While installing a pair of Eibach lowered springs this weekend, I noticed both
upper ball joints were shot @ 32K miles. After surfing around, I found the Moog
part number of the replacement ones that bolt in on the Dodge Dakotas site. You
have to grind off the rivets on the old ones, but 2 minutes with a 4" angle
grinder made short work of them.
I got mine from CarQuest (part# K7242 upper ball joint) for $55 each. Ask for
the one's for a 97 or 98 Dakota. They have a zerk fitting for greasing, unlike
the stockers, and the rubber boot is MUCH stronger. I wouldn't get a new A-arm
assembly unless it was under warrenty. You'll just have to replace them in
another ~30K miles.
Now to the fun part - the Eibach springs (part# 2847.520) kick major ass! I had
to cut the bump stops in half to regain some wheel travel, but they have almost
eliminated brake dive and they soak up the bumps and curves much better. They
are progressively wound, unlike the Hotchkis. I got them from Autocarparts.com,
who is a great vendor that actually emails you when the part is backordered and
doesn't charge your card until it ships, unlike CyberAuto.com.
It only dropped the front ~1.75", but I have a 4.7L which is closer to the V6's
weight. They seem to work well with my Edelbrock IAS shocks, but I'll probably
replace those with Bilsteins later on as funds allow. I needed a spring
compressor to get the stockers out, but the Eibachs slipped right in without it.
I'm getting some 275/60R15 Toyo Proxes S/Ts tomorrow and an alignment done. It
pulls to the right now when braking and while in a straight line. AutoX, here I
come!
Steve
00 CC Sport+, 4.7L, Auto, 3.55, 9.25" LSD, 2"/3" drop, IAS shocks, Eibach coils,
Gibson Dual Sport exhaust, Grinning driver
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:05:16 EDT