Hi, name is Thomas. I have a 96 dodge ram 1500 4x4, 5.2 liter. I bought this truck cheap and it needs some work but its my daily driving project truck. The shocks on my truck are going bad. I want to buy a new set sometime this week but i do not want to buy something that is junk. I new to all this truck stuff. I know i do not want the stock shocks, maybe something stiffer?? Also, i would also like to replace my springs as well, but know nothing about shocks and springs and such things of that nature.

 

Is there something wrong with the springs you have? Are they sagging? If you check out the DIY section of the forum at the top of this page there is a thread that goes several pages about shocks. I personally run basic Rancho myself.

 

Not sure about Springs, but stay away from anything but Champion spark plugs, and never get Bosch O2 sensors.

 

Just curious why Champs are the only thing you say that work? Spark plugs are a highly debated topic so to say that only one brand works...well I'm curious to here the logic behind this.

 

I'm not sure technically speaking why they don't work well, but these trucks seem to run poorly with anything other than champion coppers.

Platinum especially are notorious for causing misfires and poor mileage.

 

They run pretty good with Autolites.

 

I've run Accel's, NGK's and Champs and they've all been fine for me. You shouldn't generalize like that because other members will start to echo what your saying just because another DF member said it.

 

Have to chime in here as I am a newbie here too BUT i do alot of service manual research and other web research before i come to any conclusion as EVERY member here can bring something new to the plate.

200,000 miles on my dodge with nothing but oil changes and a tranny rebuild at 100,000. I replaced distribution cap, rotor, with accel cap and rotor brass, 8.5mm msd spark plug wires (using anti-seize and dielectric grease), Ignition coil, and AUTOLITE double platinum spark plugs. MPG went from 10mpg to 17mpg. No misfires no problems except now i notice the plenum plate :P

I always say
ASK FOR HELP, but never trust the information until you are really either statistically or scientifically proven otherwise. Ask for help gather information from multiple sources and make a decision. Youll feel better atleast knowing it was an EDUCATED guess.

Oh and about the shocks:
I got Bilstein Shocks for front and back and they worked great. Rancho adjustibles are another favorite people suggest on this forum. Take off your old ones press down and see how long they take to rebound. Most likely you need to replace them if you think you do.

 

Autolites work for a lot of people here too


HMM! Sorry Annihilator_X9, I lost a post today in another thread and some posts by other people in a couple others were not there when I posted. Something strange happened today.

 

thanks everyone. i will also be replacing spark plugs, spark plug wires, air filter and oil filter. like i said i new to trucks so i didnt know if you needed to replace the springs or not. Where do you guys tend to get your parts for your truck body wise? such as maybe a door or something. I need a driver door and a front bumper. My front bumper looks like it was pulled up from the bottom. i cant tell if the bumper is bent or maybe the brackets its connected too, but around my town i see rams with the same issue just not as bad as mine. i also want to get a new pair of headlights and tailights. I have searched many sites including ebay, craigslist, auto parts warehouse or something like that. I checked most junk yards and cant seem to find many dodges around here. any suggestions?