After 18 years owning 11 Chevy Trucks, I bought a 1987, Ford - Ranger. At 209K miles, I sold it and bought a 1992. After 126K of towing, (heavy) hauling and general transportation, the Driver Side Shock Tower collapsed. With the service I've gotten, I should be willing to let it go the the boneyard. But, after 48 years of driving, I recognize it as the the best truck ever built. Other than belts, tires, brakes, plugs and oil changes, it's never had a part failure. Just can't let go!

Any suggestions, or comments on fixing the problem?

 

Welcome to FTE!!!

I'm not sure but I bet someone will have some ideas.

 

I'm in the middle of doing this repair myself, except that the allicted housing/bracket on my 92 is the front passenger side. The driver's side is in perfect condition. The repair itself appears to be straightforward, although involves a fair amount of labour.

The bracket/housing is held to the frame with 5 rivets. To get access to grind off/burn off the rivets, my buddy and I removed the front fender, the inner wheel liner, the front light housing assembly, and even the front grill. Oh yeah, we had to disconnect the brake line as well.
The bolts from the anti-sway bar were removed from the bracket that ties the front axle to the torsion bar, and then the front of the truck was jacked up with a floor jack, allowing the axle to lower itself down - enabling the coil spring to fall free from the top of the housing/bracket.
At this point support the axle with a jack stand. You'll need a 28mm socket to free the nut that holds the coil at the bottom to the axle. Lots of patience, heat on the bolts/nuts and mechanical aptitude required.

Once the shock and the coil are removed, you should gain access to the bracket/housing and the 5 rivets. Once the bracket/housing is removed, check for rust or corrosion to the frame itself. If it's OK, just replace the housing/bracket and use grade 8 bolts to secure the bracket/housing to the frame.
We're at this step now. I've ordered the bracket/housing from the dealer - $140 Cdn. and it's in stock at the Ford depot. Should be at my local dealer's tomorrow.

By the way, the local parts manager says that the grade 8 bolts are fine thread so that more torque can be applied, yet a class A mechanic is recommending coarse threads (although I haven't heard his logic on this). Any opinions out there on this?

Good luck!

Don

 

Fletchwe,
we finally got the Ranger back on the road today, with the new bracket/housing in place. While we were at it, we fixed a few other problem areas with rust/corrosion (rad housing/frame bracket weldments, replaced the rubber bushing assembly between frame and rad housing), , and bled the front brakes.
The reassembly of the coil/shock housing was straightforward, and went very smoothly.

By coincidence, a former colleague underwent the very same repair on his 91 ranger two weeks earlier. In his case, he had a Ford dealer do the repair for $400 Cdn (repair was done in a day), parts and labour inclusive. His Ranger had about 160,000 kms on the odometer.

For both of us, while the repair was more than we would've liked to spend, - given the reliable operation of our Rangers, it was a good investment rather than forking out the big bucks for a replacement vehicle. If your Ranger's drivetrain is in good shape, and the body/frame isn't rusting badly, it's a repair worth considering.

Cheers,

Don