2001 Ram 1500 44" tires 15" lift help
#12
02-22-2013, 03:36 PM
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#14
02-22-2013, 07:41 PM
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#15
02-23-2013, 12:51 PM
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1/2 unit bearing/s could have gone bad, they usually do all at once, not over time. Wh1t3 mentioned the front end steering components, I second that as well. The flat spots that you mentioned when you first start driving will contribute to quick deterioration of the front tires, since we are talking about 44" tires here. And they are bias plys, right? I had a set of 39x15x16.5 Mickey Thompson Baja belted tires on my old '72 W200. Some days I could do 75 down the freeway with no issues, some days it wanted to follow every line in the road and track all over the place at 55mph. That was with corrected steering & new shocks. Bias tires just don't typically have the manners that radials do, and are much harder to balance.
#16
02-23-2013, 10:33 PM
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I'm gonna go with balancing issue. Sounds like the same problem olyelr had when he ran those boggers on his truck.
Must say nice truck. 15'' of lift clears those 44's nicely! I'm amazed at that I don't know why but I am. I normally ask the same question to everyone lol, but how difficult is it to get in that thing? By chance a shot of you alongside the truck? We need more pics of the truck dude.
Must say nice truck. 15'' of lift clears those 44's nicely! I'm amazed at that I don't know why but I am. I normally ask the same question to everyone lol, but how difficult is it to get in that thing? By chance a shot of you alongside the truck? We need more pics of the truck dude.
#17
02-27-2013, 11:36 AM
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#18
02-27-2013, 04:12 PM
Thanks everyone for all the responses. Sorry for the late response from me. It turns out it was the pitman arm, the junky steering box, and a bad tie rod end. Wear and tear on the truck from sitting so long and being driven every day in the past along with bad design and stress from the lift, tires, and wheels of course. The axles have always been fine for years driving it every day. Dana 44's are fine so far...maybe im lucky i dont know but ive had regular inspections on the truck over the years (until i parked it) and the axles along with everything else have held up fine "knock on wood". Gotta remember the truck doesnt ever see mud. I see everyone say "you need to upgrade" to this or that. Or "it wont hold up."Everything has been perfect on the truck for years driving it every day so it definitely contradicts everything anyone has said. I think it has more to do with the way you drive it, road condition in your area, and regular maintenance. Its not practical by any means but it works. 
All in all the truck rides amazing for 44's. The death wobble is gone. The steering is tight like its never been before. The flat spots go out of the tires in half a mile. Balance bags on the insides. ive been checking it out every day and its all holding up just fine. Anytime it starts to get bumpy i just check the pressure in the tires and its usually the culprit. I run 30 PSI in the tires too and there's still no bounce. I didnt even have it aligned and the truck is having no symptoms of anything with exception of the expected.
Thank you all again. I appreciate the input and the time you took to reply. All things i may consider in the future.
Wombat i understand the contradiction but it was directed at the people who always have something negative to say. If you dont fall under that category then i wasnt talking about you. I would never down someone for doing the best they can whether it be 33's, 35's, or whatever they enjoyed. Whatever makes them happy. I just wanted to eliminate the bitter people from the response pool. That's all. Hopefully that clears up the confusion
Thanks again guys and next chance i get i will take pics next to the truck for whoever asked and post them. Im 5'11 and to get in it i just jump and grab the "oh sh** handle". Helping the girls get in is the fun part haha
All in all the truck rides amazing for 44's. The death wobble is gone. The steering is tight like its never been before. The flat spots go out of the tires in half a mile. Balance bags on the insides. ive been checking it out every day and its all holding up just fine. Anytime it starts to get bumpy i just check the pressure in the tires and its usually the culprit. I run 30 PSI in the tires too and there's still no bounce. I didnt even have it aligned and the truck is having no symptoms of anything with exception of the expected.
Thank you all again. I appreciate the input and the time you took to reply. All things i may consider in the future.
Wombat i understand the contradiction but it was directed at the people who always have something negative to say. If you dont fall under that category then i wasnt talking about you. I would never down someone for doing the best they can whether it be 33's, 35's, or whatever they enjoyed. Whatever makes them happy. I just wanted to eliminate the bitter people from the response pool. That's all. Hopefully that clears up the confusion
Thanks again guys and next chance i get i will take pics next to the truck for whoever asked and post them. Im 5'11 and to get in it i just jump and grab the "oh sh** handle". Helping the girls get in is the fun part haha
#20
10-28-2019, 08:05 PM
A few things i wanna get out of the way before i start.
I know my tire/lift choices are not practical for a daily driver. Ive read all the smart comments from "haters" as they like to call them as to why its stupid to run 44 inch tires on the street as a dd. Yes its a waste of money. I promise ive heard/read it all so unless its a serious answer related to the problem, please dont waste your energy typing it. Why do i do it? Because i want to. I dont rag on you for not being able to afford to put anything bigger than 35's on your vehicle so please show me the same respect. Now that we have that out of the way....ill begin. (Thank you in advance to all the serious responses i may get. im very appreciative i just wanted to weed out the useless information from the trollers that frequent the auto forums.)
