2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Road Wandering Woes

[jRagains]

I bought this truck new, and it has ALWAYS had to be herded down the road. Had a new steering box put on about 45K and nothing has changed. I've always had shocks, front end work done when it needed it as well. I am so tired of this this wandering all over the road and when I'm towing doubles with a 27' 5th wheel and a 20' boat behind it, I'd sure like to be able to drive without the "white knuckle" syndrome! It's annoying enough just going down the road by itself!



I was hoping to get some suggestions as to how to remedy this if there is such a thing. I have seen a little about the DSS and am thinking that may be the answer. Any suggestions?

 

[Midnite]

I have the DSS and it did tighten up my steering a little bit. The track bar is also a problem, and I'm thinking about going with a Thuren bar, but there are other alternatives too.

You might spend an evening doing some searches here--there have been literally hundreds of threads dealing with this. It's a lot of reading, but it's well worth the time.

 

[fest3er]

There is usually never a single answer. A little bit of wear on all the components can induce steering wander.

• As Midnite said, a stabilizer (DSS works great) that locks the steering gear sector shaft in place will make a big difference, as will a track bar that isn't worn.
• Tires with stiffer sidewalls also make a big difference. What type and load range tires do you have now?
• Tire pressure can also make a difference; underinflation lets the tires squirm more.
• Be sure you don't have any worn tie rod ends.
• Be sure the steering shaft has no play in it and isn't binding anywhere.
• Be sure the steering gear is properly centered.
• Be sure the alignment is correct (and not simply 'just within the spec').
• Be sure the ball joints are in good shape.
• Be sure the rear spring shackles are in good shape.
• If the truck has more than 90K-100K miles on it, replacing the suspension bushings, front and rear, will also make a noticeable difference.

 

[Nigel]

Jeanne; Go here Dodge Cummins Diesel Truck Accessories – Geno’s Garage and scroll down to 2nd gen handling and suspension problems. There is a reprint of a TDR article about this problem.



Nigel

 

[jRagains]

Thanks for all the advice from everyone.



The truck is in the shop now and they will be looking at everything with the front end and suspension, then I suppose we take it from there. I have never had any uneven wear on my tires, keep up with alignments, I inflate/deflate according to what I am doing with the truck and I have the E load range tires on it. Like I said, the cottonpicker has done this since I drove it off the lot. I have gotten a little used to it - pulling a single trailer is doable, but pulling doubles is a nightmare!

 

[abranz]

Been through this with my 96. As noted above everything needs to be tight but the single best thing I did to mine to correct this was the 3rd gen trac bar conversion. I've done shocks, ball joints, tie rods, trac bars, control arm bushings, steering box, DSS and it still wandered. Then I did the 3rd gen trac bar conversion which helped a great deal. Unfortunatly it was the last procedure I did but it helped a bunch. Also did the bushing in the bottom of the steering column but found it dangerous during winter as the steering wheel became very tight with cold temps. Almost sold the truck several times over the front end issues but it's great now. Anthony

 

[JCyrbok]

There is usually never a single answer. A little bit of wear on all the components can induce steering wander.

• As Midnite said, a stabilizer (DSS works great) that locks the steering gear sector shaft in place will make a big difference, as will a track bar that isn't worn.
• Tires with stiffer sidewalls also make a big difference. What type and load range tires do you have now?
  
• Tire pressure can also make a difference; underinflation lets the tires squirm more.
• Be sure you don't have any worn tie rod ends.
  
• Be sure the steering shaft has no play in it and isn't binding anywhere.
  
• Be sure the steering gear is properly centered.
  
• Be sure the alignment is correct (and not simply 'just within the spec').
  
• Be sure the ball joints are in good shape.
  
• Be sure the rear spring shackles are in good shape.
  
• If the truck has more than 90K-100K miles on it, replacing the suspension bushings, front and rear, will also make a noticeable difference.

the highlighted ones have made the biggest difference for me.



The DSS and 3rd gen track bar upgrade were literally night and day difference. I also find that I can tell when my air psi is low by how the truck drives too. I find that running them towards the higher end of the psi range makes quite a difference in the way the truck tracks down the road.



Hope this helps



J-

 

[Applegator]

If you have had this problem since new, I would say it's the steering box. Geno's has a Borgeson Replacement, page 26 of catalog 71, read the story there about the new box. I have been watching this closely and have not heard of any complaints.

 

[Ramtuf1]

I agree with the tire and sidewall suggestion. I had a great set of Bridgestone tires on my truck and got 60K miles on them. They discontinued the model and I went to Firestone's. What a mistake! The sidewalls are not the same ply rating as the Bridgestone's and the truck handles terrible. Forced to live with the Firestone's (Load range E) until they wear out. What a bummer.

 

[mpaulson]

I would definently look into the borgeson stering box. I just did mine and it is far better than the day I drove the truck of the lot brand new. I did this and the box stablizer at the same time and I can hold the wheel in one spot and not do any corrections. Before the box, I was all over the place with about 3 inches of correction movement to steer down the road in a straight line. About the best money I've spent in a long time for the result benifit.

The tires are a major issue as others have stated. When I switched from the OEM tires, the Goodyear silent armours that I put on were total junk for towing trailers and carrying loads. The side wall were useless even on the dually, I had so much side wall flex that I bought different tires for the summer season for towing the rv. Stand beside the truck and push on the side of the truck and get it rocking and watch the side walls of the tires and note the movement. Try it on a few other trucks and note the differences. This get egagerated in the trailer with the fishtailing motions.