Past time to tackle the front end suspension on my '00, 2500 2WD.
I've only ever replaced tie rods, so this is a first...
I've got upper and lower control arms (complete with new ball joints/bushings), tie rods, idler/pitman arms, suspension rods, and bushings for the stabilizer bar. Am I missing anything??
I had the front hubs/bearings replaced a few months ago by the local shop.

No lift, working off jackstands... any tips for the easiest/most efficient sequencing to tackle this- eg does it matter whether I do upper before lower control arm, should I get the entire front end up on jackstands or is one side at a time OK, etc...

Also, any tips for getting alignment "close" until getting it in for proper alignment? I'll measure length of tie rods before I pull them to get toe close, should camber/caster be close enough out of the box on the control arms?

Lastly... I've seen 3" spacer kits for the front shocks that'll level the front end- I'd like to get it a bit higher for easier access under the truck. Are these simple enough to install when doing the lower control arms?

Just trying to keep out of trouble, thanks for any advice.

 

Think I would have several jackstands, AND a GOOD floor jack for that exercise..... Lift the entire front of the ground, support with jackstands..... The most exciting part is removing the springs.... have the RIGHT tool for that job, and be careful. Do something wrong there, and things go south dern quick.

I don't think order matters overmuch.... but, once you have it all together, the FIRST place I would take it, would be for a front end alignment.

 

Service manual seems to indicate that lowering the control arm to relieve spring tension is all that's needed.

Says to place a jack under the arm in front of the shock mount, separate the ball joint, remove lower shock bolt from the arm.Lower jack and control arm until spring tension is relieved.
Remove spring and rubber isolator.

Placing the spring back into the lower arm and jacking it back into position after. I can see needing a special tool to compress the spring if the control arms aren't being replaced- what am I missing?

 

I just completed a front end rebuild on a 2WD '96 Ram 1500. I did the job in my driveway. I jacked up the front of the truck with a good floor jack and put jack stands on each side of the front frame area and let the jack down to set the truck on the jack stands. Now, the front end of the truck is suspended in the air. In my opinion, it really doesn't matter which lower of upper control arm is tackled 1st. To help you with alignment after the job is done, I would try to mark the location of the upper control arms before removing them to make alignment easier after the job is completed. The lower control arms do not allow for any adjustment for the front end. I removed and refurbished each control arm (bead blasted, painted, removed old rubber bushings & replaced with polyurethane bushings, plus removed and replaced ball joints) and re-installed the arms on the truck. I also bead blasted both spindles, painted them and re-installed them onto the truck. Lastly, I cleaned and painted the sway bar and drag link and re-installed them, along with tie rod ends, sleeves, idler arm and pitman arm...

Yes, you must use a floor jack under the lower control arm to remove the coil spring as part of removing the lower arm... I bead blasted and painted the coil springs, too... For me, this job was a restoration project, since it had never been done before during the life of the truck and the owner plans to keep the truck a long time...

 

I can't remember doing the front end on a 2nd Gen Ram. Several 1st gen, but not 2nd. Head over to the UofY (youtube) and watch a video on it. I'm not too proud to do that. It beats springs going TWANG!!! I'll bet everything you're going to do, someone has made a video. Not like my Oldsmobile that nobody has ever heard of.