Hodges 2016 Bilstein Build

[joshuaeb09]

Lots of solid info I forgot about.

In regards to the castor, I can't remember 100% but I wanna say I used your advice when I had them set it and ran it on the higher end. I have zero rubbing in the normal places. With the flares removed I seem to have alleviated the small amount of rubbing at the top of the wheel arches that I was having. These 315s are stuffed in there pretty good so I'm sure every little bit counts. I'm tempted to add the 1/4" thick spacers just to bump the front up a tiny bit since I am maxxed out.

Droop wise I had previously clearanced all the stuff when I ran 1" spacers so I wouldn't even worry on that as these 6112s are hardly longer than stock.

I honestly wish I could go pro some parts of my commute, you almost wouldn't believe the condition the road is in for a major highway, it's nearly comical. I charge through at like 80 and just pretend I'm out in the dunes.

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Sounds about like some parts around here. Due to the thing we aren't going to maintain **** anymore is basically what they said for the more rural areas.

Update on front differential.

http://rickroodstransmission.com

I called these guys direct as their eBay listings are all out of stock. Being they are an hour ahead of me, it was nearly closing time. The owner of the shop took my call, gave me all the tips he could think of for doing the repair and we spent a good bit of time just chatting. They were indeed out of stock of full kits and he was supposed to get back to me this week on a new batch. 5 mins later I get a call that he called another customer that had a kit on hold for a few weeks without payment, the guy agreed he could wait for the new batch and I have a kit being shipped tomorrow. Truly awesome customer service. This is why I love dealing with enthusiast shops that have a passion for the hobby instead of corporate just out to make a buck. He even said they send their personal cell numbers with the kit in case I need help working something out while they are closed. Super awesome.

Once I have this kit in hand I'll do my best to document it. If the kit is as good as their customer service is I will forever recommend these guys to those that need this. Should be within a week or two.

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I'll keep an eye out to see how bad it ends up being. I know I'll need to do mine at some point or swap the gears if I feel like bending over for a new set + having the rear regeared.

 

[hodge-xj]

Sounds about like some parts around here. Due to the thing we aren't going to maintain **** anymore is basically what they said for the more rural areas.




I'll keep an eye out to see how bad it ends up being. I know I'll need to do mine at some point or swap the gears if I feel like bending over for a new set + having the rear regeared.

I really wanted to just get 3.92s. But 1600 is too much right now. Plus the rear I'm looking at 2500+ and that's a hard no.

It really shouldn't be too bad, I think the worst is honestly pressing the bearings which I'll have a shop do. I was gonna try and cheat and freeze the intermediate shaft and bake the bearing old school style, but i would rather play it safe and have it ready to go instead of have an issue and a torn down truck.

According to the owner the secret to the sauce is the seal kit they designed. The shaft is a clone of the OEM, but the seals they send are designed to keep intrusion of anything into the actual splines on the cv. And looking at the design, it's not if, but when they go bad. For you guys down south and out west where you don't see alot of corrosive winter ****, id say at least 150k before they are even remotely shot, but there are way too many variables. For me, I'm not surprised. I've seen trucks as new as 2016s with wheel arches and rockers rusting away from the chemicals so anything goes.

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[ram1500rsm]

Lots of solid info I forgot about.

In regards to the castor, I can't remember 100% but I wanna say I used your advice when I had them set it and ran it on the higher end. I have zero rubbing in the normal places. With the flares removed I seem to have alleviated the small amount of rubbing at the top of the wheel arches that I was having. These 315s are stuffed in there pretty good so I'm sure every little bit counts. I'm tempted to add the 1/4" thick spacers just to bump the front up a tiny bit since I am maxxed out.

Droop wise I had previously clearanced all the stuff when I ran 1" spacers so I wouldn't even worry on that as these 6112s are hardly longer than stock.

I honestly wish I could go pro some parts of my commute, you almost wouldn't believe the condition the road is in for a major highway, it's nearly comical. I charge through at like 80 and just pretend I'm out in the dunes.

