Hello all!

First, as I am sure you have gathered, I am new. I am actually very excited to be here. What? A forum? Not exactly. Not to get into a large sob story but I have been trying to get a truck for close to a decade now. Either finances never met up or an ex stole what money I had for a truck and bought a Kia. That's neither here nor there. Yesterday I finally bought my dream truck, a 1998 1500 5.2 Laramie. This thing is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. Exterior is clean and interior looks like it hasn't been touched. I will be the first guy to admit I teared up a bit taking her home. Its been.. a long road.

As of right now, there is nothing wrong with the truck. Starts up no problem no check engine lights. This truck has 199999 miles on it, just under 200k. It has had two owners and the looks of it the first owner kept pretty decent care of it. The second owner had this baby for 3 years and barley did anything to it.. which is concerning. He did a few oil changes but that's about it. So why am I here?

I want to rip this thing apart and replace all the crap that's bad. Let me first start by saying I do all the work myself, I am not the best or the most mechanically inclined but I am determined and I am learning as I go. With that said, I know there are some major stuff on these trucks that need to be fixed before they cause some issues. That is why I am here. To get a decent list of parts (and there names which I am not the best at) that I can replace.

Whats my goal for the truck? A modest 3' lift, no mudding, wont even be towing much of anything except maybe a small trailer. Something I can go camping with. I want to keep her running for awhile.

Upon my initial inspection, the truck is leaking oil at the oil pan. I believe the oil pan gasket is bad. The intake manifold gasket looks bad, belts look okay, probably needs an oil change. The front suspension is absolutely shot. Way to much steering play which probably means the rear is looking that way too. The differential is leaking oil, most likely the gasket is bad. The gas indicator does not work, but with some research appears to be a sending unit which I need to drop the gas tank to get to. I have no issues with this.

I have segregated the project truck into three stages.

Stage 1: Engine

Stage 2: Suspension

Stage 3: Exterior

I don't really have to many budget concerns because honestly even if I loose my house I have my truck finally. With that being said, if you just purchased a 98 and knew it had some of the creeping issues mine does. What would you replace in the engine bay? What most commonly fails and what can I replace while I am there to prevent it? Which gaskets, what are their names? Which sensors? Which hoses and lines? What gears and pullies?

I want to do a 3' lift but I know for a fact everything suspension wise needs to go and needs to get replaced. Are there full rebuild kits? What should I replace? I have heard from a little research that there is a pitman arm or something like it bit I have only found 12 or 13 piece suspension kits (tie rods, tie rod end links etc). I have heard using blocks in the rear is not the best for a lift etc. I want to rebuild the wheel hub assembly and shocks etc. I have also heard there is a death wobble of some kind which can be fixed with a steering bar stabilizer. Things like that, I have never been able to work on these trucks before but now is my chance. I want to know from the professionals who have worked on these guys all the time. You guys are awesome! Any help would be most appreciated!

Thank you!!

 

Fix the known broke stuff first. Get your steering in shape, and address the various leaks. While you have the intake off, fix the plenum gasket as well. (read the stickied thread at the top of this forum for more info on that.) Given your mileage, do the timing chain/gears when you do the intake. That's also a good time to do plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor. MUCH easier to get to with the intake out of the way. (water pump while you are doing the timing set as well.)

Next, do maintenance. If you don't know when the last time it was done was, it's time. Look at the maintenance schedule in the owners manual. Do EVERYTHING. Wouldn't hurt to pull the wheels/tires/drums, and check the brakes front and rear.

The brake line to the rear axle likes to rust out and break. check as much of it as you can, if it looks bad, replace it.

Brake hoses. If they are original, time for them to get changed as well.

Suspension: Get a real lift. Not just spring spacers. That means front springs, maybe control arms, and do the rear add-a-leaf, or shackle flip in the back. You actually need to retain the stock blocks, as that's where the bump stops are.....

