Aside from my sig, I have done this to my truck:
1. Brakes: New ATE brake rotors for the front. Matched with Bosch Quiet Cast pads...they are very quiet. Have never squealed on me! New drums shoes hardware and wheel cylinders. New Stainless/Kevlar brake lines.
2. Suspension: Bilstein 5100 series shocks. Personally I think these are the only ones you should buy for our trucks with a lift. I had rancho RS5000s on there before and they were really bad. The Bilsteins make my truck ride very smooth. HBS Maxxis sway bar end links. These made everything in my suspension feel right. Also they are STRAIGHT UP and not walleyed like the stock ones. Plus I had all the ball joints, tie rods and track bar replaced.
3. Engine: I am not doing anything more to my engine (Did the hughes plenum). If I try anything more I will get into the "Build, break, fix" cycle. I just did my tuneup, so I am good with the engine for a while.
4. Exhaust: everything from the headers to the muffler is aftermarket.
5. Tranny: I have the derale cooling pan (+2 quarts with turbulator cooling tubes). Tranny got to 148* in the pan while towing from NY to KY. Averaged in the 130s. Valvoline synthetic is in the tranny (Changed 25K miles ago with the filter).
6. Steering: Had the power steering pump replaced at 55K. Under warranty!
7. Water pump replaced 10K miles ago. No overheating issue. The housing attached to the fan clutch (bearing?) made the fan shaft loose. Good thing I caught it because if it failed, my fan would have shot thru the radiator. I caught it because I was going through belts IMMEDIATELY.

So here is what I was thinking (In order):
1. Fix my map light with those ebay switches for 32 bucks. The buttons don't work!
2. Roll Pan for the back!
3. New Dash: Mine is crumbling! I bought it in 2008 with ZERO cracks. Taking a turn into an inclined driveway flexed my truck enough to crack the dash. I should have loosened the darn screws!
4. Precision of New Hampton RV torque converter. What Monte C recommended.
5. T-case saver: Had the t-case replaced 35K miles ago as there was a crack in it. My dodge STILL had the extended Chrysler warranty (guy I bought it from renewed it at 35K miles, sold me the truck with 42K miles. Cost $50 to put it in my name). I am hesitant because I never did any work with a driveshaft/t-case/tranny.
6. New engine mounts. WHen I was seafoaming last year, my engine was turning A LOT. However, I haven't the foggiest about changing the mounts. DO you need to pull the engine?
7. HBS adjustable control arms (Upper and lower). I am weary of this because they allow side to side movement of the axle. In the description it says "You will need to get used to how your truck drives after doing this." and "You will notice excessive movement at low speeds." Seems like something that would CAUSE a death wobble.

Weigh in with what you think. Don't say:
1. Turbo/SC
2. Camshaft
3. Timing chain.

I am afraid I will not be able to get the crank pulley off and TDC my engine for correct installation. Plus. If I get that far...I will probably call Comp Cams. I am considering heads. But if I go that way, I will want to go with the edelbrock RPMs. Then I will need to go with chevy style roller rockers. I don't think I will be able to adjust them correctly. I have the Sharps and they were easy to install.

 

Nothing in HBS description of their control arms says they will cause the axle to wobble and handle incorrectly. Where are you seeing this?

 

The transfer case saver goes in stupid simply. Nuthin' to worry about there.

The motor mounts are easily enough done just by jacking up the side of the engine you're working on after the hardware is out.

Dash replacement is a major pain in the ***. You'll probably want the cute plastic nutterphuckers that are used to affix the instrument panel to the cowl -- the parts manual will have the part numbers. Believe it or not, the only threads into metal holding that whole panel in place are the top center one (under the windshield) and the two outboard saddles hiding behind the sail panels. The other four under the windshield are into the nylon nutterphuckers, and there aren't any more unless you want to count the four under the steering column which could catch the panel if it were to fall. And cost you a cluster bezel in the process, too.

It's a good time, if you're removing the instrument panel, to do the heater core and AC condensor. If you get a heater core with swiveling pipes it can be done by drawing the heater plenum away from the firewall rather than completely removing it -- you'll have to cut the old pipes off and shove them through the firewall to get them out. If you've got non-swiveling pipes, you have to remove the whole darn box to get the new one in.

Personally, if I'm not trimming every discardable ounce off of a racer I don't want aluminum cylinder heads any further forward than in the bed of the truck. They work fine but don't tolerate nearly so much abuse as cast iron, and streetable vehicles don't need the weight saving anyway.

 

The T-case saver is cake. It's about a 30 minute job. Just have some tape handy for the U-joint, to hold it together while the shaft is out. Putting needle bearings back in there is a pain. Best to avoid that exercise. This is a VERY useful upgrade. That friggin' snap ring is responsible for quite a high percentage of grenaded t-cases.

