92 Dakota 2wd 5.2 suspension
#1
07-14-2019, 02:58 PM
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92 Dakota 2wd 5.2 suspension
I just acquired this truck from a friend. Needs brakes and some other odd little things fixed on it. It runs great but while doing a tune up and inspection I found the left upper control arm is badly worn and needs replaced. I can't seem to find a direct replacement. Is it possible to interchange this from another model? I found on anther site that the b150s shared some suspension components with the Dakota. Is the control arm one of those by chance? Any help is appreciated.
#2
07-14-2019, 04:33 PM
Champion
87-96 2WD Dakota is about it; and you won't find new ones.
Is the ARM worn, or the BUSHINGS and BALL JOINT?
If the ARM itself is worn out, then car-part.com will be your friend. Find someone nearby who can ship it, or check the local U-Pull-It or Pick-A-Part yards.
Bushings and ball joints are servicable; although the ball joint is ... well, it'll flat make your Sunday School lesson come out all kinds of sideways. Or does for me.
3/4 drive breaker, and a 4' cheater on it. And I weigh about 375 ... You may choose to get them done, or pay someone else to swap the ball joint while you pull the control arm and reinstall it.
If you DO rebuild, do NOT cheap out! Buy The Good Stuff - I'm partial to ACDelco Professional Grade, Moog quality has gone downhill over the past decade.
I used Proforged this last time; they have really good reviews on Chevies (C10s and Camaros), and no negatives I've found. Well, save the "The parts are made in Taiwan!!!" folks ... which they are; but assembled in USA, according to their president. So there's that.
If you do bushings, there's nothing wrong with OEM grade rubber ones; I picked Energy Suspension because it was a small bit cheaper than Prothane at the time, but I then discovered that Prothane black are graphite-impregnated to reduce squeaking. YMMV, natch. (No, I'm not pulling the ES to go Prothane! But if I ever redo, I'll be using Prothane black.)
RwP
Is the ARM worn, or the BUSHINGS and BALL JOINT?
If the ARM itself is worn out, then car-part.com will be your friend. Find someone nearby who can ship it, or check the local U-Pull-It or Pick-A-Part yards.
Bushings and ball joints are servicable; although the ball joint is ... well, it'll flat make your Sunday School lesson come out all kinds of sideways. Or does for me.
3/4 drive breaker, and a 4' cheater on it. And I weigh about 375 ... You may choose to get them done, or pay someone else to swap the ball joint while you pull the control arm and reinstall it.
If you DO rebuild, do NOT cheap out! Buy The Good Stuff - I'm partial to ACDelco Professional Grade, Moog quality has gone downhill over the past decade.
I used Proforged this last time; they have really good reviews on Chevies (C10s and Camaros), and no negatives I've found. Well, save the "The parts are made in Taiwan!!!" folks ... which they are; but assembled in USA, according to their president. So there's that.
If you do bushings, there's nothing wrong with OEM grade rubber ones; I picked Energy Suspension because it was a small bit cheaper than Prothane at the time, but I then discovered that Prothane black are graphite-impregnated to reduce squeaking. YMMV, natch. (No, I'm not pulling the ES to go Prothane! But if I ever redo, I'll be using Prothane black.)
RwP
#3
07-21-2019, 02:52 PM
I have worked as a front end suspension and alignment guy for years....(out of that game for a while but still make my living working on cars and trucks) don't have any problem with those upper ball joints except for the occasional stripped out threads where the ball joint threads in.
now for the bad news.... I had "just" rebuilt the front end in my 92 Dakota 2wd, and the trans decided to puke after 226k miles.... something major broke inside not gonna be just a "basic rebuild" this time/ , and with the body not being the best shape no more (thank Illinois weather and IDOT's love for salt brine for that) my wife and son talked me into letting the 92 go away..... which I did, but not before keeping many parts from it.... I had thought of keeping the control arms just because of the new parts that I had just put on less than 1000 miles ago.... but I didn't...… still wish that I had. actually I should have kept the truck and fixed the trans again anyways..... bought a 99 in its place and hit a deer within 10 days... cost me the same to fix that, as it would have to fix the 92 both in down time and cash....
now for the bad news.... I had "just" rebuilt the front end in my 92 Dakota 2wd, and the trans decided to puke after 226k miles.... something major broke inside not gonna be just a "basic rebuild" this time/ , and with the body not being the best shape no more (thank Illinois weather and IDOT's love for salt brine for that) my wife and son talked me into letting the 92 go away..... which I did, but not before keeping many parts from it.... I had thought of keeping the control arms just because of the new parts that I had just put on less than 1000 miles ago.... but I didn't...… still wish that I had. actually I should have kept the truck and fixed the trans again anyways..... bought a 99 in its place and hit a deer within 10 days... cost me the same to fix that, as it would have to fix the 92 both in down time and cash....
#4
07-21-2019, 03:18 PM
I have worked as a front end suspension and alignment guy for years....(out of that game for a while but still make my living working on cars and trucks) don't have any problem with those upper ball joints except for the occasional stripped out threads where the ball joint threads in.
now for the bad news.... I had "just" rebuilt the front end in my 92 Dakota 2wd, and the trans decided to puke after 226k miles.... something major broke inside not gonna be just a "basic rebuild" this time/ , and with the body not being the best shape no more (thank Illinois weather and IDOT's love for salt brine for that) my wife and son talked me into letting the 92 go away..... which I did, but not before keeping many parts from it.... I had thought of keeping the control arms just because of the new parts that I had just put on less than 1000 miles ago.... but I didn't...… still wish that I had. actually I should have kept the truck and fixed the trans again anyways..... bought a 99 in its place and hit a deer within 10 days... cost me the same to fix that, as it would have to fix the 92 both in down time and cash....
now for the bad news.... I had "just" rebuilt the front end in my 92 Dakota 2wd, and the trans decided to puke after 226k miles.... something major broke inside not gonna be just a "basic rebuild" this time/ , and with the body not being the best shape no more (thank Illinois weather and IDOT's love for salt brine for that) my wife and son talked me into letting the 92 go away..... which I did, but not before keeping many parts from it.... I had thought of keeping the control arms just because of the new parts that I had just put on less than 1000 miles ago.... but I didn't...… still wish that I had. actually I should have kept the truck and fixed the trans again anyways..... bought a 99 in its place and hit a deer within 10 days... cost me the same to fix that, as it would have to fix the 92 both in down time and cash....
