[Thephatboi]

I am curious if Dodge made changes to the suspension on the Dakota from aprox 1998 to 2004? I have had a couple 2 wheel drive 1998s, short cab long beds and they drove very 'trucky' and unrefined, bouncy even. Then I have had a couple 2004s; a 2WD and a 4WD and they had a much more solid, smooth comfortable ride, more like a car but solid. Could it be just crappy shocks on my earlier ones or does anybody know if changes were made? My 2004 4WD is the best handling and most solid of all the Dakotas I have had, wondering how I can make my 1998 5.2 5 speed manual handle and feel as solid as that 2004 4WD...any info greatly appreciated.

 

[JeremyJ]

I don't think any major changes were made. I think maybe your newer Dakotas have better shocks and maybe rear sway bars. Those are the only factory things that might improve the ride and handling between the two.

 

[Thephatboi]

Good info, thank you. Yeah I have a feeling my two wheel drives don’t have rear sway bars, should I just try to find one out of a junkyard or is there a cool aftermarket ones I could put on?

 

[JeremyJ]

Belltech makes a set of aftermarket bars, but they aren't much of an upgrade over stock, plus some stock bars out of a yard will be quite a bit cheaper. It depends on how serious you are about improving the handling.

 

[radioactive]

Also don't underestimate the difference fresh shocks can make. Shocks degrade gradually and you don't notice it until they are really bad or the truck won't stop bouncing. That means both rears have gone south.

 

[agentzsmth]

hello,

Thank you so much for sharing this helpful information, it helped me alot

Thanks and regards.