Death Wobble: A steering stabilizer won't 'fix' it. It's a product of worn steering parts, mainly the track bar. (locates the axle side to side.) If yours is worn. might wanna seriously consider the third gen track bar conversion. That one has bushings on both ends, and is a MUCH better piece than the stock design.

Steering box is also a source of steering slop. Don't bother with the parts store 'reman' units. Most of them turn out to be worse than what you are replacing..... Go with a red head, or borgenson steering box. MUCH better quality. (and pricier.....)

Most of this, you can do with basic hand tools. Some of the more fun tools certainly make the job easier though. (torches......) Also, grab a service manual for your truck from here. Read thru procedures before you actually do them, so you actually have an idea of what is expected to happen.

Check into the Rock Solid Ram Steering fix, and Transfer Case Saver as well. (google will turn them up.)

Welcome to DF!

 

This guy right here is a Mopar GOD. He knows almost everything about the 2nd Gen Rams. If you have any help we will jump in. I was a Dodge Master Technician at a REAL Dodge Garage for 3 years and been a certified backyard mechanic for 13 years. Between all of us here we can help you with whatever you need. Welcome to DF! You will enjoy the truck as I do. You can buy reuseable gaskets (Called Lube Locker). I just use RTV as it seems to be the best way for it not to leak. Do you have an LSD rear? If so the clutch retainers like to go and they will take out the rear end.

 

We like pics too! Hint Hint

 

Its a chilly morning here in Florida. Sat outside my little garage for about an hour and a half slow sipping some coffee and just lookin at her. To most people, its just a truck, but I busted my *** to get her.

Thank you so much for your reply. I really appreciate it, I am making a list of the parts you recommended and getting everything priced out. Thank you for the Death Wobble information, albeit I don't know much about the condition as it stands as I didn't really feel any of that but its just something I found online. So I will make sure when I redo the entire suspension that I get everything. I also want to do the lift the correct way, thank you, you're right. Spacers and stuff just seem.. silly to me. I want to do it right, and replace EVERYTHING I can in that area to give me a correct lift that will last and compliment the suspension. Don't care that I am not mudding or taking her up a mountain. Interesting point about the third gen track bar, didn't know that was a thing. I will do some research on it.

I feel a little bit of a noobie, as I knew what a transfer case was but didn't really understand it all that well so I had to look into that last night and the case saver as well. What exactly does it prevent from breaking? The entire case? Thanks again for the time yall took out to reply to my thread. I will definitely put that information to good use.

@MoparFanatic21 That's awesome, its always good to talk to people who really know their stuff because it helps guys like me learn the correct way. Thank you for your help!!

@moparite coming right up!

 

Nice truck. That IS in good shape. Though, I suspect the dash cover hides a dash top that the sun got the better of. (mine is cracking and disintegrating as well, and I live in Michigan.....)

T-case saver replaces the snap ring that prevents the rear output shaft from walking around, with a collar, that is MUCH more secure. The snap ring tends to 'fall out', and allow the shaft to move back and forth, which lets various parts grind against each other, and mayhem ensues..... shattered t-cases are the general result. But then, I am not seeing a t-case shifter on the floor of your truck? So, that isn't really a concern for you.

 

I say get a Hughes Airgap then you won't have a plenum gasket that can leak because there won't be one. that gasket breaking up is a big problem on these trucks.

Don't buy Autolite Professional 7mm wires, I've had two sets of them break down internally and give me a slight misfire. Just a few days ago I put some Taylor 8mm Spiro-pro wires on my truck with a new set of NGK V-power plugs (the gap on the old plugs was .050 so it was time) and got rid of a misfire that I felt on the last drive before that.
Rip out the heat shields around those spark plugs before pulling the old ones and throw them in the trash, a squeeze around the base with channel locks then a good wiggle will get them out. Blow the crud around the plugs away with an air compressor before pulling the plugs.

