03 and newer 4wd steering

[Cummins Cowboy]

This is for 4wd owners only, The biggest disappointment with my '02 is the steering. This thing steers like a worn out dump truck. I don't think there is anything "wrong" with the truck other than the fact it was made this way, the steering box is so slow it takes a lot of turning of the wheel to move the truck around. I can't believe a faster ratio box was not put on these trucks in the beginning. To go around the same bend on my street takes me moveing the steering wheel twice as much as I did with my old 2wd 1st gen with over 100k miles. So my question is was this fixed with the the '03's?????

 

[SRadke]

Much better...

The 03's not only have a faster ratio but I believe better power steering. The wheel turns much easier than my 96 did. I believe the figure is something less than two turns lock to lock on the 03's. I actually found it took some getting used to when backing up. Everything happens quick without much movement. Overall I am much happier with the steeing on this truck than on my 96.

-Scott Radke

 

[Kilby]

cummins cowboy, the '03s do have a quicker ratio in the new steering gear boxes than the older rigs. However, you can send your box into a rebuilder and have the ratio changed as well. I think they can change the amount of turns lock-to-lock as well but I'm not sure. If you're running large tires, you might want to get the pump boosted as well or have the box modified to work with a hydraulic steering ram too. I can get you phone numbers to mod shops if you're interested.

 

[Boonieman]

I also agree that the steering on the '03 is much improved over my old '01. My old truck also did a lot of "hunting" on the road, especially in snow or slick roads. My experience with the '03 has been very positive in all regards, except I still miss the sound of my '01.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Check your steering gear for slop. Mine had plenty and it drove like you describe. Dealer compared it to another truck on the lot and mine had lots of slop in comparison. After an adjustment, it drives like a new Honda!

 

[ab7fh]

Our '03 tracks much better than our '01 did. To me that's very surprising since the '03 is a 4x4 and our '01 was 4x2. I would have thought the SLA suspension on the '01 would have rode better than the SA on the '03, but this '03 is just terrific.

 

[Dean Upson]

Big improvement over my 98. 5 QC DRW 4x4 .



Dean

 

[BrandonJ]

I also think the steering on the '03 is great

 

[DLeno]

keep in mind that they also re-designed the trac bar for 2003. It looks an awful lot like the after market DT trackbar that is so well respected for the 2nd gens.



I wondered about the steering ratio. I don't mind it so much on my 02, but I sure felt the difference while test driving an 03. my 02 wanders like an old dump truck to (trac bar known problem) and the 03 felt like a sports car to me in comparison -- I found myself oversteering and had to quickly learn how to drive a responsive steering system again