Truck question

[Gardening with Rabbits]

We have a 1998 Dodge 4-wheel drive 1500 bought used years ago with a lift. DD has been driving it and something happened over the weekend and it was taken to a shop. There is a bar dragging on the ground. First we heard torsion bar, then track bar, and now trailing bar. I want to know did this bar come with the truck or was it added on later. Does anybody know what happens to a truck after a lift is taken off? There are 4 bars and one is dragging in the front and the other front is really worn and most likely the other ones will need replacing in the back. I have pictures of the one broken and dragging and a bolt they could not get off. Would it be smarter to replace these 4 bars or take the lift out?

 

[majorcatfish]

a really good welder can fix that..also you can take into a shop that deals in lift kits and get their opinion..

 

[Nyboy]

What is a lift

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

a really good welder can fix that..also you can take into a shop that deals in lift kits and get their opinion..

So the part dragging is part of the lift? I think I understand now. The shop where DD took the truck is a very small place. He said the company that made the lift is no longer in business.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

a 'lift' kit is what some people will put on a car or truck when they want it to be raised up a little higher than normal. you usually notice it in those 4x4 trucks that are raised up so high they look like a monster truck. i had a Plymouth Caravel that has something similar to raise the back end up so it wouldn't have a difficult time going over speed bumps. my dad said it was a spacer but i was later told those types in a car are considered illegal in NH. they don't look like what is on that truck but do the same thing.

 

[dickiebird]

The broken bar is one of 4 that locates the front axle.
Tour 1st photo show where the end of the bar was welded.
If it were me I would re weld the bar back to the spud it broke off of.
To do that you will have to remove the bolt you have circled in the 1st photo, pull the spud from between the bracket ears and weld the tube and the spud back together.
At that point you will probably need to replace the rubber bushing in the spud.
I don't know what you mean by the bars are worn, as I doubt the bars themselves would wear, maybe the bushings are worn in each end of the bars.
From you pics I can't tell what is part of the original truck and what has been added, so it's hard to say what would be needed to return the truck to it's original condition.

THANX RICH

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Thank you all for the information.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Well it is welded. Just hope he is a "good welder." Doing this just to get it home and now deciding if want to take the lift out or buy a new lift kit.

 

[Nyboy]

Does the lift make it better to go through high snow ?

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

Does the lift make it better to go through high snow ?

Well, I don't know. It was probably put on for looks. It is a 4-wheel drive and I drive it like a normal truck and have not been off road in it. It gets around really good, but it has wide tires, 17 inch rims. I just remembered we had a similar truck, both 1998 Rams, 4-wheel drives, but the first one had 8 ft bed and this a 6 ft bed and the other was 2500 and not 1500, but I remember getting stuck in snow in it. It was sliding around, tires spinning and they were 16 inch rims and not wide tires. As you can tell, I know nothing about cars. LOL