Can people who have done this upgrade share their feelings?  My truck needs tie rods, and if I am going to go 4th gen now is the time.  

I love mine, got it from rockauto the Mopar upgraded one for 4th gen. I wouldn't have it any other way. Not even sure what the reasoning was for that y style in the first place. Solid bar that connects two front tires makes more sense to me.

 

I think someone reported problems with this brand, so far it's working good 10k later. 

I do remeber a recall on one of the tie rod ends for some of them. But recall which ones were covered in it. I am interested my self in the upgrade. My Moog parts have been on for about 240k now and will be needing replacement soon I think.

I see no reason not to run 4th. Dodge also feels the same. As it  warranty fix for 3rd gens

did you guys who have it change the pitman arm to the newer version?

Ummm... You do realize that 2003 and up Dodge trucks and Ram Trucks are FORD power steering boxes and power steering pumps? 

We care because?

I missed something here. I thought it was power steering upgrade... Never mind. 

Lol.

Ford on our trucks isnt really a bad thing. They've always had tighter steering however you need  football feild to turn one

It's a good design, finally. It took a few iterations after the release in MY08.5 to get it right. Make sure you get the latest a greatest design. It has alignment pins that keep the tow tie rods in proper alignment during adjustment. 

 

10 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Ummm... You do realize that 2003 and up Dodge trucks and Ram Trucks are FORD power steering boxes and power steering pumps? 

 

First I've heard that... want to elaborate? 

 

Besides, this thread isn't talking about either of those parts. 

Edited January 14, 20205 yr by AH64ID

My source is Ryan at Blue Top Steering. He informed me that after 2003 when ATF was used in the power steering system is because the old Sagnaw boxes were replaced with Ford Steering boxes. This continued since 2003 using Ford steering boxes. So this why 2003 and up is ATF and 2002 and back is power steering fluid. 

But Ford owns Cummins...

 

Sounds like some serious assumptions going on. 
 

I’ll need to actually see something that’s believable first. Besides, you can hear a ford power steering pump 2 miles away, not a Dodge one 

14 hours ago, portlandareae28 said:

did you guys who have it change the pitman arm to the newer version?

Hopefully we don't FORD too far away from the topic at hand??  

Lol.

Ford or dodge even make parts.. **** seems all the same to me.

1 hour ago, portlandareae28 said:

Hopefully we don't FORD too far away from the topic at hand??  

3rd gen needed a change so I would guess a 2nd gen does, but I can’t confirm. Hopefully someone who has done it will chime in. 

11 hours ago, AH64ID said:

It has alignment pins that keep the tow tie rods in proper alignment during adjustment. 

Picture I posted above has the alignment pins. My y style steering used to hit front pumpkin just enough to scratch the paint off of it. My T style one has a good half inch to spare.

This was a direct bolt-on for me as I already had 17 inch wheels, I reused my original pitman arm and didn't have to mess with cone angle for the ball socket. I believe 00,01,02 is a direct bolt on unless you have 16 inch wheels then you can simply grind the studs to clear the rims.

My 02 was a direct fit for the 4th gen steering at the knuckles...same taper and diameter.  I have 20" wheels so I can't comment on the 16" wheel clearance.

 

My pitman arm was not the same diameter as the ball socket...had to ream it out to the correct diameter.  However my pitman arm is not a stock part...it's a drop pitman arm for a lift.  It was installed at the exact same time I installed the 4th gen steering, locking hubs/bearings, ball joints and the lift.  So it's possible that it was sized incorrectly from the part manufacturer.  Reaming it out was easy enough for me to not question it at the time.

 

I have been happy with the 4th gen since install...just wish it would have came with grease zerts on the ball sockets. 

9 minutes ago, Bullet said:

just wish it would have came with grease zerts on the ball sockets. 

I drilled and tapped my own.

8 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

I drilled and tapped my own.

I think I'm gonna do that too...saw a video 'censor Tube' where a guy did that and documented it fairly well...drill size, tap size zert size, etc.  I'm gonna do it when it comes time to repack the front bearings...since my hands will already be dirty.  Got any advice on it for me? 

Remember when they are non-greasable the seals are tighter. Adding grease on a regular basis will weaken and damage the seals which means the service interval will have to increase. 
 

On my OE 05 steering the serviceable joints were the loosest when I replaced the steering. They received quality grease at a more frequent rate than recommended and still didn’t last as long as the sealed ones.  

 

 

Edited January 16, 20205 yr by AH64ID

1 minute ago, AH64ID said:

Remember when they are non-greasable the seals are tighter. Adding grease on a regular basis will weaken and damage the seals which means the service interval will have to increase. 
 

On my OE 05 steering the serviceable joints were the loosest when I replaced the steering. They received quality grease at a more frequent rate than recommended and still didn’t last as long as the sealed ones.  

 

 

That's an interesting point...haven't given any thought to that.  @DieselfutureWhat have you experienced so far in regards to what @AH64IDmentioned above?