I have an 03 hemi, so quad cab 4x4. I've had her about 8 months and have put around 20k on the dial, bringing it to 98k. I've read that many 4x4 suspension parts begin to break down around 100k so its time to get everything taken care of.

Its my DD and farm truck so she sees a lot of duty and all conditions, including heavy loads and towing.

A squeek has been developing for around a month, increasing in frequency and severity. Seems this is typically caused by wheel bearings or LCAs starting to go. I will be greasing each on separate days to see if I can determine the culprit. Now for my questions - I plan on adding a leveling kit, just 2" and plan on keeping the stock 33s for the foreseeable future. I plan on doing shocks, probably both front and rear altogether when I get the squeaky part taken care of. I should probably do the springs as well.

I'd like some recommendations as do any other future suspension issues I should go ahead and take care of now. Also - need recommendations for which type of parts to put in - I like a tight, responsive suspension that can handle rough conditions and perform reliably, and have no issues towing.

Thanks guys

 

Squeak could be a bad u joint. I would recommend you do them all. Tie rod ends, ball joints (upper & lower). Shocks, sway bar links.

 

I have the same year same truck etc, and have replaced my whole front end recently and it drives like it is brand new now.

Heres the parts I used:
Moog upper control arms w/ ball joints
Moog lower ball joints
Moog inner tie rods
Moog outer tie rods
Timken wheel bearings
Rancho shocks
Cardone cv axles
Powerstop drilled/ slotted rotors and pads
and new tires.

I bought everything off rock auto, which is the cheapest place around. It's all doable as a DIY project. I just rented the ball joint press. You will need and alignment after, but figure a couple days to finish everything up.

As for the lift, DON'T buy anything. Just jack your front end up and tighten your torsion bars. I wouldn't go over 1.5". I found out the hard way, having to replace my cv axles because the boots ripped. The level keys are a waste of money.

I don't have my sway bar on, so i didn't need to replace those links.

 

My 08 1500 has been at the repair shop since Friday. 95 000 km on the odometer. Suspension/steering parts on the list: all four shocks (2 front ones are leaking), lower control arms bushings, tie rod, leaf springs bushings. The truck was handling poorly in the potholes (we beat any competition on potholes over here...). Cheers.