Front - 4Wd - Dodge 2001 Ram 1500 Owner's Manual

2 - 14

FRONT - 4WD

FRONT - 4WD
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SPECIFICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
SPECIAL TOOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
HUB / BEARING
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
KNUCKLE
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
OPERATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
LOWER CONTROL ARM
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
SHOCK
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
OPERATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
SHOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
SPRING
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
FRONT - 4WD
DESCRIPTION
The link/coil suspension allows each wheel to adapt
to different road surfaces. The suspension is com-
prised of (Fig. 1) :
• Shock absorbers
• Coil springs
• Upper and lower suspension arms
• Stabilizer bar
• Track bar
• Steering Knuckles
• Hub/Bearing
• Ball Joints
• Jounce Bumpers
CAUTION: Components attached with a nut and cot-
ter pin must be torqued to specification. Then if the
slot in the nut does not line up with the cotter pin
hole, tighten nut until it is aligned. Never loosen the
nut to align the cotter pin hole.
FRONT - 4WD
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
OPERATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
STABILIZER BAR
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
OPERATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
TRACK BAR
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
OPERATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
TRACK BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
UPPER CONTROL ARM
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
LOWER BALL JOINT
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
UPPER BALL JOINT
REMOVAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
INSTALLATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
CAUTION: Suspension components with rubber
bushings (except stabilizer bar) should be tightened
with the vehicle at normal height. It is important to
have the springs supporting the weight of the vehi-
cle when the fasteners are torqued. If springs are
not at their normal ride position, vehicle ride com-
fort could be affected and premature bushing wear
may occur.
DESCRIPTION
The upper and lower suspension arms use bush-
ings to isolate road noise. The suspension arms are
bolted to the frame and axle through the rubber
bushings. The lower suspension arm uses cam bolts
at the axle to allow for caster and pinion angle
adjustment.
BR/BE
page