leathermaneod

Just had a couple more random questions about some things I noticed while poking around under the hood today. Should I be concerned about this? It looks like the end of a wire covered with something rubbery like insulation but it feels more like just a random rubbery thing. At first I was concerned that it was something melted in the wiring harness but now I don't know...I don't wanna mess with it if I don't need to but It just concerned me. I don't know if the wires are glued together in there and thats just some excess rubber oozed out or what? Maybe the glue like is in some heat shrink tubing. I also don't know why there is a gap in the loom there. Maybe its because the crappy tape stuff is unraveling. I'm planning to just add in a piece of loom to cover that unless someone thinks there is a problem I need to investigate...I just get concerned when I see abnormalities in wiring harness's. Any input guys? Anyone thats had one of these wiring harness's apart before know what that is or if it is melted? This next pic I'm just curious what it could be for? Its just hanging out not plugged into anything by the back of the driver side headlight.

Ok sounds good. I just looked and the torque for those bolts (sway bar bushing retainer bolts which also hold the steering brace) is 40 ft lbs. I'm also going to pick up some new bolts for that (8.8 minimum) and some lock washers. I want that thing to stay good and tight. I think I'm also going to use red loctite on all this stuff. Especially since the pitman arm nut wasnt tight. By the way, any tips for getting the whole steering system full of fluid again since the gearbox, pump, lines and booster will all be totally empty? I know about the initial run procedure and I follow it each time I have had the system apart. I just wasnt sure if there is anything else I can do to ease the process?

Is the the because of the 235(first number) or the second number? 235 is the width of the tread face, and the second number is the height of the tire by percentage of the tread face. For example, 235/75 is 235mm wide tread face and the height is 176.25mm or 75% of 235mm(from rim to tread face). Please correct me if I'm wrong here guys. So, stock 265/75/16 are 31.6" diameter, and 10.4" wide, 638 revs per mile. 245/75/16 are 30.5" diameter and 9.6" wide, 662 revs per mile. Then a 235/75/16 are 29.9" diameter and 9.3" wide, 675 revs per mile. To get a 235 to the same diameter you need to go 235/85/16 which is 31.7" diameter and 9.3 wide, 636 revs per mile. You can do almost the same with a 245, just need 245/80/16 which is 31.4" diameter and 9.6 wide, 642 revs per mile. EDIT: I was just looking back at the tire site and I overlooked the fact that there are no tires available in 245/80/16. I wonder why that is? On another note, anyone know if there is anything special to putting the steering brace on? I watched a guy on youtube do it and he mentioned tightening the bolts on the steering brace and the ones on the bearing carrier in a certain order so as not to put a preload on the bearing? Does that sound right? Does it matter?

I know and I really appreciate all the time you put into helping me with this project. I should have just stopped and listened to you and figured out something to compress that seal. I guess I just thought if other people get it without one I should be able to as well. I dont know if the O rings in my kit were exceptionally thick or what. Oh well, live and learn I guess. I got it put all back together minus some of the seals I hadn't installed yet. Figured I'd save them just incase I need them someday. Then I went and got a reman gearbox. So now I just need the steering stabilizer bearing and sway bar bushing to show up, and some hardware from dodge, and ill be able to put everything back together. Check out the tag that came on my reman pump

Well everyone I goofed up and ruined the teflon seal for the piston. I was on the phone with Mike, trying to figure out how to get the piston to slide into the bore. He told me I needed a ring compressor or some scrap sheet metal and a zip tie. But I didn't have either and I made the mistake of just trying to pursuade it with a hammer and a block of wood and it shaved the seal right off. I had already split the o ring on the inner valve collar earlier and had to re use the old one. So I had to give up and go with a reman after all. Really pisses me off that I couldn't do something that should have been this easy. Especially after getting that far and seeing how simple it really is, for the most part anyway. I hope this doesn't discourage anyone else from tackling this, just have a ring compressor handy! Btw incase anyone was interested in the other stuff, I ordered a new bearing for my steering stabilizer off ebay for $23. I ordered rubber oem sway bar bushings from autozone for $15 each. I may end up ordering synergy ones off amazon though, still not sure. And I will be blowing out my hydrobooster and lines before installing all these new components after seeing all that gunk in the steering box. well I just ordered these off ebay. https://www.genosgarage.com/product/energy-suspension-55159g/sway-bar-frame-bushings I've seen them listed at least two different places as being for 1500's, but obviously Geno's sells them and they are the right bar size....and they are cheaper than the oe replacement from autozone. Any reason they wont work??

