**What steering do I have??

[The_Jackale]

So I went to order parts....but I went out to look and my dampener is flipped up and it doesn't look like any photos. Its been a long week so maybe Im just tired.

 

 

But is this a 3rd gen setup under this truck???

[Evan]

Y link that came factory on that truck

[Dieselfuture]

Looks like y link but dampening shock is in different place then mine, mine is at bottom. Guess in 97 it was up there. 

[IBMobile]

Take a look at this.

 

 

 

[The_Jackale]

14 hours ago, Dieselfuture said:

Looks like y link but dampening shock is in different place then mine, mine is at bottom. Guess in 97 it was up there. 

That's the part that is confusing me! We just found out my buddies 95 has the dampener in the same spot as mine, then another 97 i just ran into had double ones on the axle. 

Are there two different y type steering setups? And the 3rd with double dampeners on it would be a lifted HD version for bigger tires? so technically 3 on these trucks? I guess Ive never really got into steering as much as I thought not working on trucks and mostly cars all my life. 

[dripley]

19 minutes ago, The_Jackale said:

That's the part that is confusing me! We just found out my buddies 95 has the dampener in the same spot as mine, then another 97 i just ran into had double ones on the axle. 

Are there two different y type steering setups? And the 3rd with double dampeners on it would be a lifted HD version for bigger tires? so technically 3 on these trucks? I guess Ive never really got into steering as much as I thought not working on trucks and mostly cars all my life. 

The double one is most likely after market and not OE.

The y and t steering were option back in the late 90's i think.

Edited February 23, 2020 by dripley

[The_Jackale]

14 hours ago, IBMobile said:

Take a look at this.

 

 

Okay, so where Im getting confused at is I'm looking at upgraded steering setups. Stock had the dampener uptop, the upgrade moves it down below. Right?

 

[98whitelightnin]

My 95 had Y style just like your 97. The T style didn’t come out till 98. You can order the HD T style for a 98 for your 97 and it will be direct fit, but you won’t be able to add the bottom stabilizer. I have been running without a stabilizer for almost a year and recently added one. I removed it within two weeks because it made the truck walk the road. If your parts are all right, you don’t need it.

[Evan]

I agree with white lightnin

Dont worry about the dampners. hell get rid of them.

 

[The_Jackale]

I'm doing the HD steering. No damper, then adding in the steering stabilizer. Which looks like I can just use the one meant for the truck I have 1400 worth of parts to order this week. Next weekend will be fun! I have to adjust the steering box play and order the bushing I think.  

[Evan]

1400 in steering?

The mopar 2008.5+ is only 380

[The_Jackale]

1 minute ago, Evan said:

1400 in steering?

The mopar 2008.5+ is only 380

I wish, no. 1400 in steering, brakes, maintenance items. I just bought the truck so I'm replacing all the broken/warn out items. Working on finding the correct parking brake cables right now...

[Evan]

Gona say man the dealers get like 800 for the mopar death wobble possible cure

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

i went with w 3rd gen t setup with no damper...   i dont miss the old crap

[Mopar1973Man]

With my setup I'm at 410k miles. Now the first time I changed the tie rod ends was back at 350k miles. There isn't a real need for 3rd gen parts. The only trick to long life is staying away from oversized tire that add stress to these parts. I've used 235's and 245's sized tires for the life of the truck. To get 350k miles from the steering system is awesome without any braces, modifications, etc. 

[The_Jackale]

I'm back! Ran into some financial troubles and couldn't pay the membership haha. The truck now has T steering. Still having issues, body mounts, shocks, still feels like the tires are not tight enough together. And I of course somehow moved my steering looking for a donor truck because the more I got into the rust issues with this cab, the worse it got. Pitch welds are expanded beyond "easy" repair. Front end is still wobbling and jumping around on me. Nothing is actually "loose" that I can see or feel. My next project is getting this thing jacked all the way up and dropping the suspension down to feel it without load.

