Weak control arm bushings, and in my case fac ball joints that had to be cut out and replaced with MOOGS. the ball joints alone changed the cornering and ride

 

Sorry to revive an old thread but my rear sway bar is dead and now rattling every time I go over one of the many potholes in Boston. Any consensus on whether the Hotchkis sway bar kit is worth it? Going to take the plunge soon so hope to hear from y'all!

 

I would just replace the OEM bushings and call it a day.

 

I wish it were as simple as the bushings, but it’s actually the ball joint that’s come out of the sway bar link a.k.a. “dog-bone” (on the rear driver’s side), and the rubber covering is shredded. So something’s gotta get replaced, and if that’s the case I was wondering if the Hotchkis 2246 was worth it?

 

i think you have something messed up, there are no ball joints on the rear of these trucks . . .

 

+1 Sharp... i just read that and thought to myself... wtf? balljoints? what ball joints ?

 

Yes, I know there’s no “ball joints” in the rear, but technically the articulation on the most distal side of the sway bar link (encased within the rubber seal), that connects to the bolt, is a ball joint. If you’ve ever seen one dissected then you’ll know what I mean…actually, here’s a pic of what it looks like (I lifted the image from another forum, but I added the labels):

 

yup thats a ball and socket joint, (well half of one anyway, lol) from that picture it looks like its part of the sway bar.

 

So, back to the main topic of this post--is the Hotchkis 2246 kit worth its price?

I'm going to have to replace a sway bar link at the very least, and if that's the case I'm just going to replace both links, and the rear sway bar.

Hotchkis only sells a kit (front & rear) for the 1G Durangos, but when I called them up they said that if i didn’t want a kit (i.e. if i want just the rear ), its available only through them (not a distributor), for ~$280. Now, for $180 more I can get the complete front & rear kit from a distributor. But is it worth it?

If the kit were ~$325 shipped it’d be a no brainer for me and I wouldn’t have even posted on here, but it’ll be more like $500 shipped. But if I’ll feel the difference while driving fast through the winding 1-ways of downtown Boston/Cambridge/Somerville (where I do 95% of my driving), then I’ll go for it. If I’m wasting my money, I’d like to know what a better alternative would be (preferably an aftermarket).

Thanks in advanced!

 

I would just replace the links/bushings and main bushings in polly and be done, but that's just me.

Energy Suspension is now making them for the Durango! Download Catalog

You need to look further down in the "Truck" section, page 63