Other Generations of Dodge with loose - goose steering?

[flagmanruss]

Are there other years / generations besides Second Gen that have Loose Goose steering problems?  Is there contineuity to it?   Is it the Diesel & V10s that have this or across the product line?  2WD?  4WD?  Should I throw in the towel & buy another brand truck?  

My ancient C30 never had this.   Early 60s Jeep Wagoneer (rust bucket) with solid front axle (and Buick V8) never had this.  

WTF?     

[joecool911]

You can't be serious? Throw away your truck just because of steering issues? Look at all the other positives.  Later 3rd Gen truck have made steering improvements.  You can upgrade to some of their components. Track bar, etc..

[flagmanruss]

Please remember I am disabled, I have to pay to have any work done on my truck.  I have already had the front end gone over by a front end shop & done the third gen track bar upgrade. 

The question remains, do First Gens have these issues?  Third Gen's?   SSDI only goes so far & I still have to live. 

[joecool911]

Sorry man. I've got a bad hip and it's hard for me to do much right now too. Did my front brakes last weekend and I'm paying for it now. Getting up and down is hardest for me. But I still intend keeping my truck forever. I might go to a 2003 stick shift someday though.

[dorkweed]

Russ, I've owned both a 2nd gen and a 3rd gen.  Both I bought new.

 

IMNTBHO, the 3rd gens were "night and day" better than the 2nd gens when new regarding steering!!!

 

Have you had the steering box adjustment done???  There's a "jam" nut of sorts that takes the "slack" up in the steering.  Don't know if that'll help your 'wandering" issues though, but it'll take the "play" out of the wheel and make the wander less noticeable.

[Mopar1973Man]

I found that proper tire pressure makes a difference in steering. Like I've been calculating by weight. Now knocking -5 from my calculated pressures made it bit more stable tracking.

 

Some others like the heavy camber IIRC.

 

Some truly have broken or wore out steering parts.

[dorkweed]

Whenever I run long distances down the Interstates;  I find my steering actually "tighten" up a bit.  I think it's due to less road crown and mostly better built roads..................flatter, no truck ruts etc.

 

My tires look very different after driving the Interstates for a while vs. my normal suburbia driving.

[CSM]

After getting new ball joints, my steering is decent... As good at least as it was near new, which was marginal anyway.  

[Wild and Free]

I grew up driving a 1940's Chevy 1 1/4 ton truck and some 1960 's and 70's IH 1 1/2 ton and bigger grain trucks and semis and various other trucks as a kid on the farm so believe me when I say I know what loose steering is, heck my first vehicle was a 1966 GMC 2wd half ton and all had 1/4 + turn of the steering wheel before doing any noticeable steering  "and that was with the old steering wheels that were huge as compared to modern rides."  

Anyone who wants to complain about steering needs to revisit history and learn how to drive an old rig and become fluent with them, I can set you up with a old IH M narrow front end tractor in a gopher mound & badger hole infested hay field to really show you what bad steering is all about.

 

Its a miracle I am not disabled by the steering wheels of some of the old stuff I learned to drive that had no power steering.

 

Back on topic, I have had to do steering work on every ride I have ever owed and driven over the years no matter the brand name on the grill except for my wife's 03 Jetta with 280K miles on it. That thing seems 2B bullet proof even seeing thousands of miles of gravel roads a year too.

[Mopar1973Man]

Even my old 1972 Dodge Power Wagon has excellent steering. But I've always been picky about my vehicles.

 

I drove a old 1971 Ford Pickup for a glass company that was so washed out that it was like 90* of steering wheel to change. Talk about swinging the wheel back in forth. It was so bad that I nearly cause a accident on the 405 freeway heading to a job site. I told my boss I would never drive that truck again.

[flagmanruss]

That was how my (Jap built) Challenger was when I got it back in the property settlement.  Come to find the lash adjustment bolt was stripped out of the cover.  We weren't on speaking terms so I never found out how it came to be that way.  It was at least a quarter turn to get action at the wheels.   

 

I had the Cummins out today.  It made it up to 40*.  Wife cleared some of the snow out ofthe back of the truck for me.  It seemed to track a bit better today or maybe I was driving slower.  The steering is constantly 1 inch either way of center to keep lane at 60-65.  It is exhausting to drive this way. 

