Steering components going bad

[magic carpet pilot]

I have a 2004. Just rolled over 173K. The steering components are well on their way out, to the point last time the alignment was done the tech said he did the best he could. I have made the decision to drive this truck forever. With that said, I upgrade everything when it gets replaced.

Also of note: I have a Warn bumper, no winch yet but it is on the list. I have been lead to believe the extra weight up front can contribute to increased wear and tear on front end suspension and steering.

Any guidance? Were does one start?

Thanks.

 

[Ozymandias]

Go with the full steering Upgrade 2008.5, all new and be done. A one time investment of around 800$ instead of frickling every year again.
And all Mopar Components.

Balljoints - bite the Bullet and go with Carlis, will be the last BJ you buy for this Truck, shouldn't go bad and if - Lifetime warranty.

I did both the other way and paid twice......

 

[CVR222NV]

I have a Buckstop bumper and Warn 16,500 winch and in addition to what Ozy states I upgraded my springs by 650 lbs and 1" lift and added Bilstein 5160 shocks and it is solid. I'm also adding the Dynatrac free spin kit in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Regcabguy]

Source Automotive offers the '08.5+ steering components with zerks.
The stronger springs would help a bunch too.

http://sourceautomotive.biz/2003-2009dodgeupgradedsteeringlinkage.aspx

 

[cerberusiam]

The t-type steering without the zerks is worse than the y-type, only got about 70k out of the drag link ends and they were shot. Hopefully the Moog parts with zerks will be better. There is not a lot of choices out there other than a custom setup.

If you steering box is worn then the upgraded box is probably in your future.

Ball joints, the Raybestos Professional grade are a good choice for the $$.

The bumper will cause accelerated wear, no way around it other than good parts.

 

[AEdelheit]

The t-type steering without the zerks is worse than the y-type, only got about 70k out of the drag link ends and they were shot. Hopefully the Moog parts with zerks will be better. There is not a lot of choices out there other than a custom setup.

If you steering box is worn then the upgraded box is probably in your future.

Ball joints, the Raybestos Professional grade are a good choice for the $$.

The bumper will cause accelerated wear, no way around it other than good parts.

Ill be curious to see how the Moog parts do, it seems there lineup for the HD Rams is having a lot of issues.

 

[Ozymandias]

It's not to hard to install zeros into the ball joints. The T-Type is by construction way better for a heavy vehicle then the Jeep style Y-Type.

 

[cerberusiam]

The tie rod ends and drag link pieces are still a big question mark from Moog. The BJ's are pretty much junk but the other pieces do not have a lot of common history.

My experience with the y-type and t-type is the y-type is a better for lifetime wear in normal conditions. The t-type was not very impressive with only about 70k and wearing out the drag link joints, the y-type lasted a lot longer before it got bad enough to cause issues and even then it wasn't that bad. I don't use my truck that hard, just normal interstate and secondary roads with a little rough gravel now and then.

After examining the way it works the t-type is just a bad retrofit to a bad design. The stresses on the drag link have multiplied and the wear just accelerates the failure. The tie rods are beefier and better, as long as they are aligned correctly side to side they aren't an issue but that is only 1/2 the system. The drag link ends had twice the wear in 70k that the y-type had in 180k, not a good thing. The t-type got rid of the bump steer and the tire wear issue with changing toe-in but it is still not that great on road feel.

Every manufacturer has tried y-type and t-type steering and scrapped it on a heavy vehicle. All the heavy stuff is now cross over and that seems to be the only way to get decent handling with decent wear characteristics. Getting large enough components for the weight the Cummins adds plus the towing ability is the problem, few options exist. The Ford style pieces for the cross over coupled with the older 1 ton GM tie rods are beefy enough but the build is totally custom.

 

[Regcabguy]

The owner of the shop I use has 180K on his Y-type suspension chasing in Baja with 37's and a flatbed. It's an '03 and the bj's were still pretty decent before he swapped them out.
I swear mine steered better with the older style too.
The shop got a prototype heim joint supplied by a local guy for 0"-3" lifted trucks. We'll see..
Mine has wandered more than I like with the '08.5+ steering and I'm using Thuren's driver side heim conversion.

 

[Bob4x4]

The owner of the shop I use has 180K on his Y-type suspension chasing in Baja with 37's and a flatbed. It's an '03 and the bj's were still pretty decent before he swapped them out.
I swear mine steered better with the older style too.
The shop got a prototype heim joint supplied by a local guy for 0"-3" lifted trucks. We'll see..
Mine has wandered more than I like with the '08.5+ steering and I'm using Thuren's driver side heim conversion.