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I used these ones on my Rancho QL struts when i sent the Kings out for revalving.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HGKRWCQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ram1500rsm]

Update on front differential.

http://rickroodstransmission.com

I called these guys direct as their eBay listings are all out of stock. Being they are an hour ahead of me, it was nearly closing time. The owner of the shop took my call, gave me all the tips he could think of for doing the repair and we spent a good bit of time just chatting. They were indeed out of stock of full kits and he was supposed to get back to me this week on a new batch. 5 mins later I get a call that he called another customer that had a kit on hold for a few weeks without payment, the guy agreed he could wait for the new batch and I have a kit being shipped tomorrow. Truly awesome customer service. This is why I love dealing with enthusiast shops that have a passion for the hobby instead of corporate just out to make a buck. He even said they send their personal cell numbers with the kit in case I need help working something out while they are closed. Super awesome.

Once I have this kit in hand I'll do my best to document it. If the kit is as good as their customer service is I will forever recommend these guys to those that need this. Should be within a week or two.

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I'll look forward for your install document. I'm sure that eventually i'll need to replace that sucker out , knocking on wood for getting another 80k miles or so out of them lol

 

[hodge-xj]

Ordered the rough country 1/2" spacer kit that @crazykid1994 is running. Ill slap that in when I do my cv kit.

For reference
Rear Height - 41.5"
Front Height - 39.25"

315 70 17s @ 40psi cold

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[hodge-xj]

https://www.toyotires.com/product/open-country-at3

Well tickle me pink. A 3 peak snowflake rated, 11.5" wide, C rated 35" all terrain under $300. I think hell froze over. The specs check all the boxes I've been looking for. Hopefully I'll be able to scoop a set up around August-ish. I want to make sure everything is fresh before I toss new rubbers on the truck and risk wearing them out prematurely.

@ram1500rsm any personal suggestions for a track bar that you like over another.

Come spring time I'll likely be looking at Clayton arms for the rear and freshen things up, but id like to add a few things in the interim. Sway links and track bar are first up.

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[ram1500rsm]

https://www.toyotires.com/product/open-country-at3

Well tickle me pink. A 3 peak snowflake rated, 11.5" wide, C rated 35" all terrain under $300. I think hell froze over. The specs check all the boxes I've been looking for. Hopefully I'll be able to scoop a set up around August-ish. I want to make sure everything is fresh before I toss new rubbers on the truck and risk wearing them out prematurely.

@ram1500rsm any personal suggestions for a track bar that you like over another.

Come spring time I'll likely be looking at Clayton arms for the rear and freshen things up, but id like to add a few things in the interim. Sway links and track bar are first up.

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Given its purpose which is just to center the rear axle I like them cheap and with a double adjuster so you won't have to take it off/on to adjust it. Currently running the Freedom Offroad one, can beat their price

 

[hodge-xj]

Given its purpose which is just to center the rear axle I like them cheap and with a double adjuster so you won't have to take it off/on to adjust it. Currently running the Freedom Offroad one, can beat their price

I was creeping through your build thread but there are so many pages I must have missed it. Thanks! I'll prob order that and the smaxx links as well this week. Gonna be a bunch of projects going on for the truck here soon.

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[joshuaeb09]

I really wanted to just get 3.92s. But 1600 is too much right now. Plus the rear I'm looking at 2500+ and that's a hard no.

It really shouldn't be too bad, I think the worst is honestly pressing the bearings which I'll have a shop do. I was gonna try and cheat and freeze the intermediate shaft and bake the bearing old school style, but i would rather play it safe and have it ready to go instead of have an issue and a torn down truck.

According to the owner the secret to the sauce is the seal kit they designed. The shaft is a clone of the OEM, but the seals they send are designed to keep intrusion of anything into the actual splines on the cv. And looking at the design, it's not if, but when they go bad. For you guys down south and out west where you don't see alot of corrosive winter ****, id say at least 150k before they are even remotely shot, but there are way too many variables. For me, I'm not surprised. I've seen trucks as new as 2016s with wheel arches and rockers rusting away from the chemicals so anything goes.

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We don't have the salt, but the crushed gravel roads off the beaten path have a way of trashing EVERYTHING. Those fine bits of granite are hard as **** and have a way of working their way into every last thing. I for sure will be trying to source some of those seals if I regear when the time comes or I'll end up doing the same thing you're going through. Moving back to the "city" with a new house I just got under contract in the same county so best of both world's until it gets engulfed by the city. Looking forward to daily driving on pavement and 1st world amenities until the city engulfs me again. Maybe by then the roads out here will be paved and I can move back and build something nice out here lol.