 

I've not driven much since I had the 3rd Gen track bar upgrade, rear U bolts replaced, front end shop went over the front & didn't find anything else to fix, fresh alignment. 

 

Trying to think logically, I think attempting to adjust the lash on the steering box should be the first step when we get a break in the weather.  I hope it's not too hard to get to. 

 

I'm thinking to try to get some help inspecting the steering shaft lower bearing (aka Rock Solid Ram Truck Steering).  I think the shaft wobble should be visible if that's a problem.  I'm thinking I may be able to stand on the step with the hood up & work the wheel (engine off).   

 

Next, a steering box brace...     None of these are high cost. 

   

More snow coming tonight...  

[diesel4life]

Can you do a refresher on what all youhavr replaced in the front end recently? Although these trucks are notorious for having excessive steering wander it is not the norm. Theres definitely something we are over looking with your truck. My former 00 tracked straight as an arrow with close to 400k on the clock. My 98 only has 125k but also tracks very well. I run 285/75/17s (34" tall) tires as well.

Hang in there, Russ.

[flagmanruss]

This is an on going problem...  I've not used the truck much in the last couple of years largely because of the wander...  been chasing it without fixing it.  In the meantime, we've found & fixed other things.    

The truck is 01.5  8800 GVW, camper package, plow package.  The Cooper 265/75R16 A/T3 are the same size as the option which came on the truck.  Now have about 70,000 miles. 

The first time I recall was when we picked up the toyhauler in 2010 & towed it home with the WD hitch non-functional.  I blamed it on the WD hitch being incorrectly assembled by the seller...  but maybe not?? 

 

The coil sping cups on the front axle had rusted out.  Since they are not available as a separate part, I had repair parts fabricated & installed.  The wander predated this & it didn't change it though I'm really glad the springs didn't pop off the axle.   

I had the truck in the front end shop & had the 3rd Gen track bar upgrade done & aligned.  Shop didn't find the track bar to be bad but did it for me since I wanted to eliminate it as a cause.  I'm a good customer at the front end shop & I've had them check components several times.  I think we've replaced one TRE.   

I had the U bolt plates fail under the rear axle last summer...  allowed the rear axle to move forward & back on one side...  truck was all over the road when that happened.  The same shop replaced the U bolts, spacer blocks, plates under the axles.  With this fixed, I'm back to 'just' previous wander.   

 

To keep the truck tracking properly in lane at 60-65, I have to work the wheel back & forth constantly...  an inch or slightly more either side of center...  so a range of 2-2.5 inches on the wheel constantly. 

Edited March 7, 2015 by flagmanruss

[Mopar1973Man]

Sound like the gear box needs adjustment maybe? Sector adjustment.

 

Someone needs to verify the steering linkage is tight too.

[diesel4life]

Sound like the gear box needs adjustment maybe? Sector adjustment.Someone needs to verify the steering linkage is tight too.

I agree,I would check this out next. Ball joints can also cause wandering. If yours are original they are more than likely dried up by now. I bought my 98 with 67k miles on the truck and while everything felt tight I had more steering wander than my 00 with close to 400k which I still had at the time. One of the lower ball joints boots was dry rotted and had a small tear in it, so I opened it up a little more for inspection. It was so dry there was actually rust in there. I replaced all 4 and my steering has been good and tight ever since.

[Wild and Free]

Steering column bushings can cause some of this too as well as the shaft between the column and steer gear can become sloppy.

[dorkweed]

Steering column bushings can cause some of this too as well as the shaft between the column and steer gear can become sloppy.

 

 

I remember reading a thread about this somewhere.  It was a fix for the column prior to the steering gear box.  I don't recall where I read it though.

[flagmanruss]

I am going to check the steering box sector adjustment first. 

 

Then I'm planing to do a steering box brace and steering column fix http://rocksolidramtrucksteering.com/  Both are realitively cheap and supposed to be a couple of hours each...  so each should be completed in "a day".         

[diesel4life]

Please report back!

[flagmanruss]

Once we get rid of the snow in the back of the truck...