I wander what my truck is doing?

[Bob4x4]

Well now, it's gonna take a brave soul to perform THAT test !!! :-laf

Yes it does:-laf

 

[TSPowell]

What happens when you let go of the steering wheel? What happens when you let go of the wheel after making a turn? Does the truck keep turning, or does it return to straight ahead? That's not the steering box doing that, it's the front end geometry. Its natural tendency is to go straight ahead, unless something is wrong.

I'll have to try this tomorrow and post the results.

 

[MRFost]

I have changed my ball-joints to Dynatrac; changed the front axle u-joints to greaseable Precisions; changed the wheel bearing hub assy; new brake rotors and factory pads on front while in there (That's not to fix steering -- it's to fix braking); did the '08 steering upgrade including the pitman arm. Already had the BD steering box support. Had the steering box replaced early under warranty, so that is good. I'm at 101k miles.

I gave the alignment dude the alignment specs as documented in the latest TDR quarterly. Alignment dude didn't use the specs I provided, but used what his computer said I guess. The final castor was most of a degree high according to those specs.

Results -- some roads it tracks great, but on others it wants to wander a bit, requiring constant correction. I do not have a dead spot. I attribute the wander to the castor as mentioned in one of the previous posters' statements. So, I've got a pile of money -- and since I did mine, a bunch of effort, too.

I lived with a '96 that my wife wrecked and the steering was never the same after that. I drove the '96 for 8 years steering oddly, so I know how annoying it is when it's not right. Moral of that story is to not let your wife drive it. It's too big for her anyway. Once she drove it to work. The parking lot there had one of those 6" pipes full of concrete to keep you from pulling/backing in too far. She backed into it -- then decided she wasn't in the parking spot square so she pulled up and backed into it again. Both times she bumped it she put a dent into the rear bumper. I left the dings ther to remind me not to let her drive the truck. Anyway -- I digress.

I hope you find your issue. I think my issue is easy enough to resolve. Come spring, I'll adjust my castor without instrumentation, and take it back to them -- make them adjust it again. I have a 1 yr warranty on the alignment. I'll tip the alignment dude the next time if I can get him away from the manager. Mine is currently close enough to not be too annoying. After doing all that work on the front end, it does sensitize you to how it responds.

 

[TSPowell]

This is what the Vehicle Alignment report states, which I had performed 2,000 miles ago. This was done right after the parts and tires were replaced.



Front:

Caster Left = 5. 06

Caster Right = 5. 01

Camber Left = 0. 07

Camber Right = -0. 17

Toe Left = 1/32"

Toe Right = 1/32"

Toe Total = 1/16"



Rear:

Camber Left = -0. 14

Camber Right = -0. 13

Toe Left = -1/32"

Toe Right = 0"

Toe Total = -1/32"

Thrust Angle = 0. 01



If someone can tell me that something looks off that would be great.

All of the final readings fall between the min and max specs they have listed on the sheet.

 

[mwilson]

Yes it does:-laf

That's gonna' be one of these...



"Here, hold my beer and watch this!!" events... ... .



Mike.

 

[AMcCormick]

Last I checked, I couldn't get anything for FREE. Thats why. It took two and a half years to save money for the parts I've already replaced. Who knows where Im going to get the money for a $400 steering box... The track bar is out of the question until next year! I'll be MORE THAN HAPPY to take donations though.

Ya I hear you. That is the same reason I am running some bilstein2. 0 that I for a killer price as opposed to some 3. 0 Kings. Just saying that you replaced 90% of it. Why not go that last 10% and have it all done. Knowing that all the parts are new and now itisjust a matter of getting it dialed in.

 

[RonD]

Factory Caster on these are to be positive about 4. 5 degrees, that isn't enough, when I had my 05 I had the exact same problem your having, I tightened up my steering box a little at a time, and had a good alignment shop look at it, He said these trucks should have max positive caster, mine went to + 7 degrees, and after that was great.

 

[Bill Weber]

BALL JOINTS: Here was my experience when I replaced the upper & lowers. (Carli) I made the mistake of pumping grease into before installing them. The uppers bound so bad I could not turn the nut on the ball joint stud. Had to loosen the zerk on top of the ball joint to bleed off grease pressure. Then the reassembly went fine and the yokes swung freely. Didn't grease the joints till everything assembled

 

[HHhuntitall]

Well now, it's gonna take a brave soul to perform THAT test !!! :-laf

..... or an unlucky person who loses his pitman arm going down the highway..... I was with a friend in his '97, about 12 miles South of Vernon, TX, when his fell off. Needless to say, him, me, and the truck left skidmarks as we barreled out across the center median!!!! We were lucky, and it drifted to the far side of the median and turned back to the right. The truckers in the oncoming lane of traffic were looking at us like we were crazy... ... I still remember what one of them looks like. THAT was too close!! These days, I drive when we go somewhere, and we take MY TRUCK!!!! Tye was talking on the phone with his mother, who heard the whole conversation, illicit language and all, from the cellphone on the floorboard. She called 911 for us, as she thought we had blown a tire and wrecked. I thought we were dead, but we ended up just being in a Dodge. :-laf



As for your steering issues, with everything else replaced, I'm gonna suggest a steering box or an alignment issue. Looking at the posted alignment specs, I don't see anything that jumps out at me, but it's been my experience that some trucks take to more toe-in than others, especially with larger tires, like the 315s I usually run. Try going to 1/8" toe-in and see if it helps. You can always go back.



