IT is driving us NUTS! This thing is supposed to be for off-road! Heaven help us if we ever drive over anything the size of a gopher hill! I am REALLY getting fed up with the TERIBBLE rocking sideways! Oh yeah, its bad on turns, and bad on going straight too! So bad, my wife wants to sell the @#$ thing!

Here's an example: the othe day we drove this full-sized '89 co down a slightly bumpy back road with some bad pavement ripples. That was all, just some depressions where the blacktop had sagged into the holes for an inch or two. BUt NO potholes, just some minor bumps but plenty of them. THe Bronco bucked SO BADLY from side to side, we were almost thrown out of our seats!!!! Our backs are still aching from that drive!! I had driven the SAME ROAD the previous day in my 4 cylinder Dodge Spirit car (same thing as Plymouth Acclaim) with bad shocks, and it was barely a thump going over each bump. No sideway motion detectable at all.

So, WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG???!!?? It makes drving this thing MISERABLE for any more than an hour!!! I'd love to fix the problem, but I'm hoping someone on here can tell me what the problem is caused by? ANY HELP WILL BE VASTLY APPRECIATED!!! Thanks!

 

Bad shocks primarily. When I first got my 84 Bronco, I couldn't drive over 10 mph on a gravel road to my house. I even pinched a nerve in my right arm from the bucking and broke my seat mounts twice. In comparison, I can drive my '98 Z-71 up to 70 mph on the same road, and drink a Coke at the same time. (It has Rancho RS9000X's). The biggest improvement on the Bronco has come from replacing the shocks with better aftermarket ones. I had Pro Comp ES9000's for about a year. I further reduced the "porposeing effect" by installing a complete poly bushing kit, replacing all of the worn out rubber suspension and body mounts. That got me up to 40 mph on the same road. With the 6" suspension lift and 35" tires, I'm up to 50 mph, fast as I care to drive the Bronco off of the pavement. I also removed both sway bars, cause they didn't help to reduce the "bucking" very much even with new bushings.

 

Are your sway/torsion bars still attached? If a previous owner has removed the sway bars to reach better articulation for off-road performance you would get the same symptoms you described. Bushings, shocks and body mounts can do the same. Give us more info about the truck and we may be able to help by process of elimination. Good Luck and hang on tight.

KJ

 

OK, this '89 Bronco is pretty stock looking. We purchased it from a family whose main modification to it, as far as we know, was putting in an aftermarket stereo.

It DOES have fairly tall tires, but I don't now what they came with stock that year. This is the first vehicle we have owned with non-standard looking tires. BUt the size may be stock, I know the rims are stock Bronco. And while the tires are tall, the are not HUGE mud-boggers by any means. What was the stock size that year?

Yes, at first I wondered if this vehicle even HAD sway bars! But there are two (one in front, the other in back) both quite thick looking too. Is it possible they are not working? How can we tell????? I have heard of Urethane bushings, where would I find those reasonabley priced if I wanted them? While the bushings appeared a bit squished looking when I checked on them, I do not know how to tell the difference between good bushings and BAD bushings. I mean, I didnt see any chunks of rubber missing or hanging out of them, but they did look sorta squished up on one side. BUt - wouldn't the tension in the sway bar do that to new ones right away too? Or not? (I don't know.)

How do you install sway bar bushings? Aren't those things under HUGE tension somehow? That if you do it wrong, they snap back and break an arm or whatever?


What would be some good shocks to use if it needs shocks? I DONT want any kind of foolishness like $300 billet shocks! I don't ever look under there, I just want them to work, Please, I don't care what color they are or how custom they are or how cool they are!

I sure hope we can figure this out! Thanks for any help you can give!

 

Is it possible they are not working? How can we tell?????

Yes, it is possible that the bushings are shot. You could have one of two problems with them. 1.) they could be dry-rotted and cracked. 2.) They could be overly squishy and bulged out at high tension areas.

I have heard of Urethane bushings, where would I find those reasonabley priced if I wanted them?

- You can find them at any parts store or you can order them from JC Whitney. I would bet that you can get them for under $40.

wouldn't the tension in the sway bar do that to new ones right away too? Or not? (I don't know.)

-No

How do you install sway bar bushings? Aren't those things under HUGE tension somehow? That if you do it wrong, they snap back and break an arm or whatever?

- They are not under tension unless the vehicle is going around a corner at a decent speed or if you are on uneven ground. No arms should be broken and they should be relatively easy to remove depending on how much rust has accumulated on the nut/bolt(s). I removed mine a few weeks ago and between the two it took me less than a half hour. If you have access to pneumatic (air) tools that will make you life easier during this process. The majority of the bushings will go in brackets or bolt up between separate parts, so they will be easy to install. You will see when you get under there.


