Finally, Tie rod ends and drag link replacement.

[Mopar1973Man]

I gave up at 335k miles. I was notcing more cupping of the shoulders of the tires from a possible toe issue (slack in the tie rod ends). I got me the part tonight and tomorrow I'll be installing fresh steering parts under the front of the truck. Funny part is it still steers tight and straight its the cupping of the shoulders of the tires that's bugging me. 335k miles I'm sure there is a bit a slack in the tie rod ends and could be toeing in on itself creating the issue on the tires.  

[Marcus2000monster]

16 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

I gave up at 335k miles. I was notcing more cupping of the shoulders of the tires from a possible toe issue (slack in the tie rod ends). I got me the part tonight and tomorrow I'll be installing fresh steering parts under the front of the truck. Funny part is it still steers tight and straight its the cupping of the shoulders of the tires that's bugging me. 335k miles I'm sure there is a bit a slack in the tie rod ends and could be toeing in on itself creating the issue on the tires.  

Soory to hijack your thread but I measured the tread on my tires for a red neck alignment  and and they’re 2 inches wider at the front than the back. I’m afraid if I go fiddling with it I’ll mess with tire wear? Also my steering wheel has a lot of slip in it. I watched he linkage down to the steering box and noticed that no linkage past the box was moving but all the way to he box from the wheel was a lot of slack...  Let us know if that helps with your tires wearing funny! I noticed on my tires that it seems like the edges of the tread are rough like they chipped off. Prob cuz they’re cheap tires. What brand of parts Re you going with?

[Dieselfuture]

Funny you mention this uneven tire wear. My tires seem to cup very slightly on the outside but also some on inside, and I was wondering if it was more of a balance thing because I'm running counteract beads in there. My steering is all original but I only have 160k on it, Y stile. It still feels tight for losenes but I can grab a hold of a tire rod and twist it fairly easy. I've been also thinking about changing it and going with T style. Maybe even try to sell y style on Craigslist for few bucks sense it still feels good. Just didn't want to spend money for something I may not need yet. But definitely have been dreaming about more beefier T style setup, which I'm guessing you're not going with. 

 

@Marcus2000monster my toe in is 1/8" at most, 2" out your tires wouldn't last long. And they would also feel very touchy on the steering wheel like it would want to go left or right all the time. Make sure you're measuring from exact same spot to exact same spot on the tread front to back on a tire. And you want tow-in not out.

[Marcus2000monster]

41 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

Funny you mention this uneven tire wear. My tires seem to cup very slightly on the outside but also some on inside, and I was wondering if it was more of a balance thing because I'm running counteract beads in there. My steering is all original but I only have 160k on it, Y stile. It still feels tight for losenes but I can grab a hold of a tire rod and twist it fairly easy. I've been also thinking about changing it and going with T style. Maybe even try to sell y style on Craigslist for few bucks sense it still feels good. Just didn't want to spend money for something I may not need yet. But definitely have been dreaming about more beefier T style setup, which I'm guessing you're not going with. 

 

@Marcus2000monster my toe in is 1/8" at most, 2" out your tires wouldn't last long. And they would also feel very touchy on the steering wheel like it would want to go left or right all the time. Make sure you're measuring from exact same spot to exact same spot on the tread front to back on a tire. And you want tow-in not out.

I need tp measure at the back of the tire and make sure the whole setup isn't jut wider than the back. I doubt it is. The tire wear seems fairly even though so its wierd that I wouldn't notice it more? It does pull to the left and sometimes to the right. What is counteract beads?

[01cummins4ever]

@Mopar1973Man  Worn shocks are usually a contributer to cupping of tires too. 

[Mopar1973Man]

1 hour ago, 01cummins4ever said:

@Mopar1973Man  Worn shocks are usually a contributer to cupping of tires too. 

 

Typically across the entire face of the tire. This is only the inside shoulder of the front axles. 

10 hours ago, Marcus2000monster said:

What brand of parts Re you going with?

 

Hankook DynaPro ATm - This is my second set and I got over 60k on my first set. This set I'm at 30k miles and still going strong. 

1 hour ago, Marcus2000monster said:

I need tp measure at the back of the tire and make sure the whole setup isn't jut wider than the back. I doubt it is.

 

Measure off the wheels not the tires.

[trreed]

33 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

10 hours ago, Marcus2000monster said:

What brand of parts Re you going with?

 

Hankook DynaPro ATm - This is my second set and I got over 60k on my first set. This set I'm at 30k miles and still going strong. 

Brand of steering parts Mike!  Not tires lol.

[Mopar1973Man]

More Coffee needed... Sorry...

 

NAPA - Standard line. Premium was well over 300 bucks I can't afford it. 

Edited February 28, 2018 by Mopar1973Man

[CTcummins24V]

7 hours ago, 01cummins4ever said:

@Mopar1973Man  Worn shocks are usually a contributer to cupping of tires too. 

 

I didn't tighten the top nut enough for the rubber grommets on the shock mounts and it made the outer edges of my tires cup. Inside shoulder cupping sounds like ford syndrome where the top of the wheel is pointing in.  

[IBMobile]

    Measure front steering tow in/out.  Drive a 16p nail through a 2-3' long 2X4.  Jack up a front wheel and with white spray paint spray a line on the center of the tire while spinning the wheel.  Before the paint dries place the tip of the nail on the center of the tire.  Holding the 2X4, so the nail doesn't move, spin the tire.  Now you have reference points front and back of the tire to measure.  Do the same to the other tire.  

