2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Check this picture out!

[FFSchooley]

I hit a nice, soft snow bank going about 20 MPH. No body damage, the bumper took the brunt of the impact. But check this out. I guess I had the wheels cranked to one side when I hit. The impact somehow caused the output shaft of the power steering gear box to shear in half! Kind of bizarre since I didn't hit that hard. This is my 8th gear box in 150,000 miles. After the original one went, I put in an AGR. That went out after a while, so I put in 4 different boxes from PSS. All had different issues, so I decided to put this stock box in that I got from NAPA. Now that I destroyed it, I am not sure what to do next. I guess I could try a PSS. I have the DSS and a steering stabilizer, so I am not sure what would have prevented this. Maybe its just bad luck with the box, but this could have been bad if it happened on a freeway. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[Mishkaya]

That's pretty wicked! First time I've seen a picture like that! Good luck on your fix.

mishkaya

 

[DF5152]

Nice someone should really contact NTSB and let them know I have handled a couple of accidents that the shaft looked like that and my best estimate is the shaft sheared before the accident... .

 

[TMills]

That has to be because of the DSS. I've never seen anything like that with a 20 mph crash.
I believe someone from KORE or DPP recommended not running the DSS because of problems like this.

 

[FFSchooley]

So after all the great things I have heard about the DSS, it actually has the potential to cause something like this? I am just in shock because of the fact that very little impact caused this. I have also had a steering box lock up completely when I drove onto my driveway. I was not able to steer at all. Once again I was lucky it happened there and not 4 minutes earlier when I was on the freeway. I am afraid that my luck is going to run out! I know that having 35" tires does not help, but this box was a few weeks old and had seen nothing but freeway and in-town driving. How are the guys that are running these things in the Baja configuring their steering?

 

[Simplysmn]

My box off of my crewcab was just like that but we also rolled but to me the box is the weak link in the system

 

[San Felipe Bob]

Ah Ha

So the guys at Kore were not Bs ing me.

They said the DSS was not suitable for racing off road ( Getting air) because it does not allow the frame to flex. When you hit the bank at full lock the force of impact had nowhere to go. Add the leverage of the 35's and Kaa Powww.. Make one area storong and it sends the force to the next weakest spot. Which in your case was the steering box.

With out the DSS the frame would have flexed at the point where the box mounts to the frame.

I know the Class 1 and Trophy Trucks run very expensive steering systems.

Thousands of dollars$$$$$$$$$$$$$$



I run the DSS on my truck to keep the sector shaft seals alive.

I 'm sure it helps eliminate some of the wandering effect.



Check out the next box you get very closely to be sure there are not dings , scars , or even marks on the shaft that might cause a stress point.



Cheers

SFB

 

[fest3er]

That sort of momentary high-energy impact may explain the various P/S mount and frame rail cracks reported in the past.

Does anyone make steering dampers akin to those used on dirt bikes? That is, a dampener that allows suitable 'slow' motion, but almost completely prevents rapid high-speed motion.

Or, asked another way, are the typical steering dampers on these trucks really adequate?

 

[Bob4x4]

Hit anything hard enough and something will break :-laf

Kore can not run a dss in stock full ! I know in the past the kore team has been plauged with steering issues no matter what brand. I have seen many Dodges chasing in Baja and pre running with the dss with out issues. I have seen p/s gear boxes worn out in as little as 40 miles down there. It can be brutal and the drivers job is to get to the end with out breaking if possible. I do not beleive the dss stiffens the frame to any appreciable degree,it is too close to the front cross member in my opinion.

 

[tdcummins]

Ouch!!!!! That hurts just looking at it. Good luck to ya!

 

[WilsonF]

A friend broke a shaft in his truck just turning the wheels "steering" W/O a steering brace. I think that if you use your truck for what it was intended for the steering brace will work well. I've got one coming and will put it on the day it gets here.

Floyd

 

[FFSchooley]

Your friend broke his just steering? Sounds like this could be a death sentence if it happens at higher speeds. Does having a kore steering stabilizer add to the stress or is it just the fact that I have 35" tires? Are there any steering boxes out there that have stronger sector shafts that stock?



When I get home I will have to take a picture of the fracture. You can see where it looks like there might have been an air bubble or some sort of imperfection in the core of the shaft.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Personally, for the on-street and RV towing my truck does, I'm fully confident my DSS provides FAR more advantages than any potential failures...

 

[fest3er]

So after all the great things I have heard about the DSS, it actually has the potential to cause something like this? I am just in shock because of the fact that very little impact caused this. I have also had a steering box lock up completely when I drove onto my driveway. I was not able to steer at all. Once again I was lucky it happened there and not 4 minutes earlier when I was on the freeway. I am afraid that my luck is going to run out! I know that having 35" tires does not help, but this box was a few weeks old and had seen nothing but freeway and in-town driving. How are the guys that are running these things in the Baja configuring their steering?

Just thinking on this again. Used it was my steering would often 'lock up' as I entered my driveway. But it hasn't happened in quite a few years; IIRC, I had to continue turning the wheel away from center for a bit before I could steer it toward center. I'm now thinking it was the steering dampener that was locking up, preventing the steering from returning toward center.



Considering the dampener connects the drag link to the axle, and the track bar connects the axle to the frame (specifically the frame rail the P/S gear it mounted on), if the dampener is working right, it should prevent the steering from sudden rapid changes. In essence, the direction is momentarily 'locked', thus making the steering and axle move as a unit against the frame. So a sudden jar to the system (such as having the wheels cranked left and hitting a snowbank/curb to the right) should transfer all the energy to the frame.



If the dampener is not doing its job, a sudden hard jar to the steering (again, such as having the wheels turned left and hitting a snowbank/curb to the right) should result in significant energy being transferred to the pittman arm and thus to the steering gear. The combination of torsional and sheer stress/strain could be enough to break the sector shaft if the normally-free end of the shaft is supported; larger-diameter tires should increase this force. I think the picture shows evidence of excessive force, both torsional and sheer, and that the wheels were turned left and the impact was on the right moving forward, or on the left moving backward. I think this would indicate that the dampener was not up to the task. Of course, the failure could also be due to cumulative damage from a number of impacts. Perhaps a real mechanical engineer can chime in.



If you've gone through that many gear boxes, I would have to opine that you need a much stronger steering dampener, one that will transfer a significantly greater force to the axle (and thus to the frame). This would be especially so since you are running 35" tires.



Ideally, I think the best steering dampener should move freely at speeds up to maybe 4-6 inches per second and should hardly move at all at speeds over 12-24 IPS. Remember, you can only turn the steering wheel just so fast; any faster motion should result in significant dampening, and extremely fast motion should be nearly locked out.



This is why I thought of a dirt bike dampener. It allows the bike to be steered normally and freely. But if the end of the handlebar hits something hard (like a tree), it should prevent the fork from turning much at all so the rider can maintain control of the bike while the bark buster slides off the tree.

 

[FFSchooley]

I have a KORE (fox) steering damper. Shouldn't that be up to par?

 

[MAngelotti]

Had the same thing happen. Mine was a little more glorious since I took a nissan maxima as a victim. I sailed right over the front end. Suppose he should have looked before he tried to turn into my lane. Good luck.

Mike

 

[Bob4x4]

Many of us with heavy tires are running dual dampers

 

[robbiesworld]

Had the same thing happen. Mine was a little more glorious since I took a nissan maxima as a victim. I sailed right over the front end. Suppose he should have looked before he tried to turn into my lane. Good luck.

Mike

Reminds me of the time I drove up the door and over the hood of a honda that tried turning into my lane. My rear duals demolished the car and I drove away.