Hey all,

I'm putting together a parts list for my 01 heavy 2500 6spd 4x4. It's going to start needing replacements here over time and I'm the kind of person who wants to do it once and never touch it again if i can. I can pick through posts and get some good info, but it seems like most of it relates to running non-stock gear in one way or another. I don't want a lift, I don't want more power, I just want a stock truck with better than OEM parts.

It will soon be needing:
steering box
front suspension bits
rear swaybar drop links
hopefully not fuel pump(s) - it's got the Dodge in-tank retrofit now with no mods to the fuelling on the injection side.

I could stand do to the suspension and steering all at once if it would make things bulletproof (but remember, no lift or extra power!). I'd like to keep it to bolt-ons as well, if possible. I have access to simple fabrication tools and advice but don't want to leverage it too much.

Thanks a TON, guys! Your advice so far has been helpful and spot-on!

Charlie

 

You might want to add front wheel bearings and brakes all around to your list. Start saving for a transmission rebuild, it will happen sooner or later. Do not have to go all out, a quality stock rebuild by a good mechanic and spring for a decent SINGLE disk convertor. No need to go all out as is preached all the time.

 

Charlie,
I hate to put a little pinhole in your bubble but I haven't actually found any car or truck parts for anything that are truly fix and forget. That being said, using good quality parts will certainly extend the life of your repair work.
For steering boxes, Redhead is acknowledged around here as the best way to go.
The link below will take you to a realy good approach to dealing with steering issues.https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d-t309195.html
I would say replacing your ball joints, replacing your steering box and protecting it was a DSS brace, upgrading your track bar and making the upgrade to the T-Steering setup mentioned above should fix your steering issues. Note - that is not going to be a cheap job but it is mechanically simple and can be done by an average shade tree mechanic who doesn't mind putting in the time plus a few bloody knuckles.

 

Redhead steering box, DSS, third gen style adjustable track bar, front wheel bearings with 1 tbsp of 75W90 amsoil added to each bearing unit through the ABS sensor hole. spicer u joints with grease zerks. Good quality brake pads and rotors, but don't go with severe service pads, all they do is wear through the rotors.

If possible, get rid of the in tank pump, and go to a decent framerail mounted pump, or a mechanical pump, like fuel boss.

on my 01, I have all of the above mentioned stuff, minus the steering linkage upgrade, simply because the stock steering works just fine, so don't mess with it.

It is a work truck, and has worked every day of its life. I have had the VP44 issues, and the lift pump garbage, but beyond that, I change oils, grease, put fuel in, and drive. Doesn't get much better than that. 300,000k, better than 60% off highway stuff.

The best bang for the buck, is the oil added to the wheel bearing assemblies. And running amsoil synthetics throughout the drivetrain. 0W40 oil in winter, 15W40 in summer. THat's it, that's all.

 

I agree with everything that has been mentioned but if your going for the big rebuild, forget the front wheel unit bearings and spend a little more and go free spin hubs.

Your wallet will complain for a little while but in the end, you will save down the road in maintenance costs and longevity of parts.

If your willing to go as deep as you say, a little deeper won't kill you.

Jeff

 

Cool, guys. Thanks for that. I figure I'll be switching stuff over as it becomes an issue. The lift pump might be a decent place to start, and everything else Ill do as it becomes an issue. Stock steering wanders within tolerable limits for now, so we'll cross bridges as we come to them!

I know there's no true fix-and-forget part, but you can get close by buying quality and driving gently.

@homestead: Can you put freewheel hubs on trucks with the CAD stock? That would be pretty cool.

 

If you are wnadering now get after the steering first, once the trac bar bushings go everything else gets bad pretty quickly..

Yes, you can get free spin hubs for the cad, try a search on Dynatrac...about $1800 for the kit and not hard to install...

 

Jeebus! That's a pretty penny there. I have already purchased a Posiloc cable for my truck - is there an appreciable difference in drag between that and a free-spin hub? It would take quite a long time even with a 3+mpg improvement to pay that off in diesel. The right axle seal does leak but the internals have supposedly been rebuilt in the last couple years. It's currently locked - the failed CAD was bypassed.

 

The way I look at it, it's not about the fuel savings. Sure it makes a difference but I look at it as saving wear and tear on other parts.

Myself, the front drive shaft gets rebuilt every 2 years at a cost of about $400 each time. It's not so much the u-joints but the CV itself. These trucks don't like front shafts for some reason. Also, being my truck is a late 02, I don't even have a CAD, it's a solid housing.

With the front shaft spinning all the time, transfer case wear goes up, not huge but it is there. I only really use 4wd if I use it at all, a few times each year in the winter so why spin the front drive.

Also, barf a front unit bearing out in the middle of nowhere and try and fix it. At least with a free spin hub, parts (bearings and seals) can usually be rounded up fairly quickly at most any parts house to get you home.. AND, with free spin hubs, you at least get a little warning when something is going wrong. Unit bearings can tell you there is a problem when you see the tire passing you as you head for the ditch.

It's a tough pill to swallow when you look at the $$$. My case, I have had the truck since day one, yeah it's a little rough around the edges but it has never let me down, ever. Dropping $10,000-$20,000 into my truck for a rebuild is a whole lot cheaper than a new one that will lose that much value the minute you drive it off the lot. PLUS I know what I have and it has the best parts out there to make it live.

Maybe I look at this the wrong way, maybe I don't but it's still cheaper than a new one and they don't make them like they used to either. The pile of fresh parts keeps building up on my work bench for when the old girl gets a make over. Knocking on 300,000 miles, the time is coming.

I'm going to go stand in the corner now.

Jeff

 

I understand your perspective completely. I am only trying to draw a balance between overspending and practical quality. With the CAD, one axle is always locked, right? So the front shaft spins when the vehicle is underway? I guess I need a bit of remedial training: In 2wd, the front-drive gearing of the xfer case is essentially in neutral?

And if one is going to drop $2k into an axle for these trucks, is there a good quality old-style D60 that one could get, or are we stuck with the one that has a CAD housing? I ask because if one is going to get freespin hubs, one might as well get rid of the CAD link, no? I was also under the impression that you couldn't put freewheel hubs in a truck with a CAD..

For now, the truck gets driven as-is. a full-on axle replacement will have to wait until she's paid for her supper a bit further. This is a work truck, but the business is in its infancy and needs to start supporting itself before i can write large checks - even if they're deductible!

 

The lockout you have purchased is nice for running in 4Lo without having the front axle locked in, nice at boat ramps and for backing up with a trailer...

I know the dynatrac is expensive, but it does more than help with fuel economy as Homestead mentions in his post...

 

With the CAD in the unlocked position the shaft will not turn usually. Sometimes when the differential oil is cold it may turn a little from the drag but other wise the the solid axle turns forward and then the spider gears just spin around the case and the inner axle on the cad side spins backwards. I personally do not like this setup because the spiders were not designed to run around and round like that and they will wear a lot faster than the diff gears would.

 

Cool. Well for now, the posi was a hundred-some bucks. When the Spiders go, I'll think about a swap if there's a D60 out there that will live happily in my truck.

Thanks all!

C