Welll took my 96 in the other day for an alignment only to find the ball joints are bad. This is my work truck and i use it for everything execpt driving to work(30 miles on way). I use it as a plow truck in the winter and i want the front end to be able to take the abuse of my commerical plow that came with truck. So what parts should i be looking into to make this front end last and not get the dodge wobble? I will be doing this prolly in the spring since the truck has the low on it right now.

Here is what i have been looking at so far.
-Moog joints all around in the front
-Poly bushing
-Steering box brace
-Dual steering stablizer
-Front and rear bags (haul heavy in the summer)
-2.5 in coils (to level the truck)
anything else i should be looking in to getting to help make the fornt end last??

I am comsidering a EMS heavy duty kit but dont think the funds will allow till next spring.

any help is welcome.

Thanks
-Mike

 

I did my front end 2 years ago, I used Moog Ball Joints and Tie Rods, Timken Hubs, Precison u-joints, Moog Track bar, Mopar sway bar bushings and ends, and raybestos brakes. They've been on the truck 65000 miles now and the only thing needing to be replaced are the pads. I got everything greasable except the hubs. Everything is still nice and tight and get regular maintenance.

 

Your list looks pretty good.
I would add a third gen track bar conversion kit from Solid Steel though.
SO far I love my DLUX free spin hub kit.

 

I recommend MOOG too, but insist on the HIGHEST grade of MOOG's... GRADE 5.

 

Ah yes i forgot about the track bar upgrade ill add that to my list.
DLUX free spin kit?? Never heard of them

Do i have to request those or are all of there products grade 5?? sorry for hte dumb question


Thanks guys!

 

i would recommend the coils in my sig for your springs. they are approx 2" leveling coils. they are designd for plow trucks & trucks with heavier front ends, but also rcommended for non-plow trucks day to day driving. my drivability improved with these coils. they are much stiffer than stock - but the same or less 'harshness', or 'jarring' ride.

i would go with a 3rd gn adjustable track bar to replace the stocker and to adjust for the longer springs

add a steering brace of you choice.

go with thuren HD steering upgrade. have heard and seen nothing but great things about it here on the site . . .

 

http://www.customsuspension.com/stor...roducts_id=753
i got my springs from here ^^^

Thuren Steering Kit

 

You can also install tie rod ends from a 98-99 heavy duty, they are thicker and a T design a different design than the inverted Y that is on there now,
here is the link:
https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...light=inverted


Not sure you can air bag the front, and you would not need to if you bag the rear, I have Firestones AB in the rear and an incab controller with a storage tank(from a transport truck) under the bed, this set up is way cheaper than onboard compressor, and I can raise and lower my rear multiple times, I will edventuallly add a coil type hose that I can throw behind the seat and if needed I'll be able to air up a tire, any way back on topic, also I'd reccommend better springs as well, my only experence is with carli's(variable rate springs) and I can say that the ride is 10x better than it was, 2200# in the bed it dropped rear only 2.5inches. even fully loaded the truck rides like a caddy, it softens the ride. With the carli starter system you remove and throw away the rear overload springs. I also believe the reason so many guys eat ball joints is because of the harsh/stiff ride of the stock springs transmitting all the road force/shock thru the ball joints instead of thru the springs, you would not believe it possible that a truck can ride so well compared to stock...find someone local and see if you can get a ride so you can compare the difference,
I also have a 3rd gen track bar and bracket from SSI, they are not cheap, but in my case worth every dollar (I went thru 3-4track bars in a yr as a courior), to date its still tight, and should it fail the replacement bushings (moog) are 20$ and can be bought anywhere.
The DSS also a good choice, it supports the pitman arm and removes the strain from the lower bearing, in my case a new steering box lasted about 2months, then started leaking because of the slop in the lower bearing, the auto store refused to warranty it because my truck was being used commercially, I just bought a seal kit from NAPA and replaced the bearing and seal, that was 2plus yrs ago and the box is still tight, to put in in perspective I average 1800hrs of runtime a year, so my truck sees lots of use but not as many miles as it should, 1800hrs X 60mph = 108,000miles, but I only actually average 37,000miles a yr
The dlux free spin kit that David spoke of is 1/2 the cost of EMS

 

I recommend the good moog stuff also
I cheaped out to the track bar thou and bought the $250 NAPA lifetime garentee unit and swap it out every 4-5 months al it costs me now is 20 minets
In my experiance the best U Joints I have found is the REAL HD SPICERs
I Buy them thru a Heavy Truck supplyer and they last 5x longer than any of the off brands

 

Look here.
http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/98...aser-pics.html

 

I wish I had known about the "T" conversion
woulda done it in a heartbeat last time around on my front end

 

With regards to my MOOG grade 5 comment... go to Carquest or Napa, somebody who knows their parts. Advance Auto / Autozone will probably not have people who know what you're referring to when you say "MOOG grade 5".

Now, as for the Free Spin upgrades... Free spin hubs are on the market guys...

emsoffroad
dynatrac
solid axle industries

These are a few that come to mind.

 

Thanks guys for all the info!

I will deff be putting some money into the front of my truck come spring time.

Will be doin the T steering conversion for sure along with the HD leveling coils as well. and MOOG grade 5

I will need ball joints and u joints soon but may wait till i can do a free spin kit and do everthing at once sicne i will have the truck torn down to the knuckles.

Im still kinda stuck on what to do about a steering box brace and weather i want to go with thouren steering upgrade or not would that defeat the purpose of going to a "T" style steering??

 

thuren steering upgrade is a also a 'T' style setup - just stronger more durable components than OEM stuff

 

Ah thats what i thought just wanted to make sure. It seems as though the price on thuren is close to what i would cost to do a OEM T style coversion. will be looking into them now for sure