Front Suspension Qs
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More Turbo
Joined: Feb 2011
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From: Atlanta, Georgia
Front Suspension Qs
Gentleman,
I recently was experiencing a little pulling in my truck so I took it to my local alignment shop for an alignment. He brought to my attention that I needed to replace the ball joints, tie rod ends, and steering dampner...all to the tune of around $1700. (using all Moog parts). I do not doubt I need them as he showed me the slight move ment in the parts. My questions are:
1. I plan to lift the truck in the very near future...are these components part of a lift kit? I do not want to replace them now, just to have them replaced again later.
2. Would you all recommend going for the higher end Moog parts?? I know they are good parts, but they are incredibly expensive! Nothing is in REAL bad shape so if I really needed to, I could eventually replace them over time.
Thanks for the help!
Cheers,
I recently was experiencing a little pulling in my truck so I took it to my local alignment shop for an alignment. He brought to my attention that I needed to replace the ball joints, tie rod ends, and steering dampner...all to the tune of around $1700. (using all Moog parts). I do not doubt I need them as he showed me the slight move ment in the parts. My questions are:
1. I plan to lift the truck in the very near future...are these components part of a lift kit? I do not want to replace them now, just to have them replaced again later.
2. Would you all recommend going for the higher end Moog parts?? I know they are good parts, but they are incredibly expensive! Nothing is in REAL bad shape so if I really needed to, I could eventually replace them over time.
Thanks for the help!
Cheers,
Token Redneck
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,339
Likes: 350
From: Breckenridge, TX
1) No, lifts don't come with steering links or BJs. Depending on the lift you might need a replacement trac bar or just a drop bracket, so obviously a replacement bar would have new links. Some kits do come with longer sway bar links. A drop pitman arm install can result in a new drag link end, so be careful with how they're separated. Sorry for the hodge podge answer but without knowing what lift/how high it's hard to guess what exactly you can hold off on, but tie rod ends, drag link and ball joints will NOT come with any lift I can think of. Steering damper I would either do a Bilstein 5100 drop in, or wait until you do the lift and check out single/duals on the tie rod.
2) I would do Moog, I've had good results on half tons with their stuff so it's getting its chance when the F250 needs the work done.
2) I would do Moog, I've had good results on half tons with their stuff so it's getting its chance when the F250 needs the work done.
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More Turbo
Joined: Feb 2011
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From: Atlanta, Georgia
1) No, lifts don't come with steering links or BJs. Depending on the lift you might need a replacement trac bar or just a drop bracket, so obviously a replacement bar would have new links. Some kits do come with longer sway bar links. A drop pitman arm install can result in a new drag link end, so be careful with how they're separated. Sorry for the hodge podge answer but without knowing what lift/how high it's hard to guess what exactly you can hold off on, but tie rod ends, drag link and ball joints will NOT come with any lift I can think of. Steering damper I would either do a Bilstein 5100 drop in, or wait until you do the lift and check out single/duals on the tie rod.
2) I would do Moog, I've had good results on half tons with their stuff so it's getting its chance when the F250 needs the work done.
2) I would do Moog, I've had good results on half tons with their stuff so it's getting its chance when the F250 needs the work done.
Ok! Thanks for your response, as for lift, I am thinking about 6" to 8". I havent done much research so I cannot answer to brand. Now I must ask, because you dropped a lot of "jargon" to one with minimal knowledge of suspensions, such as myself, lol.
What are "drag links"? Are sway bar links the same as tie rod ends?
Thanks again!
Token Redneck
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 9,339
Likes: 350
From: Breckenridge, TX
Here's a rough-ish pic of a non-SD but similar steering set up.
The drag link ties the passenger knuckle to the pitman arm, which hangs off the steering box; this is what takes the steering wheel input and pushes the passenger wheel around. The steering stabilizer is the shock that sticks off of it. The tie rod ties the two knuckles together, moving the driver's knuckle however the passenger one gets moved by the drag link. The trac bar is the one that doesn't tie into either knuckle, it controls how the axle is centered under the truck and how the axle moves as the suspension cycles. The ball joints hold the knuckle onto the axle, two per side, but all you can really see is a castle nut with a cotter pin stuck through it.
The sway bar is separate, the links are the vertical pieces that look like this here (the clean unbolted end of the stick). They bolt to the axle, not the knuckles, and stop one side of the axle from compressing/extending further than the other side:
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Joined: Feb 2011
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From: Atlanta, Georgia
Here's a rough-ish pic of a non-SD but similar steering set up.
The drag link ties the passenger knuckle to the pitman arm, which hangs off the steering box; this is what takes the steering wheel input and pushes the passenger wheel around. The steering stabilizer is the shock that sticks off of it. The tie rod ties the two knuckles together, moving the driver's knuckle however the passenger one gets moved by the drag link. The trac bar is the one that doesn't tie into either knuckle, it controls how the axle is centered under the truck and how the axle moves as the suspension cycles. The ball joints hold the knuckle onto the axle, two per side, but all you can really see is a castle nut with a cotter pin stuck through it.
The sway bar is separate, the links are the vertical pieces that look like this here (the clean unbolted end of the stick). They bolt to the axle, not the knuckles, and stop one side of the axle from compressing/extending further than the other side:
That picture was very educational for me...thanks!! I am going to try to get the Moog parts, not sure though, lol. What kind of detrimental activity am I looking at with those parts I need? As in what kind of symptoms will I have?
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