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

12 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

With my setup I'm at 410k miles. Now the first time I changed the tie rod ends was back at 350k miles. There isn't a real need for 3rd gen parts. The only trick to long life is staying away from oversized tire that add stress to these parts. I've used 235's and 245's sized tires for the life of the truck. To get 350k miles from the steering system is awesome without any braces, modifications, etc. 

i run 35" tires and did a lot of rock crawling and trail in colorado thus i needed beefier stuff

 

 

 

10 hours ago, The_Jackale said:

I'm back! Ran into some financial troubles and couldn't pay the membership haha. The truck now has T steering. Still having issues, body mounts, shocks, still feels like the tires are not tight enough together. And I of course somehow moved my steering looking for a donor truck because the more I got into the rust issues with this cab, the worse it got. Pitch welds are expanded beyond "easy" repair. Front end is still wobbling and jumping around on me. Nothing is actually "loose" that I can see or feel. My next project is getting this thing jacked all the way up and dropping the suspension down to feel it without load.

start from the steering gear make sure its tight on the adjuster and the frame, then the balljoint for the steering linkage (make sure it isnt worn) then the tie rod end joints for play, then jack a tire up and see if the balljoints and or the unit hubs have play.

 

then check the trackbar for play on the frame side balljoint (common)

 

i noticed play in my steering recently and found the unit bearing had failed causing slack. i have also found everything listed above to have been worn and a contributor to slack.

Edited April 26, 2020 by CUMMINSDIESELPWR

[The_Jackale]

43 minutes ago, CUMMINSDIESELPWR said:

 

start from the steering gear make sure its tight on the adjuster and the frame, then the balljoint for the steering linkage (make sure it isnt worn) then the tie rod end joints for play, then jack a tire up and see if the balljoints and or the unit hubs have play.

 

then check the trackbar for play on the frame side balljoint (common)

 

i noticed play in my steering recently and found the unit bearing had failed causing slack. i have also found everything listed above to have been worn and a contributor to slack.

 

So far, all new tierods, track bar, new bushings for the sway bar, it almost feels like the steering is okay (just slack from the box and possibly the shaft) Im almost wondering if my wheel is bouncing up and down like a damn basketball due to a really bad shock. I have a very very tiny bit of play in 1 ball joint, so those will be going on the list.

 

Another note, I have no front cab mounts (windshield is also cracked due to body drop) looking for a cab to swap. 

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

even a slight bit of play gets amplified through the mechanics so that one balljoint could be noticed.  how old is the hardware? (trackbar, TRE's, unit bearings etc?)

 

[The_Jackale]

On 4/26/2020 at 1:29 PM, CUMMINSDIESELPWR said:

even a slight bit of play gets amplified through the mechanics so that one balljoint could be noticed.  how old is the hardware? (trackbar, TRE's, unit bearings etc?)

 

I have all new TREs, new track bar (600 miles). I lifted the truck last night and my passenger side upper is toasted its 2x as bad as it was 600 miles ago. Ive also had 3 trips with 2 yards of soil in the back, and over 1500 lbs of bricks.

 

 Looks like I'm also needing rotors soon. And I have a U-Joint that I can't hear clicking over the motor, but I'm sure its clicking, its loose. Going to have some fun on the press I reckon. All these components I believe were original oem, the trucks only had a couple owners. 243k now on the clock. Ill be pushing 270k by next year. I've always owned gas rigs, I only paid 3800 for the truck, I'm at 5200 now with parts, another 1k In the front end is going to have the frame solid, looking for a donor truck for a cab. The rust on this one was a lot deeper than I thought. I can pick up a gas truck in my area for 1k running with 180k miles or so, diesels are 9k to 15k. And usually logging trucks or farm and beat.

 

The truck was a death trap when I got it. Was all over the road. It was the most insane 55 mph roller coaster ride down the freeway that I have ever been on. Its well over 80% better than it was. Im looking at front bearings, rotor hubs(I think?) Pads, two Ujoints, 4 ball joints, 4 shocks, steering dampener that works on T style. It also has wheel spacers and the 2015 dodge 18s on there, which might be causing trouble also. 275/70/18 tires, inner fronts are bald. Looking at 1k for tires but the rears are fine, I may just do the fronts.

The truck was a death trap when I got it. Was all over the road. It was the most insane 55 mph roller coaster ride down the freeway that I have ever been on. Its well over 80% better than it was. Im looking at front bearings, rotor hubs(I think?) Pads, two Ujoints, 4 ball joints, 4 shocks, steering dampener that works on T style. It also has wheel spacers and the 2015 dodge 18s on there, which might be causing trouble also. 275/70/18 tires, inner fronts are bald. Looking at 1k for tires but the rears are fine, I may just do the fronts.