2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission New Truck

[Big Mike]

So, here it is, I'm tired of chasing front end problems with my 2nd gen, so I figured I would go buy a third gen. Well I found the truck, a 2005 Quad cab 3500 drw, six speed 4wd, pretty well loaded with bells and whistles, $45,000 sticker price... NICE TRUCK!



now for the test drive, with 8 miles on the clock I took it out to put it through the paces and the first thing I notice is a driveline vibration at take off. That not being unsurmountable, I continue onto the highway. Well I hit some bumps and with a total of 10 miles on it here we go, full blown death wobble . I thought they made improvements to the front ends. This truck feels worse than my 94 with 233,000 miles on it. I guess I wil stick with what I have now, being DC obviously can not figure out their own engineering flaws.



All I can say is disappointing.

 

[TSaxon]

I don't want the bullets to start flying, but here is some heresy... ... . go take a look at the Duramax. :--)



I had 271,000 on my 99 Quad Cab and wanted a new Dodge. I also have a friend that works for GMC and he was telling me about the GM Supplier Discount. After lots of homework, and lots of driving, I bought a new Silverado. I too drove the 2005 Dodge and it was... . a tad uncomfortable. The clutch and shifting seemed weird TO ME (I am not making blanket statements about the goodness/badness of the new Dodges). Anyway, I upgraded to a Duramax with the Allison (the wife loves that - having never driven my Dodge )



After "working" with the Chevy dealer, I went to Dodge BEGGING them to match the deal. I even offered to pay $3,000 more (more on that later) - and they couldn't come down.



So here is where I landed.....

Sticker - $44,000

GM Discount - $33,000

GM Card Earnings - $3,000 (it's not Dodge's fault I have a GM Card, so I would have paid this additionally)

Trade For My 99 With 271,000 Miles - $6,000

New Truck = $24,000



After a few thousand miles in the new rig. I LOVE it! Granted, it IS new (and my 99 once had only 2,000 miles on it), but I am SOOOO happy with this truck! The Allison & the 300 HP Duramax make this truck a JOY to ride in. The bad news, however - the truck is limited at 95 MPH. Also, it ONLY had a 26 gallon fuel tank! I guess that means more rest stops for me... .



Like I said, CUMMINS rocks! That engine rolled, and rolled, and rolled. I am sure it will CONTINUE to roll for many more miles. That truck owed me NOTHING. I am confident & hopeful I can make a similar post about the Duramax in seven years!



Anyway, have a great day - and ALWAYS keep all options open... ... :-laf

 

[EBottema]

Ts- i doubt you will make those comments in 7 years but I'm glad your happy with what you got. The cummins is great but with all the bs electronics it really doesnt matter whos truck you get these days. The new dodge g56 is a joke and everyone makes something on the truck that sucks. What do you mean it is limited to 95mph?



I would take my 96 over a new 3rd gen anyday.



As for the front end problem. I would upgrade to the t-style steering first. I best your dt track bar bracket is flexing and that is causing your steering problems. Get underneath and have someone turn, watch the bracket. You will see the terrible engineered bracket before your eyes. Either weld or make a extra crossmember to support the bracket or dump it for another brand. DT customer service sucks by the way, don't call them they wont help. Try the t style steering , take care of the track bar, and make sure your draglink angle is correct. Your front end will much improve!



Erik

 

[Big Mike]

Erik,



all the stuff you mentioned is done, including welding the DT bracket, t-steering, etc. Don't know where else to look.

 

[EBottema]

Mike-

Check out the track bar mounting hiem ends for play...



Did you align the truck to the specs on this board? What size lift do you have and do you have a dropped pitman arm?



Remember, perfect steering on a 3/4 or 1 ton truck with larger tires is pretty impossible. Dodge already gave us a crappy thing to work with. The front end will never be perfect but it should be decent.



how bad is your steering?

 

[JSykes]

I have been battling the steering saga for the last two years as well. I think I have finally gained some ground. The truck has 133,000 miles on it. This is what I have done:



- SolidSteel Steering Stabilizer (DSS). This was the first step and did not help much at the time.

- Darin's 3rd gen. track bar and bracket (One year after the DSS). Helped some.

- PSC steering box and Borgenson steering shaft (6-8 months after the 3rd gen track bar upgrade. ) One helluva improvement.



I highly recommend trying the PSC steering box and couple it with the DSS. The DSS helps support that hefty steering box and relieves some strain in the steering. The PSC has absolutely NO play in it. Even brand new steering boxes from Dodge have a lot of slop in them.



I am actually able to go down a straight road and hold the steering wheel straight (no constant wheel correction). It used to wear me out driving this truck for a couple of hours due to constantly having to correct the steering wheel to keep it in my lane. Not any more, just got back from Indy (about 6 hours) and was not drained by the drive. It is actually a pleasure to drive.



I was disappointed in Borgenson's customer service. If I had it to do over again, I would try the Flaming River steering shaft.



Good luck with it, Jay

 

[Big Mike]

actually, I have the steering under control finally. After installing a DSS, T-steering, DT track bar, new steering box, steering shaft, sway bar links, springs, and shocks. The only problem is I have a front end "shake" between 50-57 mph that I have been trying to find for over a year now, and still can't find it. Actually, I thought it was from play I found in the right wheel bearing/hub, and replaced it... got worse.



oh yeah, aligned to 4. 5 degrees positive caster, and all I have is a KORE leveling kit 2. 5-3" of lift in the front.

 

[JSykes]

What type of rims do you have? A bad or untrue rim could cause this vibration.

 

[Big Mike]

stock rims, just balanced.

 

[Walleye mike]

Where do you get a flaming river steering shaft?

 

[pwerwagn]

What is the KORE leveling kit? Is it a chassis or suspension lift?

both. Are you asking if its a body lift or suspension lift?? If thats what you mean, its a suspension lift.



flaming river can be had at:

www.flamingriverproducts.com (I think thats still their site).

I've had better luck with them in the past than borgeson.



--Jeff

 

[Steve St.Laurent]

I had a vibration in my truck that I thought was tires out of balance. Had them balanced several times (including at a monster truck shop that has experience balancing huge tires) to no avail. I figured it was probably something in the front end and ended up living with it. Then I got a new set of tires and the problem disappeared and hasn't returned. There was a problem with that set of tires that no amount of balancing would solve. Maybe you can try swapping wheels and tires with a friend for a couple days and see if the problems follow the wheels/tires.

 

[Walleye mike]

That flaming river link dont work