Your truck was manufactured in 1997, but because it was made in the 2nd half of the year closer to 98, its considered and sold as a 98, the opposite example in the industry is when you buy.. say a 2014 model in 2013....

 

For starters, this sounds like the driver's side wheel bearing is about to kick the bucket. Jack it up from the control arm and check to see if there's any play up or down; this should be your top priority.

As for the other stuff that's been mentioned, a rebuild of the front-end is definitely an ideal thing to consider doing sooner rather than later. Just getting an alignment won't help if the parts are already in need of replacing.

I'm not sure how skilled you are at getting your hands dirty with replacing parts, but it's not as bad as your might think. Since everything is going to be apart, you might as well just replace everything while you're at it. Buy parts at a good price on rockauto, watch videos on youtube about the different repairs (there are plenty in regards to dakotas/durangos), make sure you have the right tools, and have a buddy come over to help, just make sure to pay him in beer and food haha. Should make for a nice weekend project.

Make sure to hit any and all nuts & bolts with some oil a day or two before you start, and keep a bfh handy should you need to use some extra persuasion

 

i believe when i changed my rack n pinion, i rolled the D/S bearing and it felt kinda rough to me, not too bad, but didnt seem smooth, i didnt think about checking it for play (i did take my brakes off to check if my rotor was really warped as i thought it was...)

theres a guy about 180 miles round trip, he wants $60 for Everything from the front end, new drilled/slotted rotors, the bearings, and the bushings do look new, but the ball joint rubbers are busted open, id also like his exhaust so i can kill 2 bird with 1 stone, Rid my truck of the knife poking out of the back, and get rid of the P0420 code

so im gonna compile a list of parts i may want from him when i go back, i just learned how to do drum brakes, and these bushings cant be as a PITA as those brakes, i didnt know i needed a special tool for the springs (it made it a breeze as far as the springs for the pins that hold the brakes in place)

EDIT: I really dont wanna make a new thread, but should my rear axle have a little bit of play, i assume not, but i thought it had something to do with my U joints, but i changed my U joints, and when i did my brakes i noticed i can move the shafts for a lil without moving the driveshaft, i notice when i wanna go, i can feel the slack on takeoff from this play followed with a low tone "tink" noise from the rear

 

shouldn't need to replace rack. Start with all of the control arm bushings and front shocks, and go from there. And the bearings if need be.

 

ive been driving with a blown rack for a month or two, i just changed it out last thursday, and thats when i noticed that.......

 

Don't use a spring compression tool complete waste of time as long as the front is high enough on jack stands as you drop what ever side you are working on the coil spring will drop out the bottom after you remove the knuckle.

I tried the spring tool and it was dangerous Kept popping out on me with a big bang it will scare the Hell out of you. Then I read a how to on the 2WD Dak that said do it the way I described and it worked with ease.

You just need a floor jack under the bottom arm to hold it up then after everything is removed you let the jack down very slowly and it works great reach in and pull the spring out.

I can post the full how to on it if you wish

 

I wouldn't mind seeing the how-to, in case I ever need to change out my control arms or bushings. Thanks.

Jimmy

 

Ok Jimmy

Well I looked and guess I deleted it

But its exactly like when you replaced your Ball joints only thing different is loosen up the inside lower control arm bolt just a little this lets the arm drop easier for you as it can have some tension on it by the bushings.

Actually they may already be loose on you if you have never replace the bushings mine were.

Just remember to put a Floor jack under the lower control arm like replacing the Ball joints to hold it up in place so you can remove the knuckle.

Now the only thing different is you lower the jack down slowly this releases the spring tension when their is no longer any tension the spring should drop out if not reach in and pull it out

Just one more step out of the how to of Ball joint replacement

Remember to replace the spring isolator as they are smashed up pretty bad after 8 or more years of use.

The key is to make sure the front is on the jack stands high enough to drop the lower control arm enough to get the springs out if too low you cant get all the tension out and you are stuck.

I think I was almost not high enough when I did my spring removal as I had to reach in and pull them out and they were still under a small amount of tension but only a very small amount so I was fine.

Now that I think on it I pulled the jack out from under the control arm and that finally let all the tension out of the spring so I could remove it but it was not under much tension by then.

I hope that covers it actually very easy

The spring compressor scared the Hell out of me when I tried it it kept snapping out on me with a loud Bang it just never worked for me very Dangerous.

Its like a bomb its under so much tension so when it lets go LOOK OUT

 

So a friend dropped me off some better Dakota rims than the ones i had, i still have two good 195/60R15 tires, the other two are worn out on the inner edge ( Burn out tires for later)

the dakota rims he dropped off have 235/75R15 tires on them

For you guys that dont own a dakota equipped with a 2.5 i would totally agree the 195/60R15's are too small, But i noticed somethin in changing the tires, the difference makes it much much slower, it rolls much better with the smaller tires, much quicker on take off and pick-up in traffic, i mean BIG Difference, im gonna keep the 235/75's on the truck for now, once the front end is completely done, i will get two more 195/60's and go back to that size

 

well yes its like changing the rear end from a 3.55 to a 4.10 you get better take off but loose in freeway top speed.

I think the 235/75R 15's are around 3 inches taller tires than the 195/60R15 tires

Just get a wider tire but just as tall or short