03 Ram 1500 Front End Problems
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03 Ram 1500 Front End Problems
Hey Guys,
I bought a lifted '03 Dodge Ram 1500 4wd last year. It is a great truck, but I am having problems with the front end.
The truck has a 4" suspension lift on back and a 6" suspension lift up front.
My problem is that lower bolts for the front shocks keep breaking. In the year that I have had it I have broken the bolts 4 times. This seems odd to me. I dont do any crazy off-roading, just wash-board dirt roads to my hunting spots. Looking at the IFS, it just looks poorly designed.
I am sure that the lift kit is the cause or at least making things worse. Any recommendations or experience with this?
I am thinking of just upgrading the whole front end.
I bought a lifted '03 Dodge Ram 1500 4wd last year. It is a great truck, but I am having problems with the front end.
The truck has a 4" suspension lift on back and a 6" suspension lift up front.
My problem is that lower bolts for the front shocks keep breaking. In the year that I have had it I have broken the bolts 4 times. This seems odd to me. I dont do any crazy off-roading, just wash-board dirt roads to my hunting spots. Looking at the IFS, it just looks poorly designed.
I am sure that the lift kit is the cause or at least making things worse. Any recommendations or experience with this?
I am thinking of just upgrading the whole front end.
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: South Georgia/East Florida
What lift kit? The Fabtech and Superlift IFS torsion front kits are not designed well and put a lot of stress on front end components, especially the CVs which are placed at a bad angle.
The IFS on the 3rd Gen Rams is fairly strong (as far as IFS goes and especially compared to GM IFS 1/2 tons) but don't like to run at angles much higher than stock. Some of the more expensive kits take care of this by keeping these angles at pretty close to stock by supplying drop brackets, extensions and even bigger, beefier parts, but some of the "bargain" kits don't.
Replace bolts with Grade 8 stuff and they shouldn't break, if you are going to start replacing components like tie rod ends, ball joints, etc., stay away from the Mopar parts and get something along the lines of Moog that has grease nipples and can be lubricated periodically. Why he hell Chrysler went with sealed moving parts that cannot be maintained is beyond me...
The IFS on the 3rd Gen Rams is fairly strong (as far as IFS goes and especially compared to GM IFS 1/2 tons) but don't like to run at angles much higher than stock. Some of the more expensive kits take care of this by keeping these angles at pretty close to stock by supplying drop brackets, extensions and even bigger, beefier parts, but some of the "bargain" kits don't.
Replace bolts with Grade 8 stuff and they shouldn't break, if you are going to start replacing components like tie rod ends, ball joints, etc., stay away from the Mopar parts and get something along the lines of Moog that has grease nipples and can be lubricated periodically. Why he hell Chrysler went with sealed moving parts that cannot be maintained is beyond me...
Last edited by HammerZ71; Jun 5, 2011 at 12:28 PM.
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Welcome to the site.
Agreed on wanting to know the kit. Im assuming these shocks are being torqued down properly and there is no vertical play in them? Are they the ones that came with the lift kit or OEM shocks?
Agreed on wanting to know the kit. Im assuming these shocks are being torqued down properly and there is no vertical play in them? Are they the ones that came with the lift kit or OEM shocks?
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Hey Guys,
Yeah, my first thought was the shocks also. I picked up some Ranchos that were long 4" longer than what was equipped when purchased. That seemed to help but I still broke a lower mounting bolt last week. I would say it lasted about 6 months with the new shocks before failing.
I couldn't find ant markings on the lift kit, but I will look closer and let you know. One thing I have noticed is that every time I have had an issue the truck has been in 4wd. I really think it has something to do with the angle of the cv's.
Yeah, my first thought was the shocks also. I picked up some Ranchos that were long 4" longer than what was equipped when purchased. That seemed to help but I still broke a lower mounting bolt last week. I would say it lasted about 6 months with the new shocks before failing.
I couldn't find ant markings on the lift kit, but I will look closer and let you know. One thing I have noticed is that every time I have had an issue the truck has been in 4wd. I really think it has something to do with the angle of the cv's.
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Joined: Jul 2007
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From: South Georgia/East Florida
Snap a pic of the CVs and we can pretty much tell you if the angle is too severe or not. A SURE sign is a stretched or torn boot
Could also be an issue with the transfer case indexing ring (assuming the kit came with one), this ring allows for clocking the transfer case 20* to alleviate front driveshaft issues with over 4" of front lift. Look for this ring, if you don't see one installed, could very well be your issue.
Could also be an issue with the transfer case indexing ring (assuming the kit came with one), this ring allows for clocking the transfer case 20* to alleviate front driveshaft issues with over 4" of front lift. Look for this ring, if you don't see one installed, could very well be your issue.
Last edited by HammerZ71; Jun 8, 2011 at 01:51 AM.