leathermaneod

Ok sounds good that's what I'll do then. I just hope it's not this new pump, it's definitely felt a little different the whole time. Kind of a weird vibration through the pedal when you press it....I was hoping that was a good thing....

I have been driving it, maybe only between 50 and 100 miles since the replacement though. But ok i guess I'll be replacing lines and blowing out the hydrobooster after all then....

Hey guys, I just had another minor episode of some more difficult steering as I pulled in at work....same thing I do every day only this time steering was a little harder. Could it just be a fluke air bubble still? Or do you think my new pump is no good? I didn't have time to fiddle with it at all or check the fluid, but it was almost full the other day when I checked. I will check more later just didn't have time right now.

Check out these links http://rocksolidramtrucksteering.com and just FYI @dripley's pics look pretty much just like mine so I guess all stock setups are that tight. Thanks for the heads up on the prices btw!

After seeing those pics I certainly have high hopes! Not sure when I'm gona get around to trying it. Gota first get this steering sorted out and then save up some $. I may have to order the "rock solid ram steering fix" to get rid of my clunking and popping too. I'm hoping the intermediate shaft will help things a lot, but we'll see. Truck gets inspected next month, if the current TRE's pass I will be able to hold off, if not I'll be doing it sooner than I planned.

#'s 112 & 115

Idk, did you see the pictures posted by Tommy R on page 12?

From reading the CF thread it sounds like you can get enough room by cutting off some of the "nut" on the top end of the TRE stud....

Well a buddy talked me into go with rock auto after all. He pointed out that the shaft is super easy to change and no big deal if I don't have it in time for this weekend. Turns out I was able to spend $20 on shipping and I still should get it on time. Thanks for the code btw. I totally forgot to use it though :-( still saved a ton of money....at least I know for next time lol

I think I'm gona just have to go with autozone for the shaft. I didn't plan far enough ahead on this so it's gona cost me a little extra....id have to do the one day shipping to get it in time so I wouldn't be worth the extra hassle.

@BBHD thanks for the heads up! Mike and I talked about that, but I'm not sure I would get it in time from them to do this weekend. How fast is shipping from them usually? How does your uncle like it btw? Also, where do I find the 5% code?

Oh ok. This is making way more sense now! Thanks for the pics! Btw, thought of something that will hinder my write up on this. Often when I try to upload pics from my iPhone to the site I get an error. I can't remember the number atm though. I just tried uploading ones that didn't work before and they worked fine now. Any idea what that could be about?

Great thank you! I just ordered the one in the second link and the intermediate shaft from autozone. I should be able to pick them up sometime tomorrow. That stinks about the bearing, I wasnt really sure what I was looking for. Hopefully we find good things when I tear it apart and all is good to be reused. I will have the reman box on hand though incase it cant be. Id rather not take chances on not being able to get parts with it being a holiday weekend. And yes, if you can help with with the rebuild when I get to it, I will be more than happy to do my best on a write up. It will certainly be a valuable addition to the site!

Thanks again very much Mike. Heres my next question, any idea which of these I need? http://www.autozone.com/external-engine/power-steering-gear-seal-kit/dodge/ram-2500-3-4-ton-4wd/2001/6-cylinders-6-5-9l-turbo-diesel?filterByKeyWord=steering+gear+rebuild&fromString=search My guess is this one, but I'm really not sure.... http://www.autozone.com/external-engine/power-steering-gear-seal-kit/duralast-power-steering-gear-seal-kit/dodge/ram-2500-3-4-ton-4wd/2001/6-cylinders-6-5-9l-turbo-diesel/729936_30168_0/?checkfit=true Its easiest for me to deal with autozone becuase that way I dont have to worry about paying for shipping, and they can usually get stuff pretty quick. So, hopefully one of those four will work...

Oh ok so there's really no point in replacing it then? Are there any write ups here for the rebuild and adjustment? Any special tools required?

Interesting! Do the rebuild kits usually work out well? As far as fixing leaks? Only thing about doing that, it won't take out any of the play I have in my steering wheel, I can turn probably to at least 10 and 2 without moving the wheels....

Well I ordered up a reman steering box from autozone for $160 plus another $160 for the core(can't see spending the money for Borgsen). I also ordered new high pressure lines because I've already got new return ones and I figured might as well do it all while I'm at it, only thing is they don't come with the metal part, just the rubber. Now I was just outside looking at things and realized my steering shaft is in really bad shape. Super loose. So I guess I'll be ordering up one of them too. They are about $150 for a Forman. Talk about jobs getting bigger on you, seems to be a regular thing for me and this truck...anybody have any tips for me on all this? I'm planning to blow out the hydrobooster and the metal lines while I have everything off just incase. Also, I have a steering brace, will I need to take that off to change the steering box? I didn't install it, PO did, that's why I'm asking....

