2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Upper and Lower control Arms

[davidb]

Does anyone have a source for replacing the upper and lower control arms on the front suspension? Its a 1998 12v stock lift. I'd like to replace with plain steel and urethane bushings. Nothing fancy just a suitable stock replacement.



Thanks

David

 

[Fishin Guide]

Well, probably more than what you can find a stock replacement for, but clearly stronger...



Dt Profab



Dave

 

[Dave M]

I don't know about the control arms, I never looked for them, but I just replaced all those bushings with Energy Suspension poly bushings I got from www.summitracing.com for about $75.



To get the old bushings out (if you reuse the old control arms) you heat the control arm around the bushing until it starts to sizzle and smoke and then... Whoosh... they pop out and fly about 5 feet. Scared the heck out of me on the first one. But it worked great. The kit I used did not come with the metal sleeves so I had to reuse the old ones.



Below is a search on Summit site above for your bushing. They come in red or black. Here is the link to that search: http://store.summitracing.com/

 

[Fishin Guide]

Hey Dave, how well does the poly work? And noise or harshness?



Thanks!



Dave

 

[Dave M]

Hey Dave, how well does the poly work? And noise or harshness?



Thanks!



Dave

Well. . my truck is a 4X4 dually and its always been on the harsh side... ride-wise(is that a word?). I didn't notice any difference. At the same time I also put new poly bushings on the track bar with Luks Link on the frame end, new Energy Suspension greasable sway bar bushings and new NAPA sway bar end links, two Ranch front steering stabilizer shocks, and finally replaced all the shocks with the OEM replacement Bilstein shocks (which tend to be ride a little stiffer also).



Also replaced all 6 tires with BFG KO 245-85-R16 which have a more aggressive tread pattern. I did all that in one shot. The death wobble went away for a few months but now its back. I haven't had a chance to crawl under the beast and check for loose bolts etc. . Hope thats all it is. I also have a leaky power steering box... Already replaced the hydroboost. GEEEEZ... it never stops does it.



In summary: I did not notice any harshness with the poly bushings but the aggressive tires tend to give a bumpy ride I think. Noise-wise (is that a word?) well... eh... what did you say... he. . he... he. Heck, that Cummins is already noisy . . but I love it... . I didn't notice any more noise. Wifey drives it more than me (all of 110 lbs of her) and hasn't complained at all. I don't think the bushings will add any noise or harshness to the ride IMHO, and they will outlast the truck.



Hope that answers your question.



BTW, If you are loaded for bear, money-wise (Gee. . I use "-wise" a lot huh? Thats starting to even annoy me!) I believe Kore Suspension offers some really high priced control arms. I love their suspension kit but can't afford it right now... Oh Santa. . are you listening... Kore Pace would do fine (for starters anyhow).



Dave

 

[Willys]

Advance auto parts can also order the bushings, around 84 plus tax. There is a company out of FL that I've seen on ebay, that sells a poly bushing- I think its Mako. I think their price was in the 80-100 range, and I think they did include the metal rings?



I haven't replaced the control arm bushings yet- but I think I should. That said, how exactly do you tell if the bushings ARE bad? I've noticed cracks radiating from the center of the bushings and cracks in a circular pattern around some of the bushings. I figure with 269k on the original bushings and shocks, maybe I should replace them, anyways?



Can they be pressed out, or is a torch necessary?

 

[TRCM]

I had no choice but to replace my lower control arms because the bolts snapped when trying to do an alignment.



i also fodun out you can replace just the bushings on the 1500 & 2500 trucks, but the 3500 lists only the complete control arm. . no bushings.



it cost me 150 bucks at dodge for both of them, and all new bolts/nuts.

 

[Dave M]

I had no choice but to replace my lower control arms because the bolts snapped when trying to do an alignment.



i also fodun out you can replace just the bushings on the 1500 & 2500 trucks, but the 3500 lists only the complete control arm. . no bushings.



it cost me 150 bucks at dodge for both of them, and all new bolts/nuts.

Well... That's interesting... cause I replaced the bushings on my 97 3500 4X4 as posted earlier. For my 97 the bushings did not include the metal sleeves so (according to Summit and Energy Suspension) I had to re-use them. So I heated up the control arm until the bushing popped out. That was according to the Energy Suspension directions.



I used a propane torch (used for plumbing to sweat/solder copper pipe fittings) to heat the pipe. It took about 3-5 minutes to get them hot enough for the rubber to start sizzling and smoke a little and then stay out of the way cause... Whoosh... they come flying out and they are very hot for awhile. Mapp gas would work better than propane cause it gets hotter.



