skyhigh4by

Currently 285/70/17 BUT those have only been on for the last 12k. Before that was 235/85/16

Yea it’s amazing. My truck only has 120k miles on it and basically everything has been replaced atleast once. We have rough winding roads where I live but still that shouldn’t shorten life span of parts that much. Around my area anyways dodge trucks have a very bad reputation for eating front end parts but I feel like that’s just a wide spread known thing

Okay. I already intended to get hold of dynamic in the next couple days. I’m hoping to get to his shop on an upcoming road trip. I am running his VB and got the rest of my trans parts from him. Being a Chevy guy I don’t know these dodge trannys well enough to tell if it’s actually functioning/shifting properly or not so hoping he can give a second opinion if I go see him.

I agree. They said they got it pretty good but with the roll in the tie rod will never be quite right. This is actually the second set of Napa joints. They replaced them under warranty (5yr/100000km) I only got about 10k/8months out of the first set. I would switch brands but new free parts are hard to pass up even if I do have to replace them more often. I will I’ll try the spacers out and see how that feels. If that doesn’t atleast make it somewhat better then I will have to start exploring other options for steering systems I guess

Yea I took it in for alignment just a few days ago because I replaced the control arm bushings and steering parts. They said they got it as close as they could but with the tie rod rocking back and forth they couldn’t get it completely straight

I feel the same about the 4x4 world I actually come from a world of built square body chevys (hydro assist crossover highsteer ftw)so I’m quite familiar with those sites. I was thinking maybe there was some specific reason this was happening or maybe some dodge specific part that would help this out. With some extra searching I’ve done and by what you say I will just make something like you suggested to prevent the tie rod from rolling.

I was considering buying those or making some myself. I just want to see what people have to say braise surely it has to be somewhat of a common problem. Dodge really dropped the ball when it comes to steering among other things haha

Could APPS have anything to do with it? I had truck on a scanner and at idle it’s reading .41v and WOT was 3.8v. Last time I checked it with DVM it seemed pretty linear through it’s range.

So you mean take the ends off and turn the ends right into the adjusting sleeve and then just turn the sleeve to lengthen it back out? All the steering stuff is Napa brand This video shows what I’m experiencing. Not my truck but same problem.

The track bar is DOR style mount with a straight bar and Heim joints. There’s no play whatsoever. Gear box is pretty new and has steering brace there isn’t any visible play there either. The play is from the whole tie rod bar rolling up and down as the wheels turn. I wouldn’t describe it as play or slop in the steering. Also I already adjusted the steering gear. The steering is tight and responsive in a turn and then there will just be a “dead spot” in the turn which is when the tie rod flops. I can lay under the truck and flip the whole tie rod back and forth with one hand and it’s all new parts. The alignment shop said “there is something wrong with the steering geometry, we can’t align it properly, the tie rods flops up and down when the steering wheel is moved through it’s range” If I adjust the tie rods ends won’t that put my toe out? I’m not really sure I understand what you mean...

Okay thanks

Okay so I’ve got some numbers. I’m not really sure what they are telling me so hopefully someone has some insight. Alt connected to battery (w-t mod), truck at idle, no accessories running @battery 0.018acv @alt B+ post 0.021acv Alt disconnected from battery, still at same idle @battery 0.015acv @alt B+ post 0.013acv now I’m not a DVM expect but for some reason with it set to 2v AV and the leads not connected to anything it is reading 0.016acv. Is this normal? Should it not zero if there’s nothing connected to it? Almost seems like the voltage jumps around if I move the DVM or leads at all too? The numbers seem low(good) but I’m still having early TC lockup issues

Took my truck in for an alignment and they told me they had a problem with the tie rod flopping back and forth when the steering wheel is turned. I also have a sort of “dead spot” in my steering while driving where the steering wheel turns a couple inches but nothing happens. I have what I think is called the “T” style steering system. The tie rod goes across from knuckle to knuckle and the drag link attaches to the tie rod. Maybe the HD style?? Anyways what can I do about the tie rod rolling? All the steering parts are fairly new and not worn.

But with the w-t mod done the alt charge wire goes straight to passenger side battery? My alt doesn’t have the plug in type field wires. It has the block that the charge, ground, and field wires all go through so the field wires are on 2 little studs held on with nuts. I cut the charge and ground off that block thing.

Okay so instead of grounding at the battery and testing the hot post on the alternator you mean just check for ac voltage right on the batteries themselves?

Ok thanks. How do I go about testing it unhooked? Suppose it would need to be on an alternator test bench? Does the speedo get its signal from the same output speed sensor because I haven’t noticed any issues with it? What about the apps could it be a culprit too?

W-T ground mod done, replaced alternator diode pack, and cleaned up and coated all grounds I could find with dielectric grease. Im still getting 0.033v at idle and I’m still having a lockup issue. My tc tries to lock early(40mph)under light throttle and then instantly unlocks until I gain a bit more speed and then will lock up again.

Is there a sure fire way to tell if the Denso diodes you sell will work in the alternator that I have or is it just a given that they will fit? Truck is a 98 24v auto

I’ve been having some minor OD/lockup quirks start showing up lately so figured I would start with an AC test. With truck at idle and minimal electrical load I got 0.053v between battery ground and alternator charge post. Then I decided to turn as much stuff in as I could (max a/c, high beam lights, mirror heaters, etc...) on the test also at idle speed I got 0.1xx volts with constant up and down fluctuation. So safe to assume that I have diode problems in my alternator likely causing my OD/lockup problems??? The alternator is only about 5000 miles old and functioning fine so I was thinking I would just install new diode and do the w-t ground mod while I’m at it.

UPDATE I adjusted the TV cable and got 1-2 and 2-3 pretty good but now I have an OD issue. For or some reason with light throttle it will try for OD at around 40mph. It’s almoat as if it instantly realizes it’s too early and it will drop back down to third then shortly after back up to OD around 46mph. If I’m heavier (50% plus) on the throttle the shift is much better up around 50mph. I don’t have an ac noise issue and I did an apps reset and checked that the voltage through it’s range is smooth and linear. What could make it try it try to grab 4th gear so early? The whole truck shudders when it happens. Seems to be more occurring when it warmed up too

Besides exhaust and trans the truck is completely stock 100k miles. The VB and clutches are from John. I am going to call him just thought maybe it was something obvious I wasn’t getting.

No I’d say the shifts are faster and crisper when it’s cold. Once warmed up the shifts are actually quite hard unless I’m heavy on the throttle then they’re better. All this stuff has been in for about 1k miles so it’s time to drop the fluid and I’m going to recheck the bands.(clutches and band are new raybestos GPZ) I was actually thinking that I would tighten the tv cable up a little bit at the same time. The shifts are pretty stacked with light throttle.

As the title states. My 47re actually shifts a lot smoother when it’s cold. The shifts can be quite hard once its warmed up especially in light throttle conditions. I’ve tried google but can’t find anyone with a similar issue.. I have a suncoast triple disk, dynamic VB, and all the billet stuff. Other than the trans everything else on the truck is stock.

Okay thanks guys

Is there a difference between the front doors for a 2dr quad cab vs a 4dr quad? I’m wondering if doors from a 94-98 will fit on a 98.5 truck.