Suspension Hell

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Scarlet Begonias

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2007 1500
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5.7 Hemi
Hi everyone, in need of serious advice please. 3 days ago I purchased a 2007 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi, 156k miles and a leveling kit. Lots of noise from front end I attributed to the bad mud tires it had. changed tires and it still had a shimmy in the steering wheel at hiway speeds, pulled to the left and had rotatary noises. Went to Big O for alignment and it was so bad they couldn't do it. They said both control arms with ball joints upper and lower, both inner and outter tie rod ends and my left caliper is dragging. I saw the movement of the wheel in and out when it was on the rack.

My question is: Can this all be DIY? I have a shop with air tools and compressor. Do I order a kit with everything in it? Will it fit ok cuz I know sometimes new parts don't line up with old brackets/holes. Which kit is best but not the $3700 Big O quoted? Is it worth it or just sell? 20210403_131512.jpg
 

crazykid1994

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If you are mechanically inclined enough then go for it. It’s all basic stuff. Hardest part is doing the home alignment so you can drive it to the tire shop after. Heat and wd40 or pb blaster are your friend
 
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Scarlet Begonias

Scarlet Begonias

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Thank you, any recomendations on parts? Looking at the kits maybe?
 

Joe w.

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You could do a cost difference between buying the parts separately or buying a kit. I have always just bought my parts separately from my local auto parts place or online. You have a nice looking truck at the end of the day it's yours to do what you want to with. Me personally I wouldn't sell it.
 
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Travelin Ram

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Have an inspection done by a trustworthy mechanic before you dump more money in it. Maybe the suspension is all there is, or maybe it’s just the tip of an iceberg resulting from poor maintenance or abuse. It could be worth the investment, or it could be a money pit.
 
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Scarlet Begonias

Scarlet Begonias

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2007 1500
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5.7 Hemi
Update... New upper A arms, outer tie rods, both calipers, pads, brake hoses and new tires on the front plus alignment/balancing. Now when the truck hits 60mph or so the steering wheel shakes really bad... making left turns are worse than right. Above 65 smooths out a little. After alignment still pulls to the left a bit and hard when braking, asked tire shop why and got "I don't know" for an answer...GRR! please somebody help. I just moved to KC, KC from Wyoming and have no help. I bought this truck after my Chevy was totaled by an old lady looking at her phone and ran a red light. I'm in a helluva pickle....
 

kevkev

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sounds like your left caliper is dragging.
 
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Scarlet Begonias

Scarlet Begonias

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Thank you for replying.... I replaced both rotors, calipers, pads and hoses... do believe I fixed that issue. My biggest concern is the shimmy shake at/around 60mph. I have read a lot of threads on here about it but no one says what the final fix was, the thread just stops
 

Quick_Shifter

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Thank you for replying.... I replaced both rotors, calipers, pads and hoses... do believe I fixed that issue. My biggest concern is the shimmy shake at/around 60mph. I have read a lot of threads on here about it but no one says what the final fix was, the thread just stops
It still may be the inner tie rods. When you took if for alignment what did they say? Was everything tight? Also please post some suspension pictures so we can see whats going on to help you out

Do you know what type of leveling kit is on your truck?
 

Brando_SLT

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Hemi 5.7
@Scarlet Begonias I am in the same boat. I had completely new upper/lower arms, tie-rods, steering rack, and bushings installed. Now it sounds like the whole front end rattles when going over the crappy SoCAL highways (I'm talking about you, Interstate 5 - you ************* road). If I hit big enough bumps while turning it feels like the whole front end is "skipping" across the road.

I lift up the front end and everything is tight, can't find a single thing that's loose. Took it in for an alignment in January and the only thing off was front-right toe-out at 1.6º. They adjusted it to spec no problem. The "looseness" and rattling of the front suspension persists. I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out what it could be.
 
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Scarlet Begonias

Scarlet Begonias

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Mine is for sale. Just bought it 2 1/2 weeks ago. Can't throw anymore money at it
 

Dodge trucker

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Tire balance issue? Bent wheels? Can you rotate them front to back or borrow a set from another truck and go for a ride? Tires cause more issues than they are given credit for.
I was an alignment guy for ~20 years.
 
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