With gloves on while the arm was still hot I wiped the control arm hole out with paper towels to remove any remaining rubber particles and some 150 grit emery cloth. The pressure from the heat causes them bushings to swell and then fly out of the control arm sleeve that they are annealed to... . sounds kinda weird but it works. The new bushings just slid in. If you get a kit with the sleeves then I guess you would have to press them in and out. I had no choice cause I could not get mine with sleeves.



How can you tell if they are bad? Don't know. I replaced them cause I was chasing the "death wobble" and figured I had 160K miles and it was time. With the poly bushings that should be my last set for the truck.

 

[kparker]

I replaced my worn out factory control arms with the new Chase series control arms from KORE. They are made of steel tubing and the same rebuildable joints and bushings that are in the KORE race control arms(billet aluminum versions). They are not adjustable like the race series, but that suits me fine. They ride much nicer than my old stock ones for sure. I only have about 5000 miles on them, but so far so good. They are definitely a well built, good looking set of control arms.

 

[Dave M]

I replaced my worn out factory control arms with the new Chase series control arms from KORE. They are made of steel tubing and the same rebuildable joints and bushings that are in the KORE race control arms(billet aluminum versions). They are not adjustable like the race series, but that suits me fine. They ride much nicer than my old stock ones for sure. I only have about 5000 miles on them, but so far so good. They are definitely a well built, good looking set of control arms.

I see you have the Kore Suspension. Is it the Chase series. How much lift and how is the ride on rough roads? Someday I'd like to lift mine 3-4 inches with the KORE suspension. What wheels are you running? I don't know how much a dually can easily be lifted with KORE. I believe larger wheels or tires my cause problems on a dually in the rear.



In your opinion is it worth the money verses a block type lift? Got any pics for us?



Thanks,



Dave

 

[kparker]

I have the Race system on my truck. The ride height is raised about 2. 5 to 3" inches in the front, and about 1" in the rear. The ride on rough roads is phenominal. I couldn't be happier with it. I have about 20,000 miles on the system and I am still amazed how good it is. Pretty much coincides with every other story I have read from KORE owners here.



I have Weld wheels on the truck.



I have not been in one, but I have seen pictures of KORE equipped dually's. I imagine Greg Boardman at DRC could answer any dually questions you might have. I seem to remember that he had a new dually he was talking about somewhere in these forums recently?



Is it worth it? I would say it is the best money you could spend on your truck. Every once in a while I get in my brother in law's bone-stock 98. I get a big smile everytime I do.



On a side note, I drove in a truck with a Pace system not too long ago and it was very nice. I don't think it is much of a compromise until you really start driving the rougher roads at speed.



I will dig around for some pics.



KP

 

[Dave M]

Kparker



Thats what I keep hearing... satisfied KORE customers. I live on about 1 mile of rough dirt road and my wife uses the truck and our 5X8 trailer to haul trash for people and she gets alot of new construction jobs. Living in the mountains we get on rough roads frequently. The truck is a little harsh riding and I'd love to improve the ride. I think its all due to the crappy suspension design for a very heavy truck.



But, I need to fix the "Death Wobble" problem first :{ and then convince my wife to spend money we don't have on KORE. Someday I'll get it. Glad to hear your satisfied. It sounds like a good upgrade even for general driving.



Thanks for the input.



Dave

 

[kparker]

Hey Dave,



Since your wife uses the truck in those conditions, you just need to get her a ride in a truck that has a KORE suspension on it. She will probably be trying to convince you to spend the money! It is a huge difference the way the truck feels when it isn't hammering the bumpstops on every little bump or rut. It floats through it. Much more pleasureable experience. You end up aiming for the holes and rough spots. Sounds silly as hell, but it happened to me. Ha ha.



I had death wobble issues at one time too. Balljoints and trac bar seemed to be the biggest offenders for me. One "improvement" I was not happy with, was my DT trac bar. Poor quality components(heim), and the lower joint was welded at an incorrect angle. I replaced it with a custom built trac bar with FK heims at either end. If I did it again, I would do a 3rd gen trac bar swap, and be done with it. I only went the custom trac bar route becuase I had already welded the DT bracket in.



I hope this helps.



To everyone else, sorry if we got away from the control arm discussion.

 

[Dave M]

Kparker



I wish I could find someone in the area that I could test drive a KORE truck in. I will consider what you said about using the 3rd gen track bar. Another option that looks good is the Solid Steel track bar and steering brace.



Thanks all for allowing us to get off track alittle.



Davidb



Let us know what you decide to do. And now back to our regularly scheduled thread already in progress. Thanks to all.



Dave