If you're getting a 3" lift then I assume you're going with a 33" tire, if you don't already have them then I suggest getting 4.10 gears (3.55 is standard). Going from 3.55 to 4.10 gears was the most notable thing I've done to my truck in the get up and go department, my tires are just shy of 33" tall.

Changing my track bar fixed the majority of my steering slop. I decided to change it when I put a camera on the ground and rocked the steering wheel side to side and saw the slop in the ends of the bar.

For the rear lift you might want to think about a leaf pack that is taller over add a leafs. I have add a leafs because they were cheap and gave me a little lift but the ride is a lot stiffer with an empty bed. The plus side of add a leafs is that squatting with a load in the bed will be a thing of the past.

I've heard that unbolting the bed and jacking it up on the driver side then wedging blocks of wood under it so you don't squish your noggin if it falls is much easier than pulling the tank to get at the fuel pump. If you go that route then mind the tail light wires when you start lifting it.

When you pull the timing cover you need to do the leaking oil pan gasket at the same time because coolant will get in the oil pan when you do it. When you pull the timing chain off I would mark the gears with a sharpie and make sure not to rotate them with it off.

Don't buy fancy expensive shocks with all kinds of claims about a smooth ride (unless they're Bilsteins), Large monotube is what you want for trucks. I have Monroe gas magnums and they're pretty good.

I would change the transmission fluid and filter, you can get a reusable filter that's plastic and has rubber on both sides. I'm not a fan of cork gaskets.

Use Rockauto.com for most of what you need unless you have amazon prime and the price is the same or less than rock auto with shipping because then you'll have the parts in two days instead of a week. I've gotten part numbers off rock auto and ordered through amazon quite a few times. Rockauto has a lot of parts (and brands) that local parts stores don't carry.

 

Beautiful truck and welcome to the forum. I take it that your truck is 2WD and not 4WD - is that correct? Just FYI, here are some videos that show death wobble. When I bought my truck used some years ago and encountered death wobble, I was going about 75MPH down the interstate and thought I was going to die in the truck, as I had never encountered that condition on a vehicle before. I ended up rebuilding/upgrading the front suspension and eliminated the issue. I believe death wobble is more prevalent with 4WD trucks than 2WD trucks.

 

I'm almost positive 2wd trucks don't get death wobble. You need a straight axle
Here is how you can do a good cheap lift. Get a 3in add a leaf for the rear and use diesel coil springs or V10 coil springs. You'll get a cheap lift

 

Yea the dash I think is completely cracked. Would a transfer case be only on a 4x4?

I should have mentioned in 2WD and not 4WD. My fault. Does that mean I don't have one?

@AtomicDog yea its 2WD, I cringed a little bit when watching those videos. That's.. something else. I heard of that on Jeeps. I did not experience that on the highway going 80. I don't know how you did it lol!

@Sheriff420 I looked up the Hughes Airgap and man that thing looks cool! Thank you for the suggestion on the wires and plugs. I will look those up! Yes sir I plan on going with 33's as they seem to be the better/safer common mod if you will. Excuse my ignorance, I should probably know what you mean by gears (4.10 gears (3.55 is standard)) but I actually don't really know, what are they and what are they for? They have nothing to do with tire spacers correct? I have actually not heard of unbolting the bed and moving it up like that.. it actually sounds much easier then what I had anticipated dropping the tank would be. Thank you, I will take a look into that! Thank you very much for the information about the timing chain and coolant, my luck I would have done the opposite and really messed something up. I think HeyYou Mentioned the timing chain and gear, I will admit, I am a little weary about touching that despite knowing it needs to be done. I know if you mess up even a little the truck may not start or have other crazy issues. I will definitely mark it though. Do the Large monotube's replace the shocks? I found them online and they look interesting. Are they a different component? I have heard the cork ones break down and get stuff in your engine so I will definitely go with something different. I bet she is in major need of an ATF flush. I hope I don't find any metal in there... I'm hoping the differential is the same way. Fingers crossed I don't find any shavings.

Thanks again everyone!