranchos in there. We bought the truck as it sits and I have been working on stuff here and there to get it reliable

All i was told about the suspension is this: 3" suspension lift with rancho shocks and 2" body lift.

What I've seen is it does not have rear lift blocks but instead a 10 leaf pack (give or take a couple I never counted.)

15" wheels with 35" tires set to 30psi

Those who have switched to bilsteins .... Is it a HUGE difference? Or am I going to be forced to get new coil springs and leaf springs as well to correct this ride?

 

[SteveL]

If you're running rancho 5000 shocks getting rid of those is a good start. If you go bilstien you only need 1 per corner. Next would be springs. Extended radius arms soften the ride but add body roll.

 

[jimschulz]

Well...........It is an Early Bronco! I dont think Ive ever been in a soft riding EB. That being said, I run TB (Don't know who makes em) shocks on a TB 2.5" SL and a WH 1" BL, and they seem to ride pretty good. Maybe one of the vendors here can give you a little better prognosis.

 

[jw0747]

A Bronco riding rough, are you kidding me? It's a 4x4 with two solid, heavy duty axles with heavy duty leaf springs in back and a 92" wheelbase = a rough ride. I have adjustable Rancho 9000s so no comments about Bilsteins but switching will not make a huge difference. I run my 35s at 24 psi. Only suggestion I would make is to let some air out of the tires and if your tires are mud terrains switch to all terrains. No matter what you do your Bronco will never ride soft like a car.

 

[dholder]

I had the red rancho coil springs and non adjustable rancho shocks and when I replaced just the coils with used Deavers I was amazed at how much smoother the ride became. I have 3 inch lift and 35 inch tires at about 26 psi.

 

[LoneRanger]

dholder hit the nail on the head. My show truck is hands down the smoothest nicest driving truck I have ever had.
Shoot me an email to: robmmathews@gmail.com and I'll send you some pics of my setup.

I'm headed to the garage now for some part numbers to help you out!

 

[jeff_gates]

I have a 66 and it was bad when I went over speed bumps and pot holes.
Here is what I replaced and the ride got 100% better from where it was.

Leaf Springs - 2.5", ULTRA-FLEX, 11-pk, 66-77 Early Ford Bronco
Rear Leaf Spring & Shackle Polyurethene Bushing Kit, 66-77 Early Ford Bronco
Rear Leaf Spring & Shackle Mounting Hardware Bolt Kit, 66-77 Ford Bronco
U-Bolts Standard Length, Heavy Duty, Set of 4, 66-77 Early Ford Bronco
Coil Springs - 2.5" Lift, Long Travel, 66-77 Early Ford Bronco

--Jeff

 

[Bronco351]

I understand it's a 4x4. This is our 2nd early bronco and our last one (1968) was a very smooth ride in comparison to this one.

 

[Bronco351]

I have a 66 and it was bad when I went over speed bumps and pot holes.
Here is what I replaced and the ride got 100% better from where it was.

Leaf Springs - 2.5", ULTRA-FLEX, 11-pk, 66-77 Early Ford Bronco
Rear Leaf Spring & Shackle Polyurethene Bushing Kit, 66-77 Early Ford Bronco
Rear Leaf Spring & Shackle Mounting Hardware Bolt Kit, 66-77 Ford Bronco
U-Bolts Standard Length, Heavy Duty, Set of 4, 66-77 Early Ford Bronco
Coil Springs - 2.5" Lift, Long Travel, 66-77 Early Ford Bronco

--Jeff

I am tempted to just go through the whole suspension like this. Truck was hacked together... We bought it from the other side of the country so I couldn't inspect before the purchase.... All the shocks were loose when it got here! Along with pretty much everything else on the truck!

 

[LoneRanger]

Deaver coils H5c, bilstien 5100 (f4-be5-2731-h5), And I can't recall what the leafs are (pretty sure they are deavers as well) it's around 2.5" of lift front and 2" in the rear. Stock truck.

L.R.

 

[AZ73]

Your tires weigh about 68 pounds each. That's a TON of unsprung weight. Without proper shocks, the ride will beat you to death since your stiff suspension is carrying the road bumps. And it's not just the travel length of your shocks (are they topping out?), it's how well they can handle the forces of the unsprung weight. The other issue is your 3" BL. That amplifies any movement off the frame. Then there's all the linkage with that BL. If they didn't replace them with proper lenght components (clutch rods, shifting rods, brake lines, etc), they're maxing out and adding jerking motion. I'd start with the best shocks you can afford, and go from there. A well tuned suspension is a joy. The guy filming this is holding the camera with his hands. Not a lot of jarring compared to the front wheel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI60RZQlSbc

 

[Bronco351]

I just dropped tire pressures to 28 pounds and took the rear shocks off and went for a ride... Didn't feel much of a difference other than the lack of rear shocks making it bouncy... Still hit hard when a small crack in the road was run over. The shocks on the truck are stamped "explorer 32450" from what I can tell they are a procomp shock.

 

[BTbronco]

i went from a rough riding suspension that had older 3.5 lift with ranchos to new Wild horses rock crawler springs up front and their 11 pack springs in the rear with bilsteins.
man what a difference- WAY softer ride! could not be happier.

 

[jmangi62]

The first thing I would do is get rid of that body lift,not for ride but for looks,then invest in a new Wild Horses complete suspension system with Bilsteins and maybe some new 33s,the combo- new suspension and tires should help a ton,but that's me,I'm doing a complete restoration on my 70 so its no biggie for me.Good luck bro!

 

[Bronco351]

The first thing I would do is get rid of that body lift,not for ride but for looks,then invest in a new Wild Horses complete suspension system with Bilsteins and maybe some new 33s,the combo- new suspension and tires should help a ton,but that's me,I'm doing a complete restoration on my 70 so its no biggie for me.Good luck bro!

I just measured the body bushings... The last owner told me it had a 3" but I never stopped to think about it. The bushings only measure about 1.5" ... Which is only about 1" taller than stock I think?

 

[Whoaa]

The springs and suspension systems of yester-year are not the ones of today, here's some good reading http://www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/Suspension_Technology

 

[Digger556]

The easy answer is ditch those Ranchos and throw on some Bilsteins. If your ride is still harsh, you need to run lower spring rates.

With spring rates, keep in mind that a good straight-line ride rate will likely be too soft for confident cornering, so a sway bar may need to be added. Radius arm length has nothing to do with how the truck rides, but steep arm angles (usually from high lift combine with stock arms) can alter suspension geometry and create excessive Precession, leading to excessive harshness because the wheel is trying to move forward with every bump in the road.

Precession: Suspension kinematic characteristic where the wheel (normally for front suspension) moves forward in bump and rearward in droop. The amount of precession directly affects the amount of anti-dive.

 

[Master Chief]

I replaced the off brand shocks, blocked stock leafs, and a set of 3 1/2" lift progressive coils with Bilsteins, 11 leaf Deaver rear packs, and 3 1/2" Deaver coils. My rig rides smoother than most new trucks.

 

[ren71]

My Bronco rides pretty smooth on 35 mud terrains so it is possible. WH 3 1/2 full kit and bilstein in front and rancho adjustables in the back. Soaks up bumps pretty good and stable in the corners. rides better than my explorer.

 

[broncnaz]

I don't think you'll see a huge difference going to bilstiens but you never know new shocks can make a difference. But if you go with them and it still rides rough then you can start looking at the springs and not have to worry about buying shocks.
One thing you could try is removing a leaf or two from the rear springs. That can help lower the spring rate and make a softer ride Of course they may not give as much lift and may sag quicker.
Other things that help smooth the ride out is to use rubber bushings instead of the hard poly ones.