Has anybody ever changed one of these things and seen any improvement? Are they worth upgrading or even replacing when they are old? I pull a car hauler and would be willing to upgrade or replace if you think it will actually make a difference.

It depends. No they won't cure worn out tie rod ends and make big wide tires ride smooth and not follow ruts. But they help stiffen up the steering a LITTLE with stock lift/tires. If thats the only thing you replace probably won't make much to any difference. If you rebuild front end I would replace it .....

I THINK? the stabilizer will help components last a little longer but again feel will not be night and day for the normal stuff with or without one. On bigger tires and rougher roads I would guess maybe it helps but I don't baja race by any means.

I don't think they even put one on the 1500's at least my nephews '98 didn't have one.

Has anybody ever changed one of these things and seen any improvement? Are they worth upgrading or even replacing when they are old? I pull a car hauler and would be willing to upgrade or replace if you think it will actually make a difference.
You'll know when it's bad. When mine went it would feel like the front end was jumping while braking during a turn. It felt like it would throw you in the ditch. Leo

if you start to get death wobble, replace it.

Has anybody ever changed one of these things and seen any improvement? Are they worth upgrading or even replacing when they are old? I pull a car hauler and would be willing to upgrade or replace if you think it will actually make a difference.

I can't say I felt any noticeable improvement (97,000 miles on the truck) when I did it. But, I don't think the original was in that bad of shape, either. However, I had the engine out so I replaced some things just because it was easy. IIRC, it was about $35 from NAPA.

Death wobble and wandering are indicative of worn out joints and tire wear/size etc. Heavy load on rear bumper and lifting up front end will exagerate idler arm wear and looseness.

The stabilizer is a shock and will help dampen the joint play but there will still be play. New shocks on front help ride and steering too. I felt like 40 + ?? ish % of the looseness of my steering was the pitman arm itself (1 of 5-6 other components the rest came from 4 tierod ends and idler arm assembly). The steering stabilizer will help dampen load on pitman arm so I replaced mine when I rebuilt at 120K miles like Dennis said I couldn't really tell how worn OE was. After replacing everything the truck was so tight and responsive to input I had to get use to it. If a bump or dip made my elbow move so did the truck. And the steering movement came from my elbow movement not the bump. It was the same with my nephews '98 w/o a dampener.

The front end health affects tire wear. Tire size and tread choice and front end health will then complement each other or accelerate wear. Once the front end linkages wear they cause tires to wear badly the uneven tire wear will then increase wear on front end components.