Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
NOTE: The majority of this first post consists of the email I sent to the technical reps at Geno's Garage, as well as Borgeson. They've offered as much assistance as they can, which I am very thankful for, but I still have not been able to resolve the problem.
So I have a little bit of a technical issue that I need some assistance on, because I suspect that the new Borgeson Steering Gear Box that I installed may have been defective. But I wanted the opportunity to explain exactly what I installed and how installed it to see if there are any other possible causes. My purpose for installing all these new parts was to eliminate the steering wander, and small amount of play in the wheel that I constantly have to compensate for, especially at highway speeds when the problem is really pronounced and dangerous.
Originally I’d replaced the following parts through a local shop in my home state (to try and quickly eliminate the issue):
Upper Ball Joints
Lower Ball Joints
Outer Tie Rod Ends (Both)
Track Bar Bushings
Steering Damper
Sway Bar Links
This past weekend I was able to install the following parts from Geno’s Garage:
Borgeson Steering Gear Box (BORG 800123)
Dorman Pitman Arm (DRM 531727)
Borgeson Steering Shaft (BORG 000951)
As well as the following parts from O’rielly’s:
Cardone Select Power Steering Pump with Back plate, Aluminum body and new reservoir (CRN 96-1008R)
Dorman Power Steering Pulley (DOR 300-149)
MasterPro Inner Tie Rod End, To Pitman Arm (MPC ES-3624)
The power steering fluid I used was Valvoline Full Synthetic ATF+4 (Per the 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Manufacturer’s Service Manual, 5.9L Diesel Section). The original fluid was completely drained, and the system was flushed consistent with the procedure listed in 19-39 of the Service Manual. At no point was the reservoir empty, nor was the fluid foamy or contaminated in any way. None of the power steering lines leak either. There’s no play in either Front Wheel Bearings, all the Tires are brand new, Rotors and Pads are brand new. I’ve also already had three different 4WD/Front End Alignments performed (The most recent one is attached).
I also had to re-install the Synergy Steering Box Brace (PPM 8558-04) after carefully machining the mounting holes for the Pillow Bearing to accommodate the additional width of the upgraded Borgeson Steering Box. This was necessary because the Nut that was sent with the Borgeson Steering Gear Box completely stripped out at maybe 75 Ft-Lbs of torque and all but ruined at least 1 – 1.5 of the threads on the Steering Gear Box Output Shaft Stud. I have an electronic torque gauge, as well as a click type torque wrench pre-set at the 185 Ft-Lb specification. Prior to using the torque wrench, I put the nut on by hand to ensure that it wouldn’t be cross threaded. Then I used a 1/2 inch short ratchet to tighten it down a little more, and finally used my torque wrench to tighten it to specification when the nut stripped out completely after only a couple partial turns. After the nut had been destroyed, I had to remove the sharp metal shrapnel embedded in the threads of the stud. The remaining option I had was to install the lock nut and long pitman arm nut from the Synergy Steering Gear Box brace that I’d installed for the original gear box. I decided to modify the brace itself to comfortably accommodate the additional width of the gear box so that the pillow bearing could be installed properly. While tightening the pitman arm nut down (both times), I secured the pitman arm to the old inner tie rod end to prevent it from rotating to the extreme left or right against the steering stops in the gear box. Afterward I removed the old inner tie rod end and installed the new one. The pitman arm was also centered appropriately during the latest alignment.
After all of this, the steering has tightened up considerably, it feels significantly smoother, I actually have improved turning radius, and my hydro booster/brakes seem to be more effective when stopping. However, there’s still a small enough amount of play in the wheel/input side of the steering gear box that again I have to compensate for just like with the original steering gear box. The wandering is bad enough for me to be frustrated about after all of the work and money spent on the problem. I've checked the Turbo Diesel Register forums for anyone that experienced a similar issue after installing the Borgeson box, but I haven't found anything for my 3rd gen specifically (Most seem to be for 2nd gen).
Updates since then: After my back and forth with the technical experts, the only suggestion was that I tighten the steering gear box adjustment screw. I've done that twice this last week or so, and now the steering wheel has less than 1/2" of total play and steers very rigidly. I don't think I can tighten the Over Center Adjustment any tighter by screwdriver, the truck still returns to center for the most part after doing a figure 8, but I think I'll go ahead and back the screw off anyway. I really don't want to blow the box up.
