2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission My drag link and tie rod don't match what's in the repair manual...?

[KRStone]

Afternoon guys,



Crawled under the truck to have a look at the steering components (been reading in the TDR and Genos about ways to fix the steering and suspension).



Trying to learn the lingo: track bar, sway bar, links, tie rod, etc.



So, from the drawing in the 1996 service manual, it appears that the tie rod it attached to the pitman arm, then descends down and towards the passenger side until it connects into the tie rod; and the tie rod goes completely across the truck from one tie rod end to the other.



Upon inspection of my truck, my drag link goes from pitman arm to passenger front wheel hub; and the track bar goes from driver side hub to a point along the drag link.



Am I missing something here or is my truck different than the illustration?



My truck came from the factory with the Camper Special Package.



KRS

 

[KRStone]

Also, why does Geno's state you can buy 4 Track Bar rebuild kits for cheaper... . doesn't the truck only take one of these? (Located where the track bar attaches to the frame of the truck up behind the steering box?)

 

[SRath]

You have the factory, undesirable Y-style steering linkage. You can upgrade to the heavy duty T-style described in your manual. Many of us here have and with no regrets.

It is a straight bolt-in of good (I prefer Moog) parts.

However, you will lose your hole in the linkage to mount your steering stabilzer and will need to convert to a universal-type clamp on stabilizer. Not a big deal and well worth it.

For the best breakdown on the parts and explanation of what to do, go here to cumminspower98's website:

My Ram

scroll down to Y to T style steering. And enjoy all the other terrific improvements and mods that Mark details, too.

 

[SRath]

BTW, if you are going after your control arms, count your blessings for having an Arizona truck. Mine was from Texas but it only took a few years here in Iowa to turn those bolts into a nightmare to remove. I ended up destroying the control arms. I was replacing them with adjustable ones anyway, but nothing, not even the unit bearing hubs, were as difficult to remove as those bolts on the control arms once they had rusted to the inner sleeves.

Mark does a great write-up on how he built his own on that webpage I linked you to.

 

[B.G. Smith]

There are two different setups, one for 2wd and the other for 4wd. Also the 2wd don't have a track bar. Reason they have to be different is if you tie the front wheels together with a solid tie rod on 2wd truck, when the truck hits a bump and the springs flex you get what is called bump steering. In the Geno's cat. It looks like the 4 deal is for tie rod ends. Not very clear is it? bg

 

[SRath]

His signature says it's a 4x4. But what B. G. says about bump steer is exactly what the poor design Y steering does and the T-style does not. The T-style does not affect your toe-in when you hit a bump because the wheels/knuckles are tied together in a permanent relationship by a continuous tierod. Your draglink cannot move one without also moving the other side equally. The Y style separates them so bumps affect them individually and any slop in your steering is also magnified.

 

[KRStone]

Guys, thank you. I read up on Y vs T; I'd heard it before on this forum but I never went deep enough to understand it. The conversion doesn't look too difficult.



I had my wife crank the wheel while I looked at the suspension and steering components:



track bar upper ball joint 'pops' up and down, appears like excessive play



passenger tie-rod joint has excessive play



So, need to do something, just need to price out the differences.



The less expensive fix is Luke's rebuild kit for the track bar ball joint, may as well replace the bushing on the axle end, and replace the tie rod end on the passenger side. Probably do a new damper while I'm at it.



My sway bar links appear to be connected via an irregular angle; this must be the wear I hear about; must be time to do those too.



Should I do front end shocks while I'm at it? Is there any benefit to doing it with the rest of this stuff? The shocks were last done 9 years ago at 70k miles; the truck just turned 200k.



KRS