What would be some good shocks to use if it needs shocks? I DONT want any kind of foolishness like $300 billet shocks! I don't ever look under there, I just want them to work, Please, I don't care what color they are or how custom they are or how cool they are!

- You can get a decent set of Gabriel shocks for a stock Bronco for you local parts store. If you are not abusing the suspension by off-roading you have no need to by Rancho or anything of that level. Do you have dual shocks in the front (2 on each side)? Be sure to check before buying new.

Hope this helps! Good Luck!

KJ

 

I believe the stock tire size was like a 215- or 225-75R15, about 28" tall. The size you have now will be printed on the sidewall. It doesn't really matter a whole lot, since you can have the "rocking" problem with larger tires if the suspension or shocks are worn.

I always use this test to check the stability of a Bronco or 4wd truck:
Stand by the rear tire, and place ONE hand on the bed rail or side of the quarter panel. See how much effort it takes to rock the truck side-to-side, up-and-down. If it moves alot with minimal effort, and it sounds like your's will, try to see what suspension parts move the most. I'll bet it's the shocks, and the sway bar maybe little or not at all. You can test the front shocks by standing on the bumper and bouncing the truck up-and-down, but it's not as safe as you can be "bucked off" quite easily. Most folks don't like it done to their truck either.

You can get an affordable, better-riding shock from Pro Comp, Rancho, and other off-road companies for under $40 with a lifetime guarantee. The cheap auto parts store shocks don't last long at all. The Monroe Magnums are somwhere in-between. THe last set I had on my Bronco lasted 4 years, but all 6 were broken when I replaced them with the Pro Comp's. Using the same test, I could move the Bronco side-to-side very little with both hands, but the ride quality was not overly "stiff" with the ES9000's.

 

I vote for new shocks. Particularly if your Bronco still has the original shocks.

I replaced the original shocks right away when I first got my Bronco (12 years ago ). I used Rough Country and they have held up well for the most part. I still have them on the front. I recently finally had to replace the rears and I used Rancho RSX. I really like them. I wish the Rough Countrys on the front would wear out so I could replace them with RSXs.

Gary

 

Take a look at the body to frame bushings. I had some of the swaying as you decribed (no swaybars from factory) and had everything replaced (springs, shocks, all drivetrain bushings) and still cornered on the door handles. Replaced worn out stock body bushing with poly and now she has no sway and corners level. A drawback is a little stiffer ride and I can feel the locker banging more but hey its a truck.

84' Bronco Fullsize
6' lift w/ 33" pro comps
I-6,T18,NP208 9",44
Detriot Lockers

 

OK, I checked, and my current tire size is 31 x 10.5, R15. Anybody know if that is stock or not? I don't know, but it's what this '89 Bronco had on it when I bought it. Thanks!

Oh - by the way, I crawled under it. and tried rocking it a bit from underneath. I didn't notice ANY looseness at all on the body mount bushings, even though they looked a bit squashed, they appeared to me as being in pretty good shape overall. So...? Any more ideas?

 

Hey there 54Guy! And to everyone else!
I wanted to refer back to your original post. Bronco's have 101" wheelbase and as with any vehicle, will rock if the tires are up in the front, down in the rear. Once the momentum has begun, unless you stop and start all over again, it'll continue to rock. It probably rocked, even after you got onto the smooth asphalt for a bit. Anyways. Is the 4wd operational at this time? Was it accidently left engaged?
Since, a few days have passed and we all think you need shocks. I would lean towards Monroe Gas-Matics. They're about 30.00 each and offer a great ride. There's no oil to leak out and they have dual cylinders to offer a smoother ride. Sorry for sounding like a commercial!
Talk with you guys later....

 

I would suggest not unhooking the sway bars for your safety. The sway bars provide a critical safety factor against roll overs during cornering.

 

Yep, I read everybody's posts, and some other posts on this bulletin board about shocks in the archives, and saw a lot of people complained about monroe shocks not lasting.
Every parts store in my town carries Monroes as their white-bread replacements. IN other words, if you just tell 'em you want shocks, they will quote you and sell you Monroes. They must have one HECKUVA salesman in this area is all I can say!

Anyhow, I asked what else they had. One store had some $24.95 Gabriels, and several of the others had "Rancho 5000's". So I got those, part #5117 is what fit my Bronco. They ran about $40 bucks each, and were either a buck or two more or less than the Monroes, depending on which store I called.

After buying a pair to put on the front, I got home and found out...ZOUNDS! I had FOUR shocks on the front instead of the two I expected! Everything under there was sorta dirt colored when I looked, and I really didn't see the other shocks there! Luckily, the 5117 shocks I got would fit both 2 OR 4 shock models. Hah, at that point I sorta wished I had opted for the $24.95 Gabriels, seeing as I now had SO many shocks to replace! But I went ahead and did one side anyhow, and took it for a spin around the block. Even with only one side finished, I thought, hmmm, it DID sorta feel firmer, and cornered better too!

