Front End Rebuild Questions

[Ozymandias]

Tried this tonight with friends and nothing is moving up and down. Nothing seems loose. I’m thinking steering box.

Steering box has very little to do with going straight down the road.
Goin straight needs only thight ball joint (not binding - MOOG I hear you) and proper alignment.

 

[Ozymandias]

Hi, update. The shop that I went to yesterday who didn’t even bother to put the truck on a lift just sent me a quote.
$4,596.35 for ball joints, ties rods, track link, sway bar links, steering stabilizer, new shocks. Does not include a steering box or coupler.
He also ignored the brand new Bilstein 4600 shocks I got from Geno’s Garage and the new Bilstein steering stabilizer, saying they are “the wrong parts for that truck”.
I really want to give people the benefit of the doubt but this guy seems like a crook.

Oh boy..... let's sell a new truck to the customer.

 

[SAndreasen]

So I took my truck to a Mopar specialist that was recommended by a local car club. He put it on the lift with me and checked the entire front end and his conclusion was that everything is really tight, nothing worn or ready for replacement, except maybe the steering box. He said nothing is new, but nothing in bad shape either.
I have a Redhead steering box (Black Friday sale) that I’m going to attempt to install and hoping that does it.
Thanks for all the help so far. I may need more to get the steering box done

you will like the new steering box I put a reman car quest on and it was nice to drive for about 6 months then it was loose again I’m going to tight up the adjustment screw a little and make it a little better . Let me know how you like that new box I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews on different boxes .

 

[Cummins12V98]

Redhead with at least 250k and still nice n tight.

 

[Joe Mc]

I’m going to tight up the adjustment screw a little and make it a little better.

Before you try this I highly recommend checking FSM as from what I recall it ain't like the old days where you just tighten down a bit and your good. Seems that it's more like multiple adjustments needed or the box can be irreparably damaged. Hope I'm confusual but don't think so, check FSM 1st

 

[SAndreasen]

Before you try this I highly recommend checking FSM as from what I recall it ain't like the old days where you just tighten down a bit and your good. Seems that it's more like multiple adjustments needed or the box can be irreparably damaged. Hope I'm confusual but don't think so, check FSM 1st

You are correct but I figure a little bit won’t hurt anything .

 

[SAndreasen]

Redhead with at least 250k and still nice n tight.

It really is??

 

[Cummins12V98]

It really is??

Confirmed with my Son who owns it.

 

[Ozymandias]

Steering box has very little to do with going straight down the road.
Goin straight needs only thight ball joint (not binding - MOOG I hear you) and proper alignment.

 

[SAndreasen]

Wrong

 

[SAndreasen]

Confirmed with my Son who owns it.

I will look into it then

 

[Joe Mc]

Hey Mike, just wondering if you had chance to R & R box yet?

 

[Michael Fagone]

Wanted to thank everyone here and let you know I replaced the steering box with a RedHead unit, and the wandering issue is solved.
Next up are the tie rod end boots, one of which is cracked. Thanks to you all I avoided getting ripped off for a $4500 front end rebuild!!

 

[SAndreasen]

Yay keep us updated on the steering box I neee one

 

[Matt42]

Mike, my truck only has 254k miles, I got it in 5/01 with 75k and have done so many things over the years. The best improvements on the front end I've done, and recommend that you consider are:
3rd gen track bar
PSC steering box (you'll have to eliminate or highly modify steering stabilizer, this PSC box is way bigger than stock due to large bearings and is a tight fit)
Tubular upper & lower control arms.
Got 3rd gen track bar kit and PSC box @ Geno's (over the years) and control arms thru Top Gunz Customs (like $225) uppers & lowers. Highly recommend you get new can bolts and other new bolts for arm installation. Don't recommend getting them online, NAPA perhaps, and make sure you tell them GVW when ordering. Hope this helps

I have already installed the 3rd gen track bar. It was quite a job, but worth it. I'm still tweaking the bar length vs the drag length equation to get the steering wheel centered. That was always an issue when I replaced an OEM style track bar, but this is more difficult.

Next up looks like it'll be a PSC steering box plus their P pump with a remote reservoir that contains a filter. I am getting too old to stand on my head to check the power steering fluid level. PSC has some nice options on fluid coolers, as well as super-duty off-road setups. https://www.pscmotorsports.com/

I have a related thread on some current work on trying to just change the fluid, here: https://www.turbodieselregister.com/threads/asking-advice-on-a-power-steering-cooler.270563/

 

[Beach Bomb]

What brand is redhead?

 

[Cummins12V98]

What brand is redhead?

RedHead is their own brand located in Seattle, WA area.

 

[Joe Mc]

Matt42 "I'm still tweaking the bar length vs the drag length equation to get the steering wheel centered."
When I installed mine, for centering the diff, I tied a nut to 2 lenghts of string and taped them to the fenders centering the nuts on the hub centers then adjusted the bar. Jounce the suspension a few times then double check.
As far as centering the steering wheel, I loosened the clamp nuts on the adjustment sleeve on drag link just enough so it was able to be turned, took down the road, stop tweak, repeated until I had level then tightened the nuts.
Hope this helps. I can't stand a steering wheel that's not centered either.

 

[Matt42]

Matt42 "I'm still tweaking the bar length vs the drag length equation to get the steering wheel centered."
When I installed mine, for centering the diff, I tied a nut to 2 lenghts of string and taped them to the fenders centering the nuts on the hub centers then adjusted the bar. Jounce the suspension a few times then double check.
As far as centering the steering wheel, I loosened the clamp nuts on the adjustment sleeve on drag link just enough so it was able to be turned, took down the road, stop tweak, repeated until I had level then tightened the nuts.
Hope this helps. I can't stand a steering wheel that's not centered either.

Joe: Help me understand what you did, because I think it's key to solving the problem or uncertainty I may have. What I think you did is this:
1. Using two two lengths of string, you tied one nut to the end of each string.
2. Then you taped (or somehow fastened) the other end of each string to the inside of the fenders so that the tied-on nut was centered on the axle.
3. Or, because the front differential isn't centered, you figured out the length that each string should be so that the nut should be centered on top of the differential housing. Then you taped or fastened the strings in place to the fenders.
4. Then, using the location of the suspended nut, adjusted the Gen 3 track bar until the differential was centered under the nut-on-strings.
5. The tidying-up to center the steering wheel was done with the drag link.
Do I have this right?

What I have done so far is this:
A. I measured the distance between an accessible spring perch and the frame or fender, on each side. It was slightly different on each side, as expected.
B. I took the average of the two measurements and cut two small pieces of 1/4 plywood that size to use as templates.
C. I adjusted the Gen 3 track bar until the plywood templates fit about the same on both sides.
D. I'm still tidying up the drag link to make the steering wheel straight. But finding a flat, straight road here is a pain, because all the roads are also used for flood control and have high crowns. It's really close now, but I am not certain that the truck is tracking straight. With the disc/drum brakes, stopping isn't always a good clue.

I got really tired of alignment shops making settings based on what seemed to be whatever orientation the wheels were in when they drove the car or truck on to the rack. They kept telling me that having the steering wheel 45 degrees off was normal. If it was normal, why didn't it come that way when new?

 

[Ozymandias]

They work in the wrong direction!

First is to center the steering wheel and then work from this starting point all the way down to the wheels.

The point by doing so is not the steering wheel - it's the steering gear that needs to be centered because it is only free of gear lash in the center position.
Having the steering gear not centered makes every other adjustment worthless so to say.