Engine mounts aren't difficult either. Use a floor jack to support the engine, swap out the mount, then do the other side. Maybe an hour for both. (assuming you have air tools. Little longer if you don't.)

Has your trans been rebuilt? How many miles currently on the truck? I wouldn't be real excited about spending serious coin on a new converter, to put onto an old trans....

 

Truck has 88K on the odometer. Maybe I should have a drain and fill done with a band re-adjustment before going with a converter. I heard someone grenade their trans doing their own band adjustment because the torque wrench was shoddy.

The reason for the alum heads is because of the smaller chambers. 58cc. They would get the best HP increase over "Iron Rams." My truck runs very cool. Never gets over 180 even in the Arkansas summer with the AC blowing (Hemifever tune). Winter heat is lukewarm though. So I think they would hold up until 150K. I have owned the truck since 2008 and put less than 50K on it. So at my rate, the engine will outlast the trans.

You think a stock trans will last to 150K? I wonder how many trannies were tossed and upgraded because they needed just a band adjustment and a slack pull of the kickdown on the throttle body. Oh, I got a new TPS from the dealership 20K miles ago.

Engine mounts: I have air tools. Maybe I will give it a go in the next couple weeks. I can also tackle the exhaust manifold heat deflector rattle that sounds like pinging. Damn that is annoying. It has stopped though, but its onset was brought by some seafoaming with me revving the engine manually and the darn engine wanting to twist like an airplane propeller.

 

Ah, it was in the INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS on the right side of page 1 under "USE INSTRUCTIONS":
http://www.hellbentsteel.com/Instruc...0-1001_LCA.pdf

Use Warnings:
DRIVE SAFELY! Avoid abrupt maneuvers such as sudden sharp turns which could cause a roll over, resulting in serious injury or death.
You are solely responsible for any and all misuse, abuse, improper installation, and/or improper maintenance of this product and your vehicle. After installing this product, drive with extreme caution, particularly until you become familiar with how the vehicle handles. Slower speeds may be required to maintain control. Do not engage in any conduct that would void your vehicle’s factory warranty, such as jumping the vehicle, driving the vehicle in excess of payload towing restrictions, off-road racing, rock crawling, etc. Always wear a seat belt.

Seems I did mis-read it about being unstable at low speeds. Instead the gist of it is, "Drive slower or you may lose control." The description page talks about how the arms allow for side to side movement of the front axle. Side to side movement of the front axle is pretty much the death wobble.

 

That seems kinda counter-intuitive.... I like to do upgrades to make my truck BETTER, not worse...... One would think that a good quality trackbar would resolve the issue?

 

All lift kits come with some kind of warning like that. Anytime you replace stock items with aftermarket items to CYA manufactures have to warn people about EVERYTHING or some DUMBA$$ will run into a telephone pole or something else and then try to sue the manufacture because their rig handled different than it did before. That is why your cup of coffee now says "contents might be hot use caution". I hate that crap. But until people start taking responsibility for their actions this is how it is going to be.

If you want smaller combustion chambers get a pair of EQ heads and have them shave the heads a little. But isn't that getting into the "Build, Break, Fix" thing you were talking about? It is real easy to build your engine, get a little more power out of it and not break things. It is called using your control of the right foot. As long as you don't get STUPID your right foot won't break anything.
But if you are going to add more power to your truck or larger tires make sure you get the tranny rebuilt FIRST!! That is why my Dodge truck isn't taller yet and the engine isn't making 700 HP. I have to get my tranny rebuilt first.

 

I am not saying the HBS control arms are crap. I just want a tighter more comfortable ride. Those don't seem like they would do that. I avoid potholes and even puddles leftover on dry roads from the rain the day before (mainly because I don't want my truck dirty).

I got a year on the express warranty from Route 66, so if my engine breaks my tranny within that time, that will be a HUGE favor. A reman tranny installed is around 1600. So I would probably have to pay 1500 extra for them to get a viper.

BUT, if I decide to keep the truck within this year (might sell it next spring), I'll upgrade the tranny. I saved 22K because I was going to put a down on a Tundra, but I seriously can't decide what to get. Plus I have two vehicles that are completely paid for, so I have no car payments. With no car payments I average 800 per year in maintenance/upgrades. The most I paid in a year was 240 in things that actually broke. The rest are upgrades.

UNREGISTERED USER ONCE SAID: "Slowly but surely, I am upgrading things in my truck and after a little while my truck will drive as well as some new trucks." Or words to that effect. That is a stretch, but I used to drive a 2010 Dodge Dakota for work and that thing ran like a go cart.

 

Control arms aren't supposed to control the axle from side to side.


I would guarantee those arms would give you a better feel then your rock hard old bushings. And ride better to boot.