Hodges 2016 Bilstein Build

[czervika]

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258k on the old girl and finally did the rear control arms and track bar. Bushings were toast but in better shape than I anticipated. Felt some clunking when I was towing a machine a few weeks ago and figured the arms were shot.

Picked up some rebel take off rims locally I need to get cleaned up and swap tires onto. Current wheels are going to get a set of winters tires soon.

New house, 2 kids and 2 jobs doesn't allow much time for anything extra. Hope all is well with everyone.

I just did mine this weekend as well. I used some off Amazon for free, via vine. They needed to be done badly. I do plan on replacing them with core 4x4's but I wanted to get the axle twist resolved sooner than later. The bushings were severely worn and you could clearly see the eye was mostly towards the rear of the upper bushings letting the pinion to nose down. The new ones have poly bushings and it seems overly stiff and I'm sure I lost articulation for the time being.

 

[hodge-xj]

Tried using citri-strip to get the spray pain off from the PO. Ended up pulling the factory clear off. Reached out to a few wheel repair shops and an waiting to see prices for them to chem strip down to bare aluminum and clear with a satin finish. I've seen one other guy go with the polished rebel wheels and I think it looks good. I'm just not investing the time it will take. Lol. Brushed/polished with a satin finish should look cool.


Also ordered an updated version on my tune. The truck has entered the boring state of doing everything I need. Once the house is done I'd like to pick up a commuter vehicle and use the truck as a more fun/weekend rig.......one day ....

 

[hodge-xj]

I just did mine this weekend as well. I used some off Amazon for free, via vine. They needed to be done badly. I do plan on replacing them with core 4x4's but I wanted to get the axle twist resolved sooner than later. The bushings were severely worn and you could clearly see the eye was mostly towards the rear of the upper bushings letting the pinion to nose down. The new ones have poly bushings and it seems overly stiff and I'm sure I lost articulation for the time being.

Just saw this! I have to say I can't be sure when mine went bad.....I only recently felt them actually clunking and that was after towing a mini excavator I rented (7000 lb) and that was the final straw. For as much as I put the factory bushings through I'm very surprised. These freedom off-road are nice bits for the cost. I noticed a large improvement in driving as well, which I would have doubted being noticeable prior to installing them, but in fact, there is a large improvement on driving feel.

That being said, if I'm articulating it like a jeep frequently I 1000% would want some type of flex joint at one end to help with binding.

 

[hodge-xj]

Welp, as always. I put money into the truck and it decides to be stupid. Reluctor wheel went out and it was stuck in limp mode. Currently at the shop and won't be looked at until Tuesday the earliest. Likely going to be 1500-2k job again.

 

[hodge-xj]

The ecodiesel was becoming problematic sensor wise and I couldn't find another ram locally spec'd the way I wanted. Ram dealer had this on the lot and I couldn't pass up the deal. Gonna try and get the ram home from the shop its at and have a person interested in buying it as is knowing the trans needs to be dropped again.