While under your truck with someone steering back and forth, did you check the bottom of the shaft in the steering box? Did it have any play back and forth? I see that a lot, especially with the cheap ($200) rebuilt steering boxes from Autozone and Orielly's. If you overtightened yours, you'll probably notice a "tight" feeling when turning side to side, if it is indeed overtightened, along with noise from the steering pump.



Also, have you looked at the 4 link bushings? If they are wore, you can have some axle movement, which changes ALLLLLL the geometry of the steering effects. As suggested above, try driving it and see if it hunts coming out of a corner. Your slack in the tracking bar might be the culprit, too, if you have any other loose parts.

 

[EDankievitch]

Sorry that I did not get back to you sooner. I agree with the Bill Weber's post listed above if you greased the Carli ball joints before they were under load of the truck they will and can bind remove the grease fittings with the grease fittings out turn the wheel side to side and allow the extra grease to sqeeze out. Carlli had told me that if you assemble the ball joints as per the instructions that extra grease is not needed. My units would not except any grease for almost a year and a half after they were installed. Even then they would only take about a 1/4 of a pump on my hand pump grease gun. You would be surprised how much pressure you can make with a hand pump grease gun. I have seen castings crack due to cold grease and extra force trying to squeezing it in.
Your alignment specs all look good. They are right where I would set them. I have had good luck with these same specs on a few trucks now. I have found that with our trucks, if you install a leveling kit that it will add castor well past 7-9 degrees positive. As I stated before too much castor will cause the truck to want to follow the crown of the road. Heavy crown heavy pull to one side or the other depending which way the crown is.
There is a good chance that you over loaded the PRE-Load of the gear set in the steering box when you cranked down on the pre-load screw. A way to tell is to jack both front tires off the ground start the engine ans turn the wheel from side to side slowly. You are looking for tight spots when you get close to center. The gears are designed with some of a taper that will take the backlash away when your close to the center position of travel. If you over tightened the gear backlash it will bind bad around center. Don't ask how I know this... ...
Last thing that can cause you greef is the U joints on the half shafts. When you had them out how tight were they? When did your problem first start to show it's ugly head???
Hope this helps... ...

 

[HHhuntitall]

... 's a good point on the half shafts.....

 

[TSPowell]

Last thing that can cause you greef is the U joints on the half shafts. When you had them out how tight were they? When did your problem first start to show it's ugly head???

Hope this helps... ...

I replaced the u-joints when I had everything apart. I took it for a drive today... When I let go of the steering wheel, it drives straight for the most part, little bumps kinda throw it into its wandering mode or the crown of the road does. When I make a turn, I would say it returns to 80% straight, just not quite all the way.



I too made the mistake of greasing the balljoints before I installed them. I had to call Carli because I thought I ruined them. After talking to them I relieved the pressure and installed them. Because this keeps coming up... I MADE SURE THEY DIDN'T BIND AND EVERYTHING MOVED FREELY BEFORE REASSEMBLY!



I did notice today that my swaybar links (MAXX LINKS) were loose, so i tightened them up but haven't drove yet again.



Im still leaning towards a trackbar or steering box problem.

 

[EDankievitch]

What air pressure are you running in your front tires? I've found that a little bit higher will take some of the load off the wheel... .

 

[TSPowell]

What air pressure are you running in your front tires? I've found that a little bit higher will take some of the load off the wheel... .

The door reads 60psi for the fronts and I have them at 65psi.

 

[EDankievitch]

Ok, looks like you've done everything else. Give the LUKE track bar bushings a try. I had installed them when I was first starting to pull my hair out with my truck.

 

[RDeFayette]

You can get replacement bushings (2 piece) for about 15. 00 at NAPA (1 kit will do both ends) or 1 piece press in's for about 13. 00 a piece (2 required).

Also check the mounting holes to make sure they haven't elongated (egg shaped).

or Luke's for 38. 00 Lukes Link Track Bar Bushings Dodge

No need to buy an entire track bar.

 

[TSPowell]

I decided today to order a Carli track bar. It was cheaper than a new steering box, so hopefully that was the problem. I will let you know how it works

 

[TSPowell]

Just a little follow up... I installed the Carli track bar today. I was pretty impressed when I opened the box and pulled it out. It's very nicely made. After I got the length adjusted and installed, I took it out for a test drive. All I can say is WOW. What a difference. This solved about 90% of the wandering issue that I've been having. Im going to attribute the rest to a tired steering box. However, its sooo much better now that I'll hold off on the steering box until next Christmas. After I installed all the parts listed in my first post, I was never happy with the general feel of the truck. I could feel every little bump, crack, pot hole, and expansion joint. This track bar made the front end come alive again. It feels like the new truck feeling Ive been trying to achieve again. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this product to anyone. I debated between Carli and Thuren, but decided to go with Carli only because I had some of their parts already.

 

[HHhuntitall]

..... 's good to know... thanks.