New Struts and Springs

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Have a 2011 Durango Citadel 5.7 AWD with about 150k miles on it. When going over bumps it keeps bouncing and the ride height is not as good as my In-laws 18 Durango. I decided to go with Bilstein front struts. I am going to go ahead and replace the springs too. I was looking at Moog springs. They offer Standard Duty and Heavy Duty Options. I was going to order the HD ones but figured I would check first. Anyone know the difference between standard and HD? Any other parts i should replace with the struts and springs?
 
Why change the springs? How much are they? You might not like the ride with HD springs.
 
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You should also replace the strut mounts. The only ones worth using are the OEM Mopars.

If Bilstein doesn't supply bump stops, buy new ones. Sometimes Bilstein shocks come with bumpers, and sometimes they don't.

Most aftermarket springs aren't that great. Get OEM springs if possible. The only time buying aftermarket springs is a good idea is when you're using quick struts, for the ease of installation, or if you're after high-performance springs (lowering springs for cars, or a lift for trucks)
 
On one vehicle we own, the owners (lexus and toyota) report a really high failure rate with after market strut mounts. Unless it is a high-wear item/routine failure point on these Durangos, I'd stick with them if they are still working. But if they are a known wear item/problem point, then I agree - get factory ones unless there are known better aftermarket ones out there, like KYB or something. I've got 300k on the factory ones in our Lexus (I've rebuilt the entire suspension once) and they are fine (KYB is the OE in the car). Also, I have had Moog coils in the rear of that car for about 100k miles and have been very pleased with them; better than the Lexus oe coils IMO.

In my SUV I have OME (Old Man Emu) HD/offroad springs and love them - offroad OR highway. Love the increased firmness, ride height, and handling. So I'd vote HD. Be aware, you will need a front end alignment asap after re-doing the front, or your tires will likely wear badly very quickly.
 
Originally Posted by Oro_O
On one vehicle we own, the owners (lexus and toyota) report a really high failure rate with after market strut mounts. Unless it is a high-wear item/routine failure point on these Durangos, I'd stick with them if they are still working. But if they are a known wear item/problem point, then I agree - get factory ones unless there are known better aftermarket ones out there, like KYB or something. I've got 300k on the factory ones in our Lexus (I've rebuilt the entire suspension once) and they are fine (KYB is the OE in the car). Also, I have had Moog coils in the rear of that car for about 100k miles and have been very pleased with them; better than the Lexus oe coils IMO.

In my SUV I have OME (Old Man Emu) HD/offroad springs and love them - offroad OR highway. Love the increased firmness, ride height, and handling. So I'd vote HD. Be aware, you will need a front end alignment asap after re-doing the front, or your tires will likely wear badly very quickly.



Thanks. Yeah I have lifetime alignment from Firestone on this vehicle. Thanks for the real life review on Moog. I know they seem to sponsor quite a few Nascar teams. I'll probably only own the Durango another 50k to 100k miles so sounds like that would work well.
 
You cna go with heavy duty but it will be a stiffer ride, and if the Bilsteins are the HD or upgraded over factory, then it may be even stiffer. I put B8's on my M5 and the ride was extremely stiff for a few hundred miles untill they broke in.
 
Originally Posted by das_peikko
The heavy duty springs will shake the fillings right out of your teeth.


That's up to the shocks, not the springs.

The springs will set the ride height and overall "stiffness" - load carrying ability, etc. But the oscillation dampening of the spring - the cycle with which it repeats, and strength of that rebound, is governed by the "shock absorber" - very literal name, they have. If he were to put in super stiff springs and cheap Monroe shocks, then yes, you'd likely be right.

I have only Bilstein, Boge, and KYB shocks in our various vehicles. Quality matters here, and the OP showed some savvy about that in his 1st post by circling in on that. Even with the stiffest springs made for two of those (Bilstein for an Audi and ARB/OME for the SUV), they ride like luxury performance cars, not Conestoga wagons ( I was (re)watching "dances with wolves" earlier tonight with my 10 year old step-daughter, so that image comes to mind).
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I think HD moog coils and Bilstein springs sounds like a good plan. I don't own a Durango and know the ins/outs of them, but this is not a bad plan on spec. There must be a Durango forum out there, so you could run the idea by them, too.

So I don't know the exact suspension set-up of a 2011 Durango. Is it struts in the front and solid rear axle w/independent coil/shocks in the rear? Or something more old-school up front? is it truly AWD like you said, or more accurately 4WD/selectable?
 
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Originally Posted by michaelluscher
With my experience of recent FCA products

While your in there, go for front and rear sway bar bushings

Price out the links too

A common wear and noise creating item



This is a good idea, too. I meant to mention this in my first post. Look into PU (polyurethane) bushings, also. Maybe $20 front/rear. At least take a hard look at the existing bushings to see if they are worn and gapping around the bar, or cracking.

There isn't a whole lot of otherwise saved effort here, eg., like replacing the water pump as long as you are doing a timing belt, for example. You will unmount your calipers is about all, so you the only other labor-saving thing to do is to look hard at them and check the pad wear. Pull the caliper pins and hit them with emery cloth and re-grease them with Sil-Glyde to prevent them seizing.
This is a real problem, especially in a climate like Nebraska. At 150k like you said, you have to think about things like this and be preventative. I don't know what the front hubs are on these trucks, but if not sealed, maybe pull the bearings and re-pack them. 150k begs for that if you haven't done it before.

If your discs are marginal, get some new discs and slap them on at the same time. I am loving the ceramic coated Raybestos rotors. I got some last summer for her lexus as I was just sick of the ugly old rusty ones, but they were working fine and were true. But the the new pretty ceramic ones were SOOOO cheap at rockAuto, as well as some ceramic Raybestos SGD ("service grade") pads. Love it. If you might keep it 100k, do it now and then not worry for another long while.
 
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Originally Posted by Oro_O


So I don't know the exact suspension set-up of a 2011 Durango. Is it struts in the front and solid rear axle w/independent coil/shocks in the rear? Or something more old-school up front? is it truly AWD like you said, or more accurately 4WD/selectable?




Multi link in the rear, short and long arm in the front. All 5.7 equipped Durango's are full time AWD system (and a darn good one, Quadra-Trac II) with a selectable low range "locking" (50/50 locked front and rear split) transfer case.

If you have the factory tow package, you will have load leveling shocks in the rear. You CAN NOT put the non-load leveling springs on with load leveling shocks. They are designed to work together, non-load leveling springs with load leveling shocks will cause the shocks to pump the ride height.

In 2016 the suspension got a pretty significant overhaul, quite a few components are not backwards compatible.

https://blog.fcpeuro.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-nivomat-self-leveling-shocks

I miss my 2011 Citadel sometimes
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if you do Facebook, there are a few Durango pages. There is also the Durango forums, all of which have a lot of info.
 
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