 

[hodge-xj]

We don't have the salt, but the crushed gravel roads off the beaten path have a way of trashing EVERYTHING. Those fine bits of granite are hard as **** and have a way of working their way into every last thing. I for sure will be trying to source some of those seals if I regear when the time comes or I'll end up doing the same thing you're going through. Moving back to the "city" with a new house I just got under contract in the same county so best of both world's until it gets engulfed by the city. Looking forward to daily driving on pavement and 1st world amenities until the city engulfs me again. Maybe by then the roads out here will be paved and I can move back and build something nice out here lol.

If you have it pulled apart for some reason one day it can't hurt to try to at least get some grease onto the splines. At the minimum it will prolong the inevitable. If I can get another 100-125k out of this I'll be happy as that will put me well over 200k and at that point repairs and rebuilds will be a necessity.

Awesome on the house! Buying or renting?

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[joshuaeb09]

If you have it pulled apart for some reason one day it can't hurt to try to at least get some grease onto the splines. At the minimum it will prolong the inevitable. If I can get another 100-125k out of this I'll be happy as that will put me well over 200k and at that point repairs and rebuilds will be a necessity.

Awesome on the house! Buying or renting?

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Buying. I had originally allocated a ton of money to see if I could get a 3 or 4 car garage since we all know a "2 car garage" these days is more like a 1.5 and no way in hell the ram was going to fit in there. No such luck, but I lucked into a small spec house from a custom builder that should be done end of next month. It's way under budget at only 1600 sqft, but on the higher end of build quality/finishes. It has your standard "19'x20' 2 car garage", but that's about what I was finding unless I wanted to pay over double what I have under contract right now. It got bonus points for same county taxes/insurance, level drive way, and all the upgrades compared to what the tract builders were doing in the same price range. I'm super happy to be getting back closer to 1st world things like real internet that isn't something I rigged together with salvage parts lol. It's also only like 20 minutes from here so if they eventually pave the roads I might look into going half in with my old man to build us a shared workshop space we can use for tinkering/projects.

 

[hodge-xj]

Buying. I had originally allocated a ton of money to see if I could get a 3 or 4 car garage since we all know a "2 car garage" these days is more like a 1.5 and no way in hell the ram was going to fit in there. No such luck, but I lucked into a small spec house from a custom builder that should be done end of next month. It's way under budget at only 1600 sqft, but on the higher end of build quality/finishes. It has your standard "19'x20' 2 car garage", but that's about what I was finding unless I wanted to pay over double what I have under contract right now. It got bonus points for same county taxes/insurance, level drive way, and all the upgrades compared to what the tract builders were doing in the same price range. I'm super happy to be getting back closer to 1st world things like real internet that isn't something I rigged together with salvage parts lol. It's also only like 20 minutes from here so if they eventually pave the roads I might look into going half in with my old man to build us a shared workshop space we can use for tinkering/projects.

Well congratulations! That's awesome! There is always room to upgrade or move up down the road. As long as you can fit the car in the garage I think the truck will be fine outside lol. Can't be spoiling yourself too much now!

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[hodge-xj]

Been home solo all afternoon. Fixed my ignition problem in the jeep so I took it for a spin after clearing the computer to reset all the drive cycles. While I was out i went down my usual "urban mobbing" country road and it's pretty chewed up. Figure ah wtf I'll take the truck out and see if the 315s still rub off the local jump......well.....they sure as **** do.

Hard to tell exactly where but it seems at full compression the 315s are all getting up into the top of the fenders. -6 offset has them sit just far enough out that I'm catching the fender lips as far as I can tell. Out back I could add extended bumps, but I'm beat up front. Hopefully the 1/4" spacers and my eventual move to a narrower tire will alleviate it. It's much less with the flares removed, but still there and still loud enough I thought I crumpled sheet metal. [emoji854] I need to find someone to get pics of this one day just for giggles.

Edited- after the rain passed I went out and looked around for the rub marks. As I thought it's rubbing at the tops of the wheel wells. Pics may be hard to make out but you can see the scoffing on the plastic wheel liners and the front tires have light cuts in the outer lugs just above the sidewall. For now I'll avoid jumps until I get onto some smaller tires.

