Front Suspension Question

[LTJGWorth]

I think a lot of people are familiar with, or at least have heard of the problem where the front end of the Ram shakes the living sh*t out of you. I suffered from this problem before when my truck was wrecked. It would do it everytime I hit the brakes. I had it repaired and the problem went away. Or so I thought. Actually, it only fixed part of the problem. Now it does it only when I hit a fairly large bump. But I think that it's just my shocks. I think what is happening is that I hit the bump, and instead of the shocks absorbing the impact like they should, the springs are doing the work instead and since a spring naturally bounces, it is transfering that into the rest of the truck. Really annoying. My question is, what do the stock shocks look like on these trucks. Or what are the numbers on the shocks. I ask this, because I am under the impression that the shocks I have on there now are the original shocks that came on this truck. Obviously, if that were the case the would need to be changed because they are 7 years old (my truck is a 97 1500). I know a lot of people are suffering from this problem, so when I get my new shocks and put them on, i'll tell you if it fixed the problem.

[LTJGWorth]

I've got to add to this too. When i'm going slow (say between 0-10 miles an hour) or sitting still and I turn the wheel, i can hear a loud popping sound coming from underneath the front of the truck. It doesn't do it if i'm going at road or highway speeds. It has to be related to the fact that it's easier to turn the wheel when going faster. Any ideas on this problem or an answer to the questoin above?

[jams1970]

i have a 1996 ram 1500 and i have the saem problem it shakes like hell when i apply the brakes... i have been told it could be ball joints , shocks, or stearing stabilizer, or most easiest the brake rotors or warpped.

[LTJGWorth]

Yea, its really terrible. I'm going to put new shocks on mine and see if it helps

[LTJGWorth]

Oh, and another little addition to my second problem above, the popping sound seems to be coming directly from the power steering box. Could it be a slipping gear?

[BleedDodge]

It might well be. Chrysler has made many vehicles with steering problems but they won't own up to it.

The wheel on my truck has some play to it. To drive in a straight line you have to turn the wheel left and right gradually. It's almost like the effects of a worn out pitman arm, except I'm sure that with not even 40k miles on the truck, it can't be worn out.

[LTJGWorth]

Oh my God. I can't believe you just typed that. That is exactly what I have to do to get my truck to drive in a straight line!

[praisethelowered]

Dodge's have notoriously sloppy steering due to the design of the steering shaft. Mine has several inches of play either way. You can buy a replacement from a company called Borgeson. I believe summit carries it. There are 2 shafts, one for pre 94 rams, and one for 94 and laters.

[BleedDodge]

I'm not that bad off. At least it's not a GM pickup where you need 4 lanes to turn it around. I drove a 1/2 ton regular cab-long box GM pickup and I was amazed at its turning radius. I'd hate to drive a crew cab-long box...

I heard those new GM trucks with the 4 wheel steering are supposed to turn pretty tight circles. I talked to one guy and he said it was like being stuck on a post, lol.

I don't actually mind my steering. It's probably good on long trips because I have to stay awake or else I'm in the ditch. You gotta pay attention. One second you're on the road, the next second you might not be...

If you let go of the wheel, the truck might go somewhere else...

[LTJGWorth]

That still sounds a little dangerous.

[BleedDodge]

If it breaks I'm either dead or rich so it doesn't really bother me too much.

[Cobra01TT]

Ah, the Dodge death wobble. My former boss had a late 90's V10 2500 that would do that badly when you hit a bump. One day he was driving it down I-25 when he came to a bridge and went over the expansion joints at around 80 mph. It threw him off the interstate into a campground, but nobody got hurt, and I believe that the truck was OK too. He sold it the next week and got an Expedition.

[LTJGWorth]

Wow.

[HVAC1970]

I have a 97 2500 v10 and after talking with my father who had a 2000 1500 leased he told me what my steering problem was. I sounds like what your having. They replaced his steering shaft fro behind the fire wall to the gear box. What happened was the joint where they slide together on the intermediary shaft had play in it....not much but enough to make it seem like your suspension was falling apart. So i took mine..not wanting to spend $170.00 for a new shaft and put two shims in it....one on each side and the used jb weld to hold them in place. (the split is under the rubber boot on the shaft) all my troubles have gone away. I dont feel the play or the suspension falling apart anymore. Dodge has a problem and they wont take care of it...wait they said the would.....buy a new one they say.

Anyone know about the dual catalytics on this thing with the great air pump unit to them???????

[LTJGWorth]

Thanks HVAC. I'll have a look at that right now. Before it gets too dark out.