Need Steering Shaft advice??

[Denis]

Have a '97 2500 4 x 4. My steering shaft is worn and starting to make a lot of noise and cause looseness in the steering. Took it off and apart and found both "U" joints are OK but the telescoping type joint in the middle is the culprit. It is a very poorly made joint and hate to buy another one from Dodge. Any suggestions or comments on after market units? Good price on one of the aftermarket shafts and where to buy one?? Has any body modified the telescoping joint to upgrade and strenghten the stock shaft?

 

[KFroese]

i just replaced mine last week with http://www.borgeson.com/Merchant2/m...de=BUOS&Product_Code=DFS92&Category_Code=FSDT not too cheap, but no more feed back in the wheel on my 97.

 

[HC]

I like the Flaming River shaft. Got mine from Rickson Truck Accessories because of good customer service.

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

I just replaced mine last week with a Borgeson also. Dealer wanted $50 more for the stock one. Told me they never go bad.



Jim

 

[pathaymond]

My borgeson made the improvement I needed with a fairly straight forward install.

 

[Pit Bull]

Noticed Borgeson doesn't make one for 1999 - 2002 Dodge CTD's. Did Dodge change the steering to something that does not go bad?

 

[HC]

I wish! Nope, my 2001 does have some steering problems. On both the Borgeson and Flaming River shafts, they just didn't know for some reason that the shaft stayed the same after 1999. So if you ask for a part, you get ???, but, if you buy the 1999 part it fits. (The FR shaft does have to be cut to length. )

 

[Heavy Metal]

Originally posted by Pit Bull

Noticed Borgeson doesn't make one for 1999 - 2002 Dodge CTD's. Did Dodge change the steering to something that does not go bad?

I just put a Borgeson on my 2001 4X4 Saturday. Took about 45 minutes. It took all of the slop and all but a trace of the bump steer out of my truck's steering. Much more responsive now. I did notice that the set screw on the bottom u-joint is 90 degrees off but there is a groove just past the splines on the splined shaft coming out of the steering box. In my mind, it's a more secure spot for a set screw than the flat spot that the OEM shaft uses. Just be sure not to push it down so far that the splined shaft interferes with the u-joint. Use part #950 for up to 2002 model. This one's well worth the money.



Bryan

 

[bighammer]

Mine was getting sloppy a couple years ago so I removed it and cleaned it up. I sort of squeezed the opening of the upper part where the lower slides in. Then I drilled and tapped a hole in the side of it, put in a zerk, and pumped it full of grease. It pushed out a bunch of water, dirt, and rusty crap from the inside.



No problems since. I guess there wouldn't be as much give in an accident, but with better steering, maybe that is less likely. I did knock the ball out of the zerk for a "release" just in case.

 

[shendren]

bryan,



i just got mine and noticed the same thing. what's up with this product?? crappy instructions.

 

[Dennis Garrett]

At about 80k, the shaft on my 97 was ready for replacement. I went to the Dodge dealer for a new one. It was a little different that the original, and they said it was an updated part #. Said it was the same shaft they were using on later model trucks. I've had it for 4 years now and it has over 100k on it with no problems so far. At that time, it was about $90. 00