I've re-torqued and greased everything. I really have no idea where to go from here. Any help at all would be appreciated.
So I have a little bit of a technical issue that I need some assistance on, because I suspect that the new Borgeson Steering Gear Box that I installed may have been defective. But I wanted the opportunity to explain exactly what I installed and how installed it to see if there are any other possible causes. My purpose for installing all these new parts was to eliminate the steering wander, and small amount of play in the wheel that I constantly have to compensate for, especially at highway speeds when the problem is really pronounced and dangerous.
Originally I’d replaced the following parts through a local shop in my home state (to try and quickly eliminate the issue):
Upper Ball Joints
Lower Ball Joints
Outer Tie Rod Ends (Both)
Track Bar Bushings
Steering Damper
Sway Bar Links
This past weekend I was able to install the following parts from Geno’s Garage:
Borgeson Steering Gear Box (BORG 800123)
Dorman Pitman Arm (DRM 531727)
Borgeson Steering Shaft (BORG 000951)
As well as the following parts from O’rielly’s:
Cardone Select Power Steering Pump with Back plate, Aluminum body and new reservoir (CRN 96-1008R)
Dorman Power Steering Pulley (DOR 300-149)
MasterPro Inner Tie Rod End, To Pitman Arm (MPC ES-3624)
The power steering fluid I used was Valvoline Full Synthetic ATF+4 (Per the 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Manufacturer’s Service Manual, 5.9L Diesel Section). The original fluid was completely drained, and the system was flushed consistent with the procedure listed in 19-39 of the Service Manual. At no point was the reservoir empty, nor was the fluid foamy or contaminated in any way. None of the power steering lines leak either. There’s no play in either Front Wheel Bearings, all the Tires are brand new, Rotors and Pads are brand new. I’ve also already had three different 4WD/Front End Alignments performed (The most recent one is attached).
I also had to re-install the Synergy Steering Box Brace (PPM 8558-04) after carefully machining the mounting holes for the Pillow Bearing to accommodate the additional width of the upgraded Borgeson Steering Box. This was necessary because the Nut that was sent with the Borgeson Steering Gear Box completely stripped out at maybe 75 Ft-Lbs of torque and all but ruined at least 1 – 1.5 of the threads on the Steering Gear Box Output Shaft Stud. I have an electronic torque gauge, as well as a click type torque wrench pre-set at the 185 Ft-Lb specification. Prior to using the torque wrench, I put the nut on by hand to ensure that it wouldn’t be cross threaded. Then I used a 1/2 inch short ratchet to tighten it down a little more, and finally used my torque wrench to tighten it to specification when the nut stripped out completely after only a couple partial turns. After the nut had been destroyed, I had to remove the sharp metal shrapnel embedded in the threads of the stud. The remaining option I had was to install the lock nut and long pitman arm nut from the Synergy Steering Gear Box brace that I’d installed for the original gear box. I decided to modify the brace itself to comfortably accommodate the additional width of the gear box so that the pillow bearing could be installed properly. While tightening the pitman arm nut down (both times), I secured the pitman arm to the old inner tie rod end to prevent it from rotating to the extreme left or right against the steering stops in the gear box. Afterward I removed the old inner tie rod end and installed the new one. The pitman arm was also centered appropriately during the latest alignment.
After all of this, the steering has tightened up considerably, it feels significantly smoother, I actually have improved turning radius, and my hydro booster/brakes seem to be more effective when stopping. However, there’s still a small enough amount of play in the wheel/input side of the steering gear box that again I have to compensate for just like with the original steering gear box. The wandering is bad enough for me to be frustrated about after all of the work and money spent on the problem. I've checked the Turbo Diesel Register forums for anyone that experienced a similar issue after installing the Borgeson box, but I haven't found anything for my 3rd gen specifically (Most seem to be for 2nd gen).
Updates since then: After my back and forth with the technical experts, the only suggestion was that I tighten the steering gear box adjustment screw. I've done that twice this last week or so, and now the steering wheel has less than 1/2" of total play and steers very rigidly. I don't think I can tighten the Over Center Adjustment any tighter by screwdriver, the truck still returns to center for the most part after doing a figure 8, but I think I'll go ahead and back the screw off anyway. I really don't want to blow the box up.
I've re-torqued and greased everything. I really have no idea where to go from here. Any help at all would be appreciated.