I guess ill start with basic truck description and then elaborate more as i get responses. The truck is a 2001 Ram 1500 4x4 Sport. It has a 12 inch suspension lift and 3 inch body lift. I had previously ran the original Dick Cepek Fun Country tires which were 44x18.50-15's on MT Classic II wheels. I have driven the truck for over a year with almost no problems (at least nothing uncommon for running 44 inch tires on the street). I have extensive experience with the truck as it has been my daily driver for a long time. I recently ordered a set of 44x19.50-20 Pitbull Rockers as well as 20x12 Fuel Throttle wheels and had them put on the truck today. The truck drove incredibly smooth at all speeds up to 65 mph ALL DAY LONG. So smooth actually it made the truck ride better than the FC's ever did and i was shocked at this. The truck sat for several hours at some points, tires flat spotted of course, but the flat spots were gone after driving it for about a mile. Minimal wandering, minimal vibration, and minimal bouncing. Yes there was some but again, expected to have some from a truck this size. The crazy part was that i was expecting the ride to be MUCH worse as the wheels are much heavier than the 15's i previously had on it and the rockers are much more aggressive than the FC's i had on it previously. It was actually the complete opposite for the entire day.
Here's where the fun part begins. I parked the truck at home for maybe an hour before heading to my girlfriend's house. I get in the truck and drive down the road and notice it is riding like absolute s*** again. It began to wander terribly in the road, began to bounce at about 22 on my speedometer which is around 40 mph which seemed to originate from the rear and felt like riding a horse, and it was almost as if the front end was shifting side to side independently under the truck every time it began wandering and catching grooves in the road. The steering was the most noticable. It has always grabbed grooves in the road even when it was riding amazing today. Again this was expected. What im curious about is why the truck randomly, after sitting for a very short period of time, all the sudden went to hell in a handbasket. It was an instant difference from when i parked it to when i got back in it. So bad i noticed just backing out of the driveway.
I havent had time to look at as closely as i would like yet but any ideas as to what could possibly have gone wrong while it sat? Ive read up on death wobble, bouncing "like a horse", wandering in the road, and pretty much anything that has to do with sloppy handling and sloppy ride in a 2nd gen dodge.
Again, im aware of many things that can go wrong while driving it but it was dramatically altered before i put any serious strain on the truck. I appreciate any ideas. Hopefully when its daylight i will be able to see some obvious problems but i have a feeling that's not going to be the case. Ive looked up all kinds of responses and complaints and honestly there are so many different responses and solutions it seems like nobody knows and everyone just throws their opinion out there as fact without knowing for sure. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks for reading.
I know my tire/lift choices are not practical for a daily driver. Ive read all the smart comments from "haters" as they like to call them as to why its stupid to run 44 inch tires on the street as a dd. Yes its a waste of money. I promise ive heard/read it all so unless its a serious answer related to the problem, please dont waste your energy typing it. Why do i do it? Because i want to. I dont rag on you for not being able to afford to put anything bigger than 35's on your vehicle so please show me the same respect. Now that we have that out of the way....ill begin. (Thank you in advance to all the serious responses i may get. im very appreciative i just wanted to weed out the useless information from the trollers that frequent the auto forums.)
I guess ill start with basic truck description and then elaborate more as i get responses. The truck is a 2001 Ram 1500 4x4 Sport. It has a 12 inch suspension lift and 3 inch body lift. I had previously ran the original Dick Cepek Fun Country tires which were 44x18.50-15's on MT Classic II wheels. I have driven the truck for over a year with almost no problems (at least nothing uncommon for running 44 inch tires on the street). I have extensive experience with the truck as it has been my daily driver for a long time. I recently ordered a set of 44x19.50-20 Pitbull Rockers as well as 20x12 Fuel Throttle wheels and had them put on the truck today. The truck drove incredibly smooth at all speeds up to 65 mph ALL DAY LONG. So smooth actually it made the truck ride better than the FC's ever did and i was shocked at this. The truck sat for several hours at some points, tires flat spotted of course, but the flat spots were gone after driving it for about a mile. Minimal wandering, minimal vibration, and minimal bouncing. Yes there was some but again, expected to have some from a truck this size. The crazy part was that i was expecting the ride to be MUCH worse as the wheels are much heavier than the 15's i previously had on it and the rockers are much more aggressive than the FC's i had on it previously. It was actually the complete opposite for the entire day.
Here's where the fun part begins. I parked the truck at home for maybe an hour before heading to my girlfriend's house. I get in the truck and drive down the road and notice it is riding like absolute s*** again. It began to wander terribly in the road, began to bounce at about 22 on my speedometer which is around 40 mph which seemed to originate from the rear and felt like riding a horse, and it was almost as if the front end was shifting side to side independently under the truck every time it began wandering and catching grooves in the road. The steering was the most noticable. It has always grabbed grooves in the road even when it was riding amazing today. Again this was expected. What im curious about is why the truck randomly, after sitting for a very short period of time, all the sudden went to hell in a handbasket. It was an instant difference from when i parked it to when i got back in it. So bad i noticed just backing out of the driveway.
I havent had time to look at as closely as i would like yet but any ideas as to what could possibly have gone wrong while it sat? Ive read up on death wobble, bouncing "like a horse", wandering in the road, and pretty much anything that has to do with sloppy handling and sloppy ride in a 2nd gen dodge.
Again, im aware of many things that can go wrong while driving it but it was dramatically altered before i put any serious strain on the truck. I appreciate any ideas. Hopefully when its daylight i will be able to see some obvious problems but i have a feeling that's not going to be the case. Ive looked up all kinds of responses and complaints and honestly there are so many different responses and solutions it seems like nobody knows and everyone just throws their opinion out there as fact without knowing for sure. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks for reading.