Smoother ride for 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 2 wheel drive

[harborlife]

Bought my friends 1998 1500 2 wheel drive a few month ago. I am not using it for hauling or heavy loads. Wife and kids drive it also. Any suggestions to make the ride smoother? I am not trying to make it ride like a car, just a little less rougher than it is now. I cannot tell you what shocks/struts/coils are in it now. Thanks.

 

[dodge dude94]

Factory replacement hydraulic shocks would restore the factory ride. Any smoother or softer than that and you're looking at making spring changes to the rear suspension.

 

[EvilSpirit]

Food for thought. Assuming that no suspension parts have already replaced - OEM style replacement shocks usually goes a long ways to restoring ride quality if they are worn out. But many times ride deterioration is also caused by the 20 year old control arm and leaf spring bushings losing their elasticity and no longer operate smoothly, not to mention worn ball joints and/or steering links. The best shocks won't fix a bound up or a sloppy suspension.

Might be a good time to do a THOROUGH inspection of the front and rear suspensions and see if there are any other issues that would also affect the suspensions proper function.

 

[corsair231]

Tires, tire pressure, rims, etc. can have an effect on ride quality too, provided every thing else is up to *****. Not saying to go buy new tires unless you need them but when it's time to replace talk with the shop for recommendations. In the mean time, you can play around with tire pressure a little to see if it helps. Don't get too far away from recommended pressures though, you could do more harm than good if you do.