 Place tires on ground with weight of truck on them.  Using a stick,2X2 and no shorter than 77", place it against the front of the 2 tires and mark on it where the center of the tires are.  Now take the stick to the rear of the tires.  Using one of the marks on the stick as a common point for front and back of the right tier  mark the stick where the left rear center line is.  Measure the distance between these two marks and this will be the front end tow set.

    If the front measuring mark is greater than the rear then the wheels are towed out, and if less then they are towed in.  

Edited March 1, 2018 by IBMobile

[Dieselfuture]

Screenshot captured

[Mopar1973Man]

I cheated. 

 

I left the truck on the ground with the steering wheel straight. So now when I removed all the parts from the steering the tires are still pointed straight forward and the steering wheel is straight too. Now Build the new tie rod setup and when you are doing your adjustment collars run them in till you feel the dirt bottom. This will get you close. Now start with the drag link hang it in the pitman arm and lightly thread the nut on. Now the passenger side tie rod same thing lightly tighten the nut. Then do the last the driver side tie rod. It went back together like it was designed for the placement. Once everything is in place you basically tighten everything up with two wrenches. 

 

I've still got to measure the toe amount but I know its really close at this point. The only thing I had to do is adjust the steering wheel center which I've got it close. Just a wee bit to the left yet. 

 

As for removal. Since it so cold out here I beat that pickle fork in nice and tight and then using a bit of propane torch heat heating the outer knuckles strike the pickle fork one more time and POP out it comes every time. 

 

So I can say 335k miles on the OEM tie rods ( Y steering ) works just fine as long as your not using oversized tires!

Edited March 1, 2018 by Mopar1973Man

[Marcus2000monster]

10 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Measure off the wheels not the tires.

What do you mean? Measure from the insides of the wheels?

[Mopar1973Man]

Can't measure from the rubber its not exact enough. The rim edge on most wheels have a flat area for the bead of the tire. Measure from rear and the front. 

[Mopar1973Man]

I've got to admit I screwed up... 

 

I was trying to cheat and change out the parts with the truck parked straight in the shop and mount the parts without disturbing the toe. Sad part was it ate the front tires up pretty good after 2 trips to Ontario, OR. I noticed when I was installing the new steering dampener. I hate to see the angle I had before. 

 

I asked MoparMom to hold the tape measure found out I was toed out pretty good. I readjust the toe to using a standard tape measure. Lesson learned... 

 

Take the time and at least measure in your new parts and then find an alignment shop. I got lucky and they were having a sale on it and it only cost me $32 for the alignment and took about 45 minutes. Now it drives like a sports car.

 

Super tight steering, ZERO slop, and very reactive. 

 

 

[Marcus2000monster]

Checked alignment and it checked out nearly perfect. I’m thinking I’m going to go for a new steering gear to fix the awful slop. Would you get a stock replacement or Bluetop steering gears or redhead or what? Supposedly Bluetop is a knock off of Redhead and that Blue actually does a bunch of work for Red currently. 

How mny turn are our stock steering boxes? 4? 

[Mopar1973Man]

1 hour ago, Marcus2000monster said:

I’m going to go for a new steering gear to fix the awful slop.

 

Don't do that. Call Blue Top steering talk to Ryan. Get a kit from him and rebuild it yourself. Super easy and way cheaper! I'm going to be doing a rebuild this spring when I can park the Cummins and drive the gasser. I've already talked to Ryan once already and the kit is like $40-50 bucks with the output shaft bearing IIRC.

 

1 hour ago, Marcus2000monster said:

How mny turn are our stock steering boxes?

 

I'll tell you don't change the ratio on the box. Big mistake, leave it alone. Worse yet I've seen guys struggle with small ratio boxes and oversized tires and wonder why they keep breaking stuff. Leave the high ratio box there less stress on the box and easier to turn the tires without excessive stress. 

[Marcus2000monster]

1 minute ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 

Don't do that. Call Blue Top steering talk to Ryan. Get a kit from him and rebuild it yourself. Super easy and way cheaper! I'm going to be doing a rebuild this spring when I can park the Cummins and drive the gasser. I've already talked to Ryan once already and the kit is like $40-50 bucks with the output shaft bearing IIRC.

 

 

I'll tell you don't change the ratio on the box. Big mistake, leave it alone. Worse yet I've seen guys struggle with small ratio boxes and oversized tires and wonder why they keep breaking stuff. Leave the high ratio box there less stress on the box and easier to turn the tires without excessive stress. 

Ok I read somewhere about a guy that replaced stock with a 3 turn box and loved it. But I am willing to stick with whatever brings top performance and longevity. I’ll give him a call. Thanks for the tip! 

[Mopar1973Man]

2 minutes ago, Marcus2000monster said:

Ok I read somewhere about a guy that replaced stock with a 3 turn box and loved it.

 

Just like changing the final gears in the axle from 3.55 to 3.00 it just going to make the engine struggle more. Being your the engine twisting the steering wheel and power steering pump assisting which will turn into more heat. High ratio might take more turns but reduces all the stress on the steering box and pump. 

 

This is why I'm still running the factory OEM pump and steering box yet. 

Edited March 7, 2018 by Mopar1973Man