1st pic is the rear and 2nd is front liners.

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[hodge-xj]

Pics

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[Ram7081]

@ram1500rsm @revitupmoto33 thanks for the suggestions! After all the debating and everything with the rear I'm just gonna run a bit shorter extended shock from BDS 28/16.6 extended/comp. They are 1500 specific so I'm hoping they are valved pretty good.

Up front I'm kinda stoked. The 6112s were awesome in some situations but others I hated them. It's not the fault of the shock, I had them set to max. They weren't as bad as 5100s maxxed out tho. Never once did they top out or anything, just agressive rebound on sharp hits like potholes and after a while it gets old cringing every time I drive. I'm very fortunate that I got the shocks for what I did, it gives me room to play with them a bit.

I'll see what accutune has to say. I know I'll need the fox diesel coils at minimum and I'll see what they wanna do with the valving once I talk to them. I'm all for quality at this point. I don't go wild when I do get offroad. Hell i had tuned fox 2.0 resi shocks on my 2500 and they were amazing, not getting my hopes up too high but im sure itll be better. The 6112s will be going to a good home and repurposed accordingly. Just hope these tuned foxs don't make this rear feel like ****!



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Hey Hodge-XJ,
Noticed you said you went with the diesel fox coilovers. Do you have a hemi and chose the diesel ones and if so, why? I noticed they had both gas and diesel available. I assume the diesel one are firmer due to weight of the diesel?
Thanks

 

[hodge-xj]

Hey Hodge-XJ,
Noticed you said you went with the diesel fox coilovers. Do you have a hemi and chose the diesel ones and if so, why? I noticed they had both gas and diesel available. I assume the diesel one are firmer due to weight of the diesel?
Thanks

So I actually never did anything with the fox 2.0 front coilovers. They are still sitting in the boxes. After a rebuild, revalve, and new springs plus shipping I was at the cost of brand new 2.0s. For the cost it just didn't make sense for me. I have the Ecodiesel so I would need to get diesel springs and valving in order to run these simply because the diesel is a bit heavier. My 6112s are maxxed out and I'm at roughly 2"-2.25" lift after they've settled, for comparison the max setting under a hemi is unusable since it would gain over 3"- 3.5" lift. I've grown to be extremely happy with my 6112s front / fox 2.0 rear setup, it's not perfect but I really enjoy it for daily uses.

Honestly my goal was to get a softer ride for smaller bump compliance, but it's just very limited with small diameter shocks. Especially if you're gaining 2.5" of lift up front, there's just too many compromises, and the extra weight of the diesel is an extra variable that hinders small shock performance.

I can't comment on the fox 2.0s since I've never run them up front, but I really love their performance in the back of the truck. I prefer to run same brands front and rear, which was also a factor in trying to get these to work, but it just never happened. I was worried the truck would feel imbalanced front to rear, but fortunately that's not the case.

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[hodge-xj]

So I already received the kit for my front axle! I'm gonna order a cv this week that way I know it's fresh and brandy new for install. Just gotta find a place that can set this bearing on the shaft for me and I'll be good to go for the weekend.

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[ram1500rsm]

Good luck bro.

 

[hodge-xj]

Good luck bro.

I'm gonna sit down and make a list cuz I'm sure I'll forget something before I start. Fingers crossed on this one. I watched the video again and the bearing didn't seem too hard to press onto the new shaft so I may stuff this bad boy in the freezer and see if the bearing will slide on.

It's been ridiculously hot and humid so I'm not overly excited to be tackling this but it needs done BADLY.

Side note- I've been back and forth with another member here regarding the 6112s on the diesels. Seems mine have settled about 1/2"-3/4" since install. My hub to fender is 23.5-23.75" depending what i call "center" of the hubcap.

This is over 1.5yrs and god only knows how many miles. Just a little bit of an observation. I'll try and get more concrete numbers to verify.

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[hodge-xj]

Sometimes it's the small victories! 24 hrs in the chest freezer for the shaft and 1hr in the oven at 250* for the bearing. Worked perfect since the shaft has a shouldered seat with a spring retainer clip so I didn't have to worry about it sitting to proper depth on a tapered seat. I know it's not exciting for many, but for those that have wasted fresh bearings trying to press them onto something this is a nice win. Plus, the local shop wanted like $40 to do this.

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