Thanks for the encouraging words! Yes I was cringing for my new hydrobooster when I saw all that gunk! My fluid was good and clean so I dont think that stuff was floating around, but I'm planning to blow the hydrobooster and the lines out before putting things back together, just incase. As far as the pin goes, the pin itself seems tight. It moved in quite a bit when I hit it with the punch, but it doesnt seem to move at all when I try to pull it back out. Its just that now the collar pops off of it very easily, but I'm guessing it is held on by the other part of the valve once its assembled. The pin is sticking out just how it is in the pics above, those were taken after I hit it with the punch. Mike, will you be available later to walk me through setting the bearing preload and the pitman arm adjustment once I get this thing back together? I looked through the FSM and they are talking about measureing torque at different degrees and all kinds of stuff I'm not familiar with lol. I'm assuming its pretty easy once its explained....lI'm not sure what your sundays are normally like, so if youd rather wait till tomorrow or tuesday of course thats fine... Below are just a few more places with more wear than I liked, but I guess they reuse this stuff when the rebuild them anyway.... I tried to knock those off a little with a file. Didn't work too good though, its pretty hard!

Well I got that valve collar off the input shaft, it has a lot of wear under there though....anyone know if this is ok? I just have to tap that pin in with a punch and it gave the collar enough clearance to come off. Now it almost seems like too much though. The collar comes off really easily....

Well getting a new bearing from TSC isn't gona work, I was trying to get the old one out of the housing, and it split right in half lol. I just order a new one off eBay for $23 with free shipping. For anyone who is interested, below you will find all my pics from the dissasembly of the gear box. Those are just showing how dirty it was before I cleaned it up. All clean and ready to be torn down! Pitman Arm shaft removed. Even after all my flushes, there were still chunks of crap in there! Some pitting on the pitman army shaft, I talked to Mike on the phone about it, he said it should be ok, we'll see what he says after he sees these pics lol Got better after cleaning it up with a scotch brite pad. Just some pitting on the aluminum cap. Heres the cap that comes off to access the piston. That big gouge is from my punch when I tried to remove the retaining ring. Definitely try not to do that again! Theres the piston. It was a little tricky getting it out, kept wanting to get cockeyed and jam up. Had to take a rubber mallet to it a couple times. Also, taking the piston out is when all the little balls fall out. I had the whole box sitting in a drain pan to catch all the fluid, it also worked great for containing the ball bearings! Theres the worm gear and valve. This was a little tricky to get out of the gearbox housing. I had to tap on the worm gear end to get it to move. Of course I had it sitting on the edge of my table and the darn thing launched across the room when it let go. Thankfully it landed on cardboard and doesnt doesnt appear to be damaged. Here it is dissasembled. I had to tap on the end of the pitman arm shaft while holding the valve assembly in my hand to get the worm gear to pop out. The actual valve(splined collar on the pitman arm shaft) should come off of there. Its held on by one little pin that it should lift up and over. Mine doesnt. I'm going to see if I can seat the pin in at all with a punch and maybe it will come apart. No be deal if not though, nothing to replace under there. I just want to make sure that pin is in all the way. Thats all I got so far, its waiting on me to put it back together. Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions. Sorry that last pic isnt supposed to be there but it wont go away lol

I asked if they had one at TSC and they said no, but I didn't think to ask for just the bearing. I'll give that a shot!

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have to wait till tuesday to see what dodge will charge for them. Hopefully now much becuase I am on something of a timeline with this project and I cant afford to keep having delays. I think Ive got a "spanner wrench" that will work now. I'm hoping so at least. Made from a $5 adjustable angle grinder wrench from HF.

Alrighty, Ill give dodge a call on tuesday and hopefully they can get it by wednesday. They are going to have some new sway bar bushing retainers for me on wednesday. Mine are not in great shape and I cant beat the price at $8.50 each. Just wish Energy made ones the right size so I could have greaseable ones... Any ideas on where to get or what brand of bearing to get to replace that one for the steering stablilizer Mike? I'm planning to call around some more locally on Tuesday, but I'm not optimistic. I'm about to make a harbor freight run right now to look at the "spanner wrench" they have. I'm hoping it will work.

thankfully I just got it. Gear box is out. check out the one bolt. thinkni should replace it?

Thanks for the recommendation! Any ideas what I'm doing wrong here? mum making that puller almost as tight as I can with a 2ft piece of pipe on a ratchet handle and then tapping it with a hammer and it's not moving. What gives?

Lol I can see that with snap on, but I'm sure the cost of a spanner wrench from them would be through the roof and I just can't spend that much on a specialty tool like that. And yes I got a socket. I shyed away from a crescent wrench because I want to be able to torque that thing down to 185. Reason being that I watched a vid on YouTube where the guy said his loosened up after a lift kit install. Well mine was loose too today when I took things apart, so it's going to be made very tight along with some red loctite. Thanks for checking on your pitman arm. So anyone out there have any suggestions on sway bar frame bushings? I saw the energy ones from Geno's are greasable but they don't have my size. I need the 34mm ones....

Not having much luck finding any of those near me. I could maybe call snap on and see if there is a truck near me but I don't think I wanna pay for a snap on spanner wrench when I may never use it again...