Ok just got home and took some measurements with the temp gun. High pressure lines: 138° Return line: 112° Inside reservoir: 134° Outside reservoir: 140° Hydrobooster: 131° Not sure if all those are entirely accurate, the temp gun seemed to get the highest readings on dark collored metal. So I tried to just record the highest in each location. Those are all the max numbers I could get. And it is definitely looking like my steering box is leaking from the steering wheel shaft side. Leaves a drop or two any place I stop even for a few minutes it seems.

That's good to hear! Interestingly enough, my truck will sometimes start just a little harder after the grid heaters run. I've noticed that if it's just barely cold enough for them to run, it will crank just a touch longer than if I start it in mpg mode so they don't run. Must be that it turns ever so slightly slower after that major current draw. My point is that it seems there are a lot of little things that factor in. I completely understand your wanting it to start quick though, I am the same way :-)

Alright well I just got done with a 10 mile drive, truck was well up to temp, it is 78° and pretty humid. When I got out I felt the lines. The two high pressure ones at the hydrobooster were hot, not enough to burn me right away, but I'm sure they could if I held them long enough. The rerun was noticeably cooler, but still pretty warm. The reservoir felt about the same as the high pressure lines, but I didn't get to check anything with the temp gun yet. I'm not sure where to go from here? Are there any other symptoms of a blockage I could look for? I did just have the fairly sudden major leak that caused me to replace the pump, and I think I still have a slight drip from the input on the steering box. Maybe all the fluid changes knocked something loose and plugged something? Or maybe there was some dirt in one of the new components? I really hate to tear into things when I'm not sure that anything is wrong.... I really need to get my temp gun on this stuff. I was just googling what temps will burn and it sounds like about 110° will cause pain, so I don't know what I'm at, could be decently cooler than 140° and still burn my hand... Forgot to mention before that I can also kind of feel a vibration or tremor through the brake pedal at times, particularly when pressing harder on the pedal. Hoping it's just due to the new pump being more powerful and moving more fluid....

Sorry to hear your having so much trouble figuring out your leak. I certainly know what that's like! Hope you get it figured out soon!

Unless your wheels are totally different from what I am thinking, it sounds like you should be fine. I am definitely going to give it a try with my stock alloys.

I'm not sure that mine is actually restriced. I'll have to check again today and see what the temp gun says. It could have been about 140° the way it felt to touch. I doubt I have a restriction because me and a friend flushed the system pretty well twice at different times before replacing the hydrobooster which is new now, and I just replaced the ps pump, and both of my rerun lines are new. Only things not new are the high pressure lines and gear box. And my fluid is very clean now. I'm not saying I can't have a restrictions, I just don't wanna be too quick to tear stuff a part again because it doesn't seem to likely with how careful we were to flush stuff before adding new parts....and I'm not sure it was actually too hot, it just surprised me how hot it was.

I'm not sure about hot enough to actually burn, hot enough to sting though...it's been flushed many times now though between replacing the hydrobooster and power steering pump and actually flushing it lately. Have you ever checked yours with an ir temp gun after running in hot weather? As far as blowing air through, are you talking about removing the hi pressure line and back blowing? Maybe I'll just replace that high pressure line....

Hey all, just wanted to update this and ask a couple more questions. I got everything done. It's really nice now my only leak that causes a drip seems to be coming from my steering gear box, the top side where the shaft from the steering wheel attaches. So that is next on the list to replace I guess. It's never ending....anyway I'm kinda paranoid about this new steering pump because it's a reman and it does a couple things I wanted to ask about. First, sitting at idle, if I press the brake pedal pretty hard, as in harder than I normally ever would unless I needed to stop really quick, it makes kind of a groaning whining noise. I'm hoping this is normal since it's working pretty hard at that point....? Second, the effort required for me to steer the truck is about the same as the old one, except for one time right after the swap when I lost power steering for a few senconds, must have been some air working its way out. Anyway if I'm sitting at idle, I can only turn the wheels slightly in either direction before it becomes extremely hard to turn. Like I said this is while not moving and I have 285's so I know it's going to be harder, but it's almost if not impossible. Is that normal? No issues while moving that I have noticed, and I'm not sure if the old one did this or not because I don't make a habit of turning the wheels when I'm not moving at least a little. Third, is it normal for the ps reservoir and lines to get pretty darn hot? im definitely not looking for a reason to pull this thing again. It would certainly be a major pita without pulling tha vac pump too, which I won't do because I don't want a leak from the seal to the timing case again. I just want to make sure this thing isn't completely defective or unsafe....