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2020 Hemi Suspension Wore Out Already

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dablack21

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I have a 2020 Tradesman 4x4 CCSB with the Hemi. It has 295 70 R18 Cooper ST Maxx tires on the stock wheels. She's been a good truck, but I believe the suspension is fried. I have about 33K miles on it and have owned it for 11mos. After spending a lot of time driving off road for work down some very rough terrain, spending a ton of time in 4x4, and driving down some terrible highways, the ride quality is absolute garbage now. My suspension bottoms out very easily and I can feel every small bump. When I drive slowly over obstacles, I can hear what sounds like binding underneath the truck. Of course, I can't make the sound repeat unless I'm driving it, so I can't find a source of the noise. My steering has a ton pf play in the wheel, to the tune of 3-4" of side to side movement before the tires start moving ( I have another post about this in the general discussion section).

So I am looking at upgrading the suspension, and I would like suggestions. However, I am on a budget. I refuse to drop $6,000+ on a Carli suspension, those days are behind me. I would really like to keep the stock ride height since I tow my camper and my truck pulls double duty as a work truck and daily driver.

I used to have a 2019 Cummins and traded it in for this Hemi. I had some Fox shocks and a Carli sway bar on it. The sway bar stayed with me, though, so I still have it since I only had a few thousand miles on it. The budget constraints are mainly because I am not trying to blow money anymore, like I used to lol

Is there a solution that will get me taken care of without breaking the bank??

Thanks in advance!!
 
How are the tires wearing?

Some factory Bilsteins would likely be leaps and bounds better than the sacked out stockers. Not sure how much they are but 5100's or the like won't cost thousands.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 
Tires are wearing evenly. I make sure to rotate regularly. The steering slop has been a recent development, onset so quick that I will probably take it to the dealership when I get the next opportunity (about 3 weeks).
 
Bilstein 5100s and a new steering stabilizer might make big differences.
 
Steering stabilizer is like putting a bandaid on the true problem. It's still there, just masked by the new steering stabilizer.
Find out why there is now slop and get it fixed first.
 
Well if the stock stabilizer is blown out from getting it's ass kicked off-road wouldn't it allow slop?
 
A set of regular fox shocks and a king steering stabilizer from thuren along with checking every component for play. Some sort of aftermarket track bar might be better as it won't wear out as fast.
 
You need to find the source of the problem, not blindly throw bandaids at it (stabilizers, shocks). Jack up the front end and try and determine what is worn/loose.
In my experience the front end of these trucks do not like a lot of ruff road driving. If I had to guess your ball joints or hub bearings may be on the way out (or gone already). Maybe a worn track bar as well.

.
 
Epsilon Plus said:
Well if the stock stabilizer is blown out from getting it's ass kicked off-road wouldn't it allow slop?
Click to expand...
No the stabilizer is not even needed the only thing it does is when you hit a pot hole or dip it helps not rip the steering wheel out of your hand, when im diagnosing front end issues i usually remove the stabilizer as it will hide issues
 
I’m assuming this is a 2500 we are talking about?

33k on stock (non-offroad package?) suspension with a “lot” of offroad miles the shocks absolutely could be toast, but that would not really explain the binding sounds or steering slop.
 
Maybe a new set of Bilstein shocks and a new steering damper shock
 
The truck is a 2500 with the off road package. I'm hoping the dealer can find something wrong with the steering since I probably can't. The crappy part is that it's a bumper to bumper warranty thing, and I'm hoping I won't have more than 36K when I finally roll in...

Are there spring upgrades out there that don't involve a lift? I'm looking at new shocks, steering stabilizer, and possibly front track bar. I would spend a little extra for good front springs with no lift
 
Epsilon Plus said:
Well if the stock stabilizer is blown out from getting it's ass kicked off-road wouldn't it allow slop?
Click to expand...
No, it wouldn't.

The slop is either in the steering gear box or in the suspension components like ball joints or tie rod ends.

A steering stabilizer is nothing more than a shock absorber for the steering system. It can't fix broken equipment, only mask it.

It just helps soften the blow from a sudden jerk in the steering system when a tire hits something like a curb or rocks.
 
Crusty old shellback said:
No, it wouldn't.

The slop is either in the steering gear box or in the suspension components like ball joints or tie rod ends.

A steering stabilizer is nothing more than a shock absorber for the steering system. It can't fix broken equipment, only mask it.

It just helps soften the blow from a sudden jerk in the steering system when a tire hits something like a curb or rocks.
Click to expand...
^ this

people associate steering stabilizer with vehicle stability because of the word stabilizer but the truth is, you can take the the dam thing off with no ill effects. It just smooths out the steering reactions a little
 
I know a stabilizer will help, but not until after I fix the steering problem.
 
dablack21 said:
The truck is a 2500 with the off road package. I'm hoping the dealer can find something wrong with the steering since I probably can't. The crappy part is that it's a bumper to bumper warranty thing, and I'm hoping I won't have more than 36K when I finally roll in...

Are there spring upgrades out there that don't involve a lift? I'm looking at new shocks, steering stabilizer, and possibly front track bar. I would spend a little extra for good front springs with no lift
Click to expand...
Thuren has a 1/2" lift front spring. You could do that and a set of fox shocks and have a lot better ride.
 
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