Hey all, Making some progress here. I got the bad ps pump off the truck and swapped out last night, wasn't as bad taking off without the vac pump as i thought it would be. Heres a pic of the valve stuck in there So far today I got the steering stabilizer off the truck, and the sway bar lowered down out of the way. Mike and I talked about leaving it in place, but I just didn't wanna work in a space that cramped. Turns out its good I did take it down, because the pitman shaft extender was super hard to get out of that bearing. Now I have to run out to autozone and grab a 38mm deep socket to get that extender off the pitman arm. And I need a spanner wrench for taking the gear box apart. I think Im also going to have to replace the bearing in my steering stabilizer. I don't know how long its been on there, but it seems shot to me. The carrier will easily cant to the sides and it doesn't sound good when you turn it. It seems super sloppy, and as you can see, its a mess. I'm assuming I can just call up the manufacturer and order a new one, anyone ever done this before? I dont know who makes it for sure, but I think its BD Diesel.... The bar looks like this Let me know what you guys think, any input will be greatly appreciated! UPDATE: This is extremely frustrating. I was counting on autozone having a spanner wrench for taking this gear box apart. Well of course they don't. And better yet, neither does anywhere else around me. At least not that is open on a saturday. So unless I can figure something out to improvise, I'm out of luck untill i can get one off the internet. On top of that Ill have to order one of those bearings online too becuase nowhere near me has one of them either. Any suggestions on what to buy for either of these items? more questions, I'll be replacing the sway bar bushings as part of this project. Should I go with standard ones from autozone, or something better? Will I notice any difference? Also, my drag link is sitting on top of the pitman arm, but I just watched a vid on YouTube and that gents truck had the drag link hanging upside down from the pitman arm. Which way is is supposed to be??? Is my pitman arm screwed up now?? You can see it in one of the pics above....

Sounds good, got that taken care of tonight. All ready to pull the steering box and start the rebuild tomorrow.

But even in the event that it came out like that, I'd probably still have to replace the pump...I mean, whats to stop it from just doing this agian?

Sorry to see that dude. At least I'm not the only one who has a brain fart now and then lol

Yes I took the fitting off, but that stuff didn't come out. I tried to pull the valve out with a magnet but it is jammed way in there. So far in I can't get my finger in far enough to touch it, I'd say a good inch and a half to two inches. I had my old one apart when I flushed the fluid so I know how it comes apart. At first I thought this one was missing the valve, but when I looked with a mirror I can see it in there. It's just not moving.

Thanks for your input! Good to hear the symptoms fit the physical problem. Any idea why that thing would get suck? Or if there is a way to fix this other than pulling it and swapping out with another?

I'll try man. The ps pump is pretty easy really, just a pain working in tight places and super annoying when you have to do it twice. I think it would be easier to take it out with the vac pump, but I don't wanna disturb my new seals anymore than I absolutely have to. Now I'm just waiting for Mikes input before j really tear into the pump and the gear box. I'm wondering if there is any way this valve being stuck could have caused the gear box to leak. Anyway I'll more than likely start things tomorrow afternoon. I have to work 9-9 tonight so I'll get kind of a late start tomorrow.

Well I've got good news and bad news. Good news is I found the issue, bad news is I think it's going to require pulling the pump. I took the high pressure line off the reservoir so I could check the screen in there. Well the inner part of the valve that has the spring around it is jammed in there! At first I thought it was missing because I couldn't feel anything when I stuck my finger in as far as it could go, but then I looked in with a mirror and sure enough it's there but it's not coming out! Any suggestions before I pull this darn thing off again? Anything to be careful of? I will not be taking the vac pump out with it unless you guys think that's really necessary....

Alright so I've got another observation to report. Symptoms are much more apparent when the truck is warmed up(steering difficult and vibration in the brake pedal). It sat for about 1.5 hours and now I just left again to run errands. When I first left I didn't really notice anything, but as I pulled into autozone I've definitely got problems. Still no issues braking, just turning and the odd tremor in the brake pedal. I'm pretty sure I also used to be able to turn the wheels at a dead stop, because I like to leave them straight when I pull into a space and now I can't do that without crazy effort.... I was at autozone to pick up my other stuff so I had them order up another ps pump just incase. It doesn't make sense to me that if it was a blockage it would only act up when warm, and how did it all of a sudden become blocked today? If I hadn't flushed it good then it would make sense, but this just doesn't. I don't get it. Heres another update: just got back from my errands and ps at idle seems to be totally gone now. Fine while driving with rpms up though. Brakes are going downhill now too. Just looked in the FSM and it sounds like low pump pressure or worn out gear box are the only things that makes sense. But why did this one wear out so fast?? Unless the gear box crapped out all of a sudden? But that wouldn't explain why my brakes would be getting worse now too.... Maybe I should have got a good pump instead of a reman....if I have to pull that thing again I'm gona be really unhappy

Alright so a little update, wanna see if this changes your diagnosis at all. just drove the truck home and everything seemed pretty much normal, maybe a little harder to turn at low speed/low rpm like going around hard corners but nothing major, and it felt the same as before trying to steering sitting still before i left work(easy at first then very hard). Now when I got home and went to turn into my spot, it was like I had no ps again! Again this was at low speed and idle rpms(clutch in). I checked the fluid and it's still very clean and nearly at full hot. I also definitely still have this vibration or tremor feeling in the pedal even with only moderate pressure, otherwise they work and feel fine. Still thinking obstruction? Or possibly bad pump?