Hello all, presently it is hunting season in my state, I go to a public state hunting area. however the roads in this area are very poorly maintained if they do maintain them at all. mostly gravel with broken areas of black top and numerous potholes all over. anytime I go there with my truck. it feels like any moment I expect to leave part of my truck there. my truck rattles constantly going over the irregular surface areas. and there's no dampening from the suspension system.even the steering wheel vibrates. when I get back on the road things are ok. a few years ago changed the front end including the wheel hub and bearings changed the intermediate steering linkage and the power steering box, upper control arms, tie rods.all the shocks. didn't touch the stabilizer bar, because the bushings looked ok. should I check anything else? or should I just live with it. My truck is a 1998xl 4x4 long bed which I adoringly refer to as "rustbucket" Thanks

 

You didn't mention if you actually changed the struts / shocks as well

 

Replace your ball joints and upper control arms and I bet that will take care of things. You said you replaced the uca's a few years ago. What brand did you use?

 

replaced upper control arms, all the shocks and ball joints. used aftermarket stuff. do you think that this might be the problem? thanks again

 

I have never seen anything with the brand name "aftermarket"

 

If you went "cheap" it's likely your problem.

 

went non oem because it was cheaper. purchased parts from parts geek, am auto, and autozone, base on whose price is the least expensive. while checking the brake system today, discovered the driver's side bracket that holds the leaf spring has partially broken off in the rear. don't know if this would be the cause of my problem. but will see after I get it fixed.

 

Grab the truck and shake it. Have someone climb in the bed and flex the suspension by shifting their weight back and forth. You should find the source of the squeak.

My next door neighbor has a 2001 2wd, and we found his ball joint was squeaking using this method.

 

BTW, I just put Monroe OEM Spectrum shocks on my truck. They are really good shocks so far. If they start acting goofy though, I'm switching to Motorcraft or Fox.

FWIW, the OEM Spectrum moniker is the re-branded Sensatrac line.