Designed that way or...pure baloney?

[Jeremiah]

My '03 3500 SRW 4 x 4 Quad drifts too much to the right. I find myself holding what a pilot might call slight left aileron in order to track straight down the highway. It's not the crown because this happens when I switch to the oncoming lane too. The Dodge service guy says the trucks are designed this way to keep them from drifting into the wrong lane and having a head-on collision. I think the dealership doesn't want to mess with warranty work. What do others think? :-{}

 

[ryecreek]

+1

a real arm pain on those 700-800mi days

my front end parts are all new less than 5k set alignment dead on and new rubber

and i have the same issue

was fine leaving the lot when new though

 

[DCreed]

BS! find a new dealer.

 

[TWhetten]

He is full of crap, definitly go somewhere else and tell him to pound sand.

 

[Bob4x4]

They DO tend to have a right drift... ... ... less than a pull. Tires can amplify this.

On an 03 what kind of warranty covers alignment????

 

[Adventure Bob]

Well first I'd say slap your dealership for BS answers. Then you need to have them check your alignment. Roads in the US are generally crowned to the center and cause a bit of a pull to the right but trucks arent designed that way. Our trucks, 03s, have nearly dead straight steering specs which makes the crowned road effect more noticeable. The alignment spec is . 2 degrees +/- . 1 Thats as close to "straight ahead" as you can get with the equipment most shops use. So now the question to your stealership is: if the alignment spec is nearly dead true ahead, what design feature makes the truck pull right?

 

[jelag]

Alignment is a tough subject... . most vehicles have some additional caster on the right side, usually 1/2 - 1 degree more positive to allow for the crown of the road... .

Also, a belt that is not aligned correctly in the tire can cause this... swap the two front tires from side to side... if the problem either goes away, or now it drifts left on a flat road (no crown) its a tire problem and not an alignment problem...

Only a good alignment guy who has years of experience in fixing problems can find this...

Hope this helps...

 

[Bochuck]

Why does it seem to be that all to frequently a shop has difficulty repairing a vehicle to work as good as it comes from the factory? I had a 97 I bought new that ran smooth as all get out for 30K miles then started vibrating slightly. The dealership from Hell told me in a very smart a-- way " what do you expect? It's a truck!" I never did get the vibration fixed. I traded the vehicle in at a different dealership and never had a similar problem for over 150K miles.

 

[DCreed]

because none of the new techs are taught to think. They just do what the computer says.

 

[Bob4x4]

because none of the new techs are taught to think. They just do what the computer says.

or could it be paid to think. The way people get paid has a huge impact on how things happen.

 

[steved]

because none of the new techs are taught to think. They just do what the computer says.

Because they don't want to get stuck replacing balljoints...

 

[jelag]

When I was in school... I was taught to first understand the theory of operation... once I understood the theory, than why doesn't it work and where is the best spot to go to diagnosis the problem and fix it... .

so each time I have a problem with one of my trucks I learn the theory first... . than try and understand the problem... than go fix it... .

The guys today, as mentioned above don't have a clue how it works... but the computer will tell them whats wrong... .

I had a problem on the road with my 05 and had to have it towed... . by the time I got to the service department I had a list of what I'd tested and what I thought was wrong based on the copy of the owners manual on my laptop... . the service writer couldn't believe that I could do that much trouble shooting... .

It took the tech less than 10 min to find the problem (no computer) with a test light and fix it... I was in and out for under a $100... .

 

[ssanders60]

Jeremiah, I drove my 2500 4x4 quad cab '03 for 93,000 miles with it slightly

drifting to the right. I replaced the original tires (BFG) with Michelin

AT-2's, $1,000 dollars worth and it still pulled to the right. I took it

to Westside Dodge here in Jax and told the tech. exactly what it was doing

and he fixed it by "tweaking" it as he called it and now I could kick myself

for not having this done sooner.

What's puzzeling is the fact that it only wore the right side tires slightly

on the outer edge. While my front end showed to be in perfect alignment

the tech. tweaked it in the other direction. My new tires are wearing

perfectly, 7500 miles on them now and no more tired arm.

 

[pullya]

Jim,

If you got out of a dealership for less that a hundred bucks thats what I call "A Good Day"!!! They probably fired the mechanic cause he didn't take long enough,

Jay

 

[Bob4x4]

Because they don't want to get stuck replacing balljoints...

:-laf:-laf I just did 2 today

 

[Bob4x4]

When I was in school... I was taught to first understand the theory of operation... once I understood the theory, than why doesn't it work and where is the best spot to go to diagnosis the problem and fix it... .



so each time I have a problem with one of my trucks I learn the theory first... . than try and understand the problem... than go fix it... .



The guys today, as mentioned above don't have a clue how it works... but the computer will tell them whats wrong... .

The way things are done today is corporate driven,and they are pressed by the dealers to keep tech time in training to next to nothing so they do not have to pay for training or loose the tech time in the shop.

2010 Raytheon is taking over the training duties for Chrysler so we will see if it is a step forward or back(they do GM training already)

There are only 2 corporate tech reps in the state of California as I understand it now and one is on TDR

 

[DCreed]

The way things are done today is corporate driven,and they are pressed by the dealers to keep tech time in training to next to nothing so they do not have to pay for training or loose the tech time in the shop.

2010 Raytheon is taking over the training duties for Chrysler so we will see if it is a step forward or back(they do GM training already)

There are only 2 corporate tech reps in the state of California as I understand it now and one is on TDR

My uncle is a GM tech and he says the new guys are dumb as a stump! They will keep changing a sensor until told otherwise and then have no idea.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Think that i would find a diffrent shop

 

[DFairhurst]

Is your steering stablizer shock stock or have u changed it out. Some gas shocks have too much pressure an cause it to pull to the right side. I aired mine down to about 200psi and it fixed the problem, but alot of shocks dont have the valve on them. I think the stock ones are a hydrolic shock not gas. any way hope it helps. oh

 

[Jeremiah]

Jeremiah, I drove my 2500 4x4 quad cab '03 for 93,000 miles with it slightly

drifting to the right. I replaced the original tires (BFG) with Michelin

AT-2's, $1,000 dollars worth and it still pulled to the right. I took it

to Westside Dodge here in Jax and told the tech. exactly what it was doing

and he fixed it by "tweaking" it as he called it and now I could kick myself

for not having this done sooner.

What's puzzeling is the fact that it only wore the right side tires slightly

on the outer edge. While my front end showed to be in perfect alignment

the tech. tweaked it in the other direction. My new tires are wearing

perfectly, 7500 miles on them now and no more tired arm.

That is interesting. I wonder what he meant by "tweaking?" My dealer says everything is lined up and in specification. He suggested doing offset BJs but I'm not sure about that. I'd do it if he'd guarantee it would be fixed. They won't do that, of course, because the factory doesn't recognize that offset ball joints even exist.