2nd Gen. Dodge Ram - No Drivetrain Discussion for all Dodge Rams from 1994 through 2002. Please, no engine or drivetrain discussion.

Front end bounces

Old 03-19-2004, 07:39 AM
  #1  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
premo 1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Louis, Mo Home of Busch& Budwiser Beer and Kurt Warner---opps I mean the RAMS
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Front end bounces

Here latley, with all the potholes, I notice that my front tires bounce at speeds of about 40mph in fourth gear. It seems like when I accelerate to about 50, the tires still bounce, just not as bad.
I had the tires rotated and ballanced.
Thanks for any help with this.
Old 03-19-2004, 08:46 AM
  #2  
Registered User
 
DF5152's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 741
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
after they were balanced does it still do this....your shocks are going bad.
Old 03-19-2004, 10:50 AM
  #3  
Registered User
 
JFellman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Kennewick, WA
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mine does the exact same thing...shocks are Rancho 9000 with less than 15k miles on them. I do have a passenger side lower ball joint with about 1/32" slop in it that I will be replacing soon. Is there a reliable way to test for bad shocks without removing them? They seem to damp out large oscillations just fine...but maybe the small ones are not being snubbed?
Old 03-19-2004, 02:11 PM
  #4  
Registered User
 
infidel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Montana
Posts: 14,672
Likes: 0
Received 9 Likes on 9 Posts
Originally posted by JFellman
Is there a reliable way to test for bad shocks without removing them?
Go over some railroad tracks at about 40 mph, if the truck bounces more than three times replace the shocks.
Old 03-19-2004, 07:24 PM
  #5  
Registered User
 
dodgediesel4x4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Fredericksburg, TX
Posts: 850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
HAHA, I like that method of accuracy above!! Real scientific!!
Old 03-19-2004, 11:25 PM
  #6  
Registered User
 
jaconst's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Scotts Valley, Ca
Posts: 425
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
might be track bar. have someone with truck running turn the wheels back and forth only enough to move wheels slightly or slack in steering wheel and you look under the vehicle for any parts loose like the track bar. good luck
Old 03-21-2004, 05:32 AM
  #7  
Registered User
 
kd460's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Southeastern Michigan
Posts: 953
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Mine felt like I was in a boat when I went over anything larger than a "bump". If I hit a hump or a dip in the road, man, It was like going over the wake of a battleship in a row boat.

Bilstiens and proper tire pressure took care of the problem. Also had load range "D" tires. Now with the "E" rated tires (stiffer sidewalls) and the new shocks, it feels great.

Good advice about checking for slop in the suspension. Get a crow bar, tire iron, or something similiar and start prying around looking for play/slop.

Good luck, Kevin
Old 03-21-2004, 06:17 AM
  #8  
Registered User
 
gsdog1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: USA
Posts: 746
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I had problems with a significant number of miles on the original shocks and trac bar. New shocks (doubles up front), springs, trac bar, and dual steering stablizers got everything nice and tight for the 35's I put on. Oh, and got it all aligned as well.

Bounce = shocks, wobble = trac bar mostly. Other things to look at would include the ball joints and steering box.

Matt
Old 03-21-2004, 07:12 AM
  #9  
Registered User
 
FRANKV469's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: pittsburgh pa
Posts: 70
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
one thing to look at on the shocks is leakage. if the seals in the shocks ''blow-out'' shock oil will start to seap out from where the rod goes into the shock body- not allowing it to hold in the pressure. i run rancho rs 5000 shocks and i end up replacing them every year(life time warranty). my tell -tale sign is when i come to a stop, the truck will sit there and bounce- not sink down once come back up and level out.
Old 03-21-2004, 01:09 PM
  #10  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
premo 1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Louis, Mo Home of Busch& Budwiser Beer and Kurt Warner---opps I mean the RAMS
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I don,t think the shocks are bad, no leaking and at a stop, even hard stop, the front end does not bounce , just goes down and right back up.
I am wondering if the tires are bad. Mabey the sidewalls are broken or something. I washed the truck yesterday, and while cleaning the tires, I noticed dimples in the sidewalls. They were going across and the other way too on the tire.
Does this mean the walls are broken down.
Old 03-21-2004, 01:41 PM
  #11  
Registered User
 
wv smoker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: WV
Posts: 112
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Are you sure it is bounce and not wobble? Big difference! I would look at wheel bearings and tie rod ends first, could be ***** joints, but they would have to be dangerously bad to cause bounce in the suspension. Probably not the tires or it would do it continuously........most likely bad shocks and out of round tire.
Old 03-21-2004, 03:58 PM
  #12  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
premo 1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Louis, Mo Home of Busch& Budwiser Beer and Kurt Warner---opps I mean the RAMS
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Most definetly bouncing. Just does it around 40 mph, after I can get it to about 50 and in 5 gear, it doesn,t bounce as bad, just feel it a little.

Hey!!! Thanks for the replys guys
Old 03-22-2004, 10:21 AM
  #13  
Registered User
 
Txwelder's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,676
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My truck has a bucking motion to it when I hit 40 mph regardless of acceleration or deceleration. It always does it right at 40 then quits like 5 mph to either side of that. Sometimes my truck does a bad wobble when I hit the brakes but not always. It is odd that the wobble is not consistant but the bucking is an everyday thing. I dont have a clue what it could be.
Old 03-23-2004, 06:27 PM
  #14  
Registered User
 
rattle_rattle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Rising Sun, IN (out in the woods)
Posts: 705
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I've got Rancho 9000's too and I have the same symptoms. They seem good on large displacement damping but lack something when it comes to small displacement oscillations.
Old 03-23-2004, 08:52 PM
  #15  
Registered User
 
Scubasteve's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Ontario,Canada
Posts: 414
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Balancing tires will not correct for flat spots or egg shaped tires.

shocks are a common problem followed by the track bar.


If you have more than 50k miles on the stock shocks then you can be darn sure they are junk. Dodges need good shocks up front no question about it.


Jason
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
mstep3
24 Valve Engine and Drivetrain
11
06-03-2011 10:39 AM
bigragu
1st Gen. Ram - All Topics
12
10-12-2009 12:22 PM
A_Manke
3rd Gen High Performance and Accessories (5.9L Only)
8
07-16-2007 09:01 AM
USMC64-70
3rd Gen Engine and Drivetrain -> 2003-2007
14
09-11-2004 03:02 PM
DHeadington
24 Valve Engine and Drivetrain
5
05-31-2003 09:40 AM


Thread Tools
Search this Thread
Quick Reply: Front end bounces



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:55 AM.