I have learned a ton on this forum...and you guys have helped me out a lot in the past. Got something new for you.


Ok...front end is just crap...sounds like a farm truck going down the road...bad tire wear...take it to the Dodge dealership...

They replace the upper control arm bushings...all the ball joints...new shocks..even new upper and lower control arms!!!Then they aligned the front end.

I get it back....man it's sooooo much better....front end is tight...no more rebound...no more noise...but after a day or two...I can hear something here and there...

One thing they did not do...is change out the front sway bar bushings...as far as i know they are still the original bushings...truck has bout 110,000 miles now...whenever I push down on the front bumper...kinda have to do it hard....I can hear the noise...I grab one of the luggage racks on the roof and shake the truck back and fourth and I can hear it a little....it's just bugging me.

Sorry for the long post...but what do you guys think? Sway bar bushings?

Tim

 

Get some dielectric grease, spray it on the four contacts of the front sway bar bushing. Should solve the problem, at a small cost. You may find, as I have, that it is only a temporary fix. I usually hit it every 2-4 months and more frequently in the winter. I know the noise you're describing, its just an irritating noise lol.

 

You mean where the bar is bolted to the frame? Not sure how I would get in there good...I'll have to look at it...I see where the bushings are...and there are bolts where the bar is mounted...are you talking about spraying the grease at these points?

 

you can purchase a bushing kit for the front end at any auto parts store. i replaced mine in september bue to the same issue, the rubber bushing wear out and cause the sway bar to have slop. which is bad, if it goes on for a long enough period of time it can cause your sway bar to wear groves in it. and then if you replace the busings it will just wear out again.
if you decide to replace the bushings remember you have to allow bolth front tires to be completely off the ground, you cant jack up one side and then move to the other side. your sway bar will fly off when your removing the bolts. not a good idea. lol.
most of the poly kits out there have grease ports on them so you can grease them and to keep it from creaking. it also elongates the life of the bushings.
so good luck, and remember to always use jack stands. you will be under the front end of the truck with the wheels off to access the bushings on the lower control arms.

 

Thanks guys for the suggestions....I just ended up going back to the Stealership and the guy who did my front-end work rode with me in the truck for a little bit, and we both agree it's probably the Sway arm bushings...though it might also be the lower control-arm bushings..he said they looked fine when they were working on the truck. They ordered the sway-bar bushings and the guy is going to put them in for free....For sure one of the better dealerships I have dealt with in a long time.

Well hopefully that takes care of what little noise is left...otherwise he did a great job...front end is nice and tight now...and for the most part, quiet...and it rides and drives like a new truck again...it should, it pretty much has a re-built front end!