03 Alignment

[MMeier]

I still like my truck, but when I traded off my'97 at 102,000 it still had never seen an alignment rack, it still tracked straight as an arrow!! Also got 92,000 out of the original Goodyears on the thing!! Before one let go!

 

[jcarver]

FWIW, mine was the straightest-driving Dodge I have owned out of a '97, '99, an '01, and this '03. On a flat road I could let my hands off the wheel and it would track straight as long as the road stayed straight. As soon as I put on a set of American Racing 17X8 Atlas wheels with 285/70R17 BFG All-Terrain T/A's, she started pulling to the right. I haven't got a chance yet, but I am going to try cross-switching the front tires to hopefully correct it. I was beginning to enjoy the way this truck drove straight as an arrow.

 

[EBramwell]

I did a little test with my truck last night, now that I know about this Radial Pull. Here is what I found. When in the right hand lane the truck will glide to the right when I let go of the steering wheel, so I thought lets see what happens in the left hand lane. I had two miles of flat open road, and a big truck in front of me so I passed him and stayed in the left hand lane long enough to let go of the steering wheel. Well guess what, it went left this time.

I had never heard of this radial pull before, but it really seems to me that is in fact what I'm experiencing?

The truck drives very well, and I'm going to continue to test it on some different road conditions, the radial pull sure sounds better than a tweaked frame!

To be continued... ... ... ... ... .

 

[EXSTROKER]

I was feeling left out...

mene is 2*2 but just in general drives like crap

all my dodge buddys say its just to many years

of strokin the f**d

 

[Prairie Dog]

If I understand you correctly, your saying you 03 drives like crap? I would have expected the new rack and pinion to be a great drive, even better than my 4X4. Can you expound upon your comment?

 

[kbarlow]

The pull on mine is very slight up to 70 and is completely gone at 100 mph.



Ken

 

[Parshal]

Originally posted by EBramwell

I did a little test with my truck last night, now that I know about this Radial Pull. Here is what I found. When in the right hand lane the truck will glide to the right when I let go of the steering wheel, so I thought lets see what happens in the left hand lane. I had two miles of flat open road, and a big truck in front of me so I passed him and stayed in the left hand lane long enough to let go of the steering wheel. Well guess what, it went left this time.

I had never heard of this radial pull before, but it really seems to me that is in fact what I'm experiencing?

The truck drives very well, and I'm going to continue to test it on some different road conditions, the radial pull sure sounds better than a tweaked frame!

To be continued... ... ... ... ... .

Mine does the same thing as did my two previous Toyota's. I took the Toyota's in numerous times and they said the same thing every time, pull due to road crown. I've just accepted it with this truck.

 

[EBramwell]

Got some interesting info from one of our local tire shop owners in my hometown. I explained my dilemma to him, and he said radial pull shouldn’t affect a dually? I explained that it followed the crown of the road depending on what side I was on, he thought the dealer was probably right about the frame being out of spec. He told me that as soon as they got the 2003 spec's for front-end alignment to bring my sheet from the dealer by so he could compare and give me a reading.

I don’t know what to think now?

 

[M36]

I came home the other day via the shortcut (dirt road) I would swear that there was a slight slant to the left in the direction I was going, otherwise it is just flat. The steering wheel was straight where it should be and I dont think it was pulling. If it was it was very slight.



Im confused and still have a hard time with "radial pull" and the "crown of the road" effect.



Jim

 

[MMeier]

I can change over to the other side of the road and mine will still go off to the right, even though I can see the road crowning to the left. Still ain't buying into the "radial pull" or the "crown of the road " !!

