So, I took the truck to a shop this morning with the intention of achieving the usual alignment interval...

 

I get a call about a 1/2 hour or so before work, that they were unable to perform an alignment on my truck. What? Bullhonky! So I had him gather info. on what was going on.

 

1. RH outer tie rod completely shot.

2. Steering stabilizer done for

3. Steering gearbox sloppy

 

I also asked them to rotate my tires and they said it was done....

 

Huh, well, little did they realize, my front wheels are discolored from the brake dust. When I got there, they were still in front! grr... They also told me my front outer brake pads were almost worn down to nothing?!

 

I told them I just replaced the pads/calipers less than a year ago!

 

I'm not quite sure what to think as I feel like in order to tell what the pad life on the brakes are, they need to remove the wheels. Which they did not do as since they did not rotate the tires. It just raises my suspicions!

 

I did not realize the steering was that out of whack? I kind of figured the steering was just fine? Maybe I'm just used to how it steers...

 

I need a couple pointers and diagnosing these parts to see if they are really out of spec and they are not just pulling my chain. I already have a hard enough time trusting auto repair shops. They are my necessary evil for alignments, new tires, etc....

 

So, if indeed these parts need replaced, I might as well get it all done in one fell swoop if not too spendy. What brands should I go with, and if I need a gearbox, which one. If there are alternatives or something to use to upgrade instead and whether or not there will be interferences with other parts. Like I know the steering brace is not compatible with some gearboxes, etc.

 

Basically, what do I need to do to the steering components to make this go away and stay away! I'm looking at doing bilsteins for shocks so I will probably get a dampener from bilstein as well...

 

It was something that was not on my to do list, nor what I wanted to do to the truck. I just ordered head studs to try and take advantage of the deal on it. The wifes not too thrilled about all of this, lol...

I just replaced my steering box last week with a napa rebuilt box for $154.00.My old box was leaking and the pitman shaft had a lot of play causing the truck to wander. The new box with a complete fluid flush corrected the wandering. I checked on red head and borgeson boxes and they are pretty pricey .

Its kinda one of the curiosities I have. Ive got more than 200k miles on the truck and just now, the components need replaced... All of it is OEM stuff!

I've done all the steering on my truck, Borgeson shaft, Borgeson steering box(3.5 turns makes so much difference), BD steering brace and track bar. Not cheap but iI think its worth it. Been 2 years no regrets. I had done all the ball joints and rod ends the year before, then the steering box started to leak. I paid to have the ball joints done, I did the rest myself, I have well lit and  heated shop, and its not totally full of s#$t. Good luck

Haven't seen these listed, so here you are.

 

- Drag link: DS1459
- Long tie rod (passenger side: DS1456
- Left tie rod end (driver side): ES3496
- Drag link upper end (at pitman arm): ES3497
- Small adjusting sleeve (drag link): ES2012S (Can reuse the old one if you'd like)
- Large adjusting sleeve (long tie rod): ES3498S

rockauto.com has the best prices on moog I've seen.  Here's a 5% coupon, expires 1/25/15, "2702630024981404".

 

^^HD Stuff^^   

I would upgrade to the 98-99 hd steering if you don't already have it. Cowboy may have put the part numbers up for the HD stuff. I had a Red Head on my 2005 and it was to tight for lack of better words. That truck was all over the road, but it was all over the road with the stock worn out box too. I want to put a Red Head on my 95 too but after how tight the 2005 was, I think I would rather have the 4.5 turn box than the 3.5. I need to address my worn rag joint too

I would upgrade to the 98-99 hd steering if you don't already have it. Cowboy may have put the part numbers up for the HD stuff. I had a Red Head on my 2005 and it was to tight for lack of better words. That truck was all over the road, but it was all over the road with the stock worn out box too. I want to put a Red Head on my 95 too but after how tight the 2005 was, I think I would rather have the 4.5 turn box than the 3.5. I need to address my worn rag joint too

I'd have to agree on 4.5 beefing better, with 3.5 it be like driving a golf cart. I had few hydraulic steering set ups on my toys and one time tried a helm that had big pump on it and all it took to fully turn was 1.5 or so man it was scary. I changed it soon after.