2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Click / Snap noise in steering

[petersonj]

Thanks for the quick reply - hope you get yours resolved.

John

 

[SnoKing]

Thanks for the quick reply - hope you get yours resolved.

John

Trouble is the sound telegraphs throughout the front area of the truck. From above it sound like it is down low. From under the truck it sounds like it is up higher! Sno'd king

 

[petersonj]

Sno'd King, I took my truck to a large gravel parking lot today and did some testing to see if I could find the cause of the clicking noise that seems be in the steering. Driving slowly, I positioned the steering wheel into a moderate right turn and could make it do the clicking sound at will. I stopped, then rocked the truck back and forth and I could make it do it when I held just the right amount of steering pressure on the steering wheel. I then attached my Gopro camera in several locations capturing the operation of most of the steering parts and suspension parts (tie rod ends, track rod ends, pitman arm, steering shaft at steering box, and steering shaft coming from column.

After viewing the video everything looked good, except the steering shaft coming out of the steering column. You could see side to side movement at the end of the shaft just beyond the compression spring. The movement is sudden and it appears match the timing of the symptoms - too much engine noise under the hood for the camera to pick up the clicking sound.

I ordered the Rock Solid replacement bushing kit today. I will let you know if the repair fixes the problem.

John

 

[SnoKing]

Thanks John! I will be interested if it fixes it. I have a tierod end tool coming tomorrow and will replace the drag link end at pitman when I have time. Snoking

 

[Cummins12V98]

SNOKING I hear the 15's on the lot and the new 16's won't have that annoying popping noise.

 

[petersonj]

Thanks John! I will be interested if it fixes it. I have a tierod end tool coming tomorrow and will replace the drag link end at pitman when I have time. Snoking

Snoking, I installed the Rock Solid replacement bushing kit today and it definitely fixed the problem. The old bushing was worn, but not worn excessively; however, it was worn enough to move around and make the noise. Using my Gopro camera as a troubleshooting tool worked very well to help diagnose this problem. Before I replaced the bushing I tried to move the shaft around by hand and could only get very little movement. But, with the Gopro attached, the movement showed up clearly when steering effort was applied.

I read somewhere in another post that this movement at the lower end of the steering column was probably already there for quite awhile, but went unnoticed until a new steering shaft was installed . The new solid steering shaft would amplify the play into a sound and / or something that could be felt in the steering wheel. This does make some sense and could be what happened in my case because I didn't notice the noise until after I installed several steering parts (including a Borgeson steering shaft).

Anyway... just thought I'd let you know how everything turned out - the cost was very reasonable ($60.00 including shipping).

John

 

[SnoKing]

John, I just ordered the bushing kit. Will report back. The truck has been wondering a bit on the road lately also! Did you change yours in the truck? SNOKING

 

[petersonj]

Snoking, I changed mine out with the steering column in place. Mine is a manual transmission so I didn't have to deal with the transmission shifter. To make life easier I removed the brake master cylinder, three hydraulic brake booster lines and the associated bracket first - very worthwhile. Very little fluid was lost and you won't have to bleed the brake system.

I used a die grinder (with a face shield and a glove) and made several small cuts in the lower part of the spring until the tension was released. Then I just unscrewed the spring around the retainer. This made the retainer accessible to remove. The rest went fairly easy. The instructions are clear.

John

 

[JMcCoy]

I also installed mine in place. I didnt have to remove anything. It is very tight though. The shift linkage pops right off. Make sure you sand the inside of the bushing enough. Mine was too tight. Drove in for a couple thousand miles, but never loosened up. I had to remove it and sand the heck out of it with sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I have around 5,000 Mikes on it, and it works great.

 

[DonFitzwater]

I had the same type annoying click and after numerous trips to the Dodge dealer, a trip to the local front end shop remedied the click. They sprayed the top and bottom of the front coil springs and the noise immediately disappeared. The click never appeared again. It was hard to believe that noise was caused by the springs rocking in the perches.

 

[wlowe]

One way to check to see if the popping noise is coming from the steering column is to spray some silicone lube into the tube that comes out of the firewall. It's a tight fit to get the spray can in there but do-able. If the noise gets better or goes away then your a good candidate for the rock solid steering column bushing.

 

[SnoKing]

Well the bushing arrived, so I will install it on the next few weeks. Snoking

 

[SnoKing]

Well, I set the truck up in the garage to decide if I wanted to tackle the steering shaft bushing or the tie rod end at the pitman arm, which seemed to be the only part in the front end that might have a bit of slack it in when my BIL helped me check it out a couple months ago.

Looking at the two task, I choose the tie rod end to do today. I had to do some grinding on the tie rod end puller that I bought so it would slide over the pitman arm end and the OEM rod end had a long extension end to hold while tightening the nut. So I used the dremel tool and a couple cut off blades to shorten it. The old rod end popped out on the second round of tightening and hitting with a hammer. Marked the treads and backed it out. Laid it side by side with the new one and put masking tape at the point I want to turn the new one in to. Tightened everything up and >>>>

Went for a test drive to check centering of the wheel. Wheel centering seems dead on, and drum roll, no more click/snap noise in the front end. As a bonus I believe some wondering on the road that seemed to have built up in recent years is mostly gone. I will need a trip on the freeway to know that for sure, but the free way is 20 minutes away!

So I will hold up on the steering bushing for now. SNOKING

 

[petersonj]

Nothing like success! Now you can put your other part on the shelf until you need it.

John