 

[SilverFox]

I took my '03 back to the dealer at 400 miles to have him check the alignment. It pulled to the right. My dealer is a small Texas dealer and does not align what he sells but instead sends them down the street to the independent alignment shop. I took the truck down myself and told the owner that the truck pulled to the right. He drove it up on the rack and took one look and said he'd seen that new kind of axle before and it couldn't be aligned. He told me he could change the "concentric" but it would not change the alignment. I was leaving the next morning on what turned out to be a 7000 mile trip from TX to OR and down through CA and finally back to TX a couple of days ago. Since the truck did not pull very bad I thought I'd just have to live with it until I returned, which I did. Now that I'm back, I want to get it fixed. My next move will be to see another alignment shop and if he can't work on it I'll try to find a frame shop and see if anything can be done along those lines.

 

[Archive]

My 2x4 also pulls ever so slightly to the right and it has only 250 miles on it. I'm going to check the tire pressue and make sure they are even. Maybe air up the right front a little higher than the left to compensate?

 

[ddutil]

Originally posted by Prairie Dog

If I understand you correctly, your saying you 03 drives like crap? I would have expected the new rack and pinion to be a great drive, even better than my 4X4. Can you expound upon your comment?

I dunno about EXSTROKER's 2x4 but my rack & pinion handles very weel, turns corners very sharp. I would not go back to the steering my 1996 2x4 2500 had. The rack & pinion is definitely a plus, as the new disks, new doors, etc. . And the beast goes perfectly straight so far (9k miles).



Dan

 

[RaymondSchultz]

My 2 X 4 also heads down the road as straight and easy as can be, I agree that the new rack & pinon steering is a real plus, love every minute that I spend behind the wheel.

 

[dnitzel]

Mine drives straight, even pulling two trailers. Steers so good that it's easy to lose track of driving and day dream. The 285 BFG ATs seem to drive much better than the 265 Michelins. 4200 getting better all the time miles. Mileage is becoming respecable as well. 12. 4 towing, 19 highway, 14 in town, calculated.

 

[Badunit]

Mine tracks straight down the road. The steering is tight and responsive. This was one of my main reasons for trading in my '01 for an '03, the '01 had loose steering and took way too much attention. Of course, I also fell in love with the new CTD (my '01 had a 360).



I'd like to hear more about the "new kind of axle can't be aligned" comment. The concentric sets the caster as in previous years so that part of the alignment is adjustable. The camber cannot be changed (at least without an adjustable ball joint) but that's no different than most other straight axles and no different from previous years. Maybe an adjustable ball joint isn't available?

 

[SilverFox]

Badunit,



As soon as I have time (probably next week) I'm going to take my truck to another independent shop to see if he knows any more than the shop my dealer recommended. I'll post what he tells me. After that I'll try to find a frame shop to see if they have any ideas.



I love the truck, it's much more pleasant to drive than my '99 power stroke. So far, at 7800 miles (4000 towing at near 23000 lbs. combined weight) that's my only real complaint. If it would only track straight and with the additional of a few more after market goodies that should be factory options, everything would be rosy



Hank

 

[MUDDY]

Originally posted by Badunit

Maybe an adjustable ball joint isn't available?

thats what it is. be a while b4 dc has one for the american axle,,,,but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,possibly the aftermarket will have 1 soon



dlr said wrrnty on alignment be good till 12k miles.

 

[SilverFox]

Badnut and muddymess,



I think you guys are right about non-adjustable ball joints. I'll find out for sure next week when I talk to the alignment shop. If D/C had done this thing right we wouldn't have to depend on after market stuff. At least our initial cost was less than if we had gone for a Ford or GM product. Amazing what we'll put up with to have a Cummins under the hood.



Muddymess if you hear of an after market adjustable ball joint please PM or email me.



Hank

 

[rogerblind]

amazing!!

Signed a contract for a 2003 2500 4X4, but asked dealer to check slight pull to the right (hadn't read this topic). Next morning the dealer called and advised that truck could not be aligned due to non-adjustable ball joints. Had checked after market and DC, and no adjustable joints available. Offered to give my money back. I chose a different truck, which tracked straight. First truck was still off the lot a week later. Amazing ... an honest dealer!!