This is a thread from 2009 and I don't think any of these people have been active on the forums anytime recently. I would at most overhaul your bike and replace anything if it absolutely needs it and you really want to keep this bike. Unfortunately a bike from the 9 speed era still running 7 speed Altus/Tourney components and things like quill stems is not really worth a ton of money and you would be better off saving that money for either a hybrid or if you are mountain biking a proper mountain bike with a decent fork that uses air instead of cheap coils.