So...BACK to the parts store for another pair for the other side. OOPS - they had sold me the last ones in stock! SO - I drove across town to one of their other branches and probably bought THEIR last pair too.

A couple hours later, I took it for a spin again, and VOILA! You guys were RIGHT! The ride is VASTLY improved! VERY little swaying from side to side. The nose no longer dips at stops. However, the back end does still sort of squat heavily after coming to a stop. I assume this will disappear after I do the rear shocks too. But - seeing as I had to buy FOUR for the front, it pretty well blew my shock budget for this payday. So I will wait a couple weeks and finish the job by installing the rear shocks.

Here's a few tips to make the job easier for the next guy doing his front shocks:

And, contrary to what my manual said, I never found it necessary to remove either of the tires. You may find it makes the job easier, but I did not.

Undo the top nuts holding each shock on. Before you begin gathering your tools together for this job, hit each of the nuts or bolts you are going to undo with a little penetrating oil. You'll be glad you did later. I certainly noticed the difference on the two shocks I had found earlier versus the two I had not pre-oiled and found after I started.

Have your metric wrenches handy too. I thought this Bronco would be only SAE, and while I got MOST of the work done with a 5/8 wrench and a 3/4 wrench, the nuts on top of the shocks were actually metric. Supplied by one of the shock companies last time they were replaced I guess. So was one of the nuts on the bolt at the bottom of one of the shocks. Required a metric equivilent of 5/8 inch. Go figure.

I also got MUCH use out my monster-sized 2 foot long screwdriver and prybar. For removing the old shocks.

A deep socket for removing the top nuts will save you MUCH time and effort! Honest!!! I couldn't find mine....

Put the boots on first! (if your shocks come with them) I forgot on the first one, and cussed a great deal when I had to remove the shcok I had JUST succeed in installing to put the boot on it!

The rearmost of the two front shocks comes off and goes on fine without jacking up the Bronco.

Use two wrenches on the bottom bolts. Mine were both the same size. One to undo the bolt, the other on the back end of the bolt to stop it from spinning.

The frontmost shock might come off OK without jacking up the Bronco, but to install it you will have to jack up the BODY/FRAME part of it, while allowing the tire and axle to remain on the ground. NOt far, maybe 4" should do it. This shock you have to kind of finagle the bottom of the shock into place at the same time watching how the top goes. It helps to have an assistant keep an eye on the top of it. It's easy to get the shock on the wrong side of some other suspension parts and have to remove it and try again without keeping your eyes on the top of it. After you get the bottom in place,
put the nut on the bolt just enough to not fall off, but leave the shock loose enough to easily move around. This will help you get the top mounting bolt in position MUCH easier! After you get the top in place and snugged down, be SURE to go back and finish tightening the bottom nut and bolt!

The boot can be a pain, and may get pinched between the big washer and the rubber bushing, so watch it.

IF you have a REALLY thin 5/8 wrench, like those ones that come with the big On-sale wrench sets made out of stamped sheet metal, now you will find a use for it! As you tighten up the top bolt on the shocks, the shaft of the shock will spin and the shock will not really tighten. So you will have to use a second wrench to hold it from turning. A regular wrench tends to get seized by the rubber bushing as it expands by tightening, and then you can't get your wrench out. If it doesn't want to come out, just loosen off the nut about half ways, remove your wrench and when you retighten the nut, NOW you will probably find the shaft no longer turns, and you don't have to use the second wrench anymore to hold it. Again, go figure!

The rear shock required a metal bushing to be installed into the rubber bushing to make the shock fit properly on the bottom bolt. But the front shock did NOT require this metal bushing. (looks like a piece of thin metal pipe a couple inches long)

Good luck to those who haven't done this job yet, It isn't all that hard, but it CAN take a while. Especially when you weren't expecting to have to use metric wrenches!

Many thanks to all those who posted and told me I needed shocks - You were all right! The ride is already MUCH better even without the rear shocks installed yet!!

 

Might want to check your radius arm bushings while you are at it.

 

One other thing...the correct shocks for the front are two different sizes. The fore shock is longer than the aft shock, and are not the same part numbers. The dual shock setup was for use with a towing package.

 

Hmmm, I kinda wondered about the shock size. The different mounting heights suggested different lengths! But - the ones I took off were identical too. And the Rancho 5000 shocks (according to the Kragen's reps) called for identical shocks side by side, using the same part number for each. Go figure...do you think that was that just lazy cataloging on the part of Rancho, or lazy inventory management on the part of Kragen's?

Ok, WHAT is a "radius arm bushing"? WHAT is a radius arm? Some sort of sway bar? Thanks.