But he drives slow.........

 

[Yo Hoot]

Go with the full steering Upgrade 2008.5, all new and be done. A one time investment of around 800$ instead of frickling every year again.
And all Mopar Components.

Balljoints - bite the Bullet and go with Carlis, will be the last BJ you buy for this Truck, shouldn't go bad and if - Lifetime warranty.

I did both the other way and paid twice......

I've literally put thousands of dollars into my front end. Currently at 150K miles.
I run Toyo 35's and do use a heavy plow in the winter but not commercially. Just my driveway and around the neighborhood.

Last upgrade was the big Delphi steering box and the newer power steering pump.
68170214AA Steering Box
68034326AB Kit- pump and pulley
68034303AB reservoir, PS pump
68100252AA Bracket, PS pump


Has the 2008 linkage (second one).

Defiant Steering box support

Carli uppers.... one is now bad. In the beginning I could not get grease in them. They take grease now.

Also upgraded the track bar.. Thuren. Problem is the frame mount always gets loose. Cured that with this kit..

http://sourceautomotive.biz/trackbarmountbuildupplatesfor03andnewer.aspx

 

[magic carpet pilot]

I have a Buckstop bumper and Warn 16,500 winch and in addition to what Ozy states I upgraded my springs by 650 lbs and 1" lift and added Bilstein 5160 shocks and it is solid. I'm also adding the Dynatrac free spin kit in the next couple of weeks.

Where did you get the heavier springs? Did you lift just the front end?

 

[magic carpet pilot]

Will the 08+ steering components fit around an upgraded F. Dif. Cover? Don't have one yet, but like to plan ahead.

 

[Ozymandias]

I can positively say - No - not on a stock height truck.
I bought a solid cover and the old Mag Design and both didn't fit the Mag not with the old steering and the Solid not with the Trackbar.

If yours fit now - then you should not have a problem with the upgraded steering.

 

[CVR222NV]

Where did you get the heavier springs? Did you lift just the front end?

Got the springs through local spring shop - Skip's Spring Service in Las Vegas- Talk to Randy - after determining what I needed to deal with the additional weight he ordered the springs from the manufacturer. For the rear we added two additional leafs at an additional 1800 lbs payload capacity to cover the additional weight of my flatbed. No additional height in the back. I did not want any lift so I could still park my truck in the garage. I'm sure your local spring shop could do the same.

 

[TGVET]

Gen 3 linkage upgrades

Go with the full steering Upgrade 2008.5, all new and be done. A one time investment of around 800$ instead of frickling every year again.
And all Mopar Components.

Balljoints - bite the Bullet and go with Carlis, will be the last BJ you buy for this Truck, shouldn't go bad and if - Lifetime warranty.

I did both the other way and paid twice......

Oct. 2012 & seven years old w/ 260,600 mi. on the OEM linkage that was still fine, no looseness or wobbles. I decided to go for the 08 upgrade pkg. (52122362-AG) everyone was ranting about plus the pitman arm and new gas stabilizer. Now, July 2016 w/ 373,800 less than 4 years later w/ 112,000 highway miles on the "HEAVY DUTY UPGRADE",
the upper linkage tie rod ends are worn out. I heard minor clunking when turning wheel to the right 1/4 turn so took it in the alignment shop.
After doing much searching just trying to find the replacement upper linkage arm and tie rod end both pieces were almost as much as the whole new package which I bought yesterday for $345.00

You mention 08.5, I only knew of the 08. Maybe they are one in the same. However, if there is a product other than Mopar (Linkage kit) and WITH grease fittings, please do tell. Maybe I can still return the unopened 2nd HEAVY DUTY kit for something better. I am not going to buy a new truck, just keep it going.

On a side note; I was considering drilling and tapping in Zurk fittings where there are none on the HD upgrade thinking regular lube maintenance would preserve them.

 

[Freebore]

I installed the 08.5 linkage and big gearbox in 2014. Before installing the linkage I installed grease zerks in all tie rod and drag link ends and have greased them regularly, so far so good. Probably have about 35k miles since.

 

[cerberusiam]

I am on my 3rd set of drag link ends with about 80k on the t-type setup. Mopar and NAPA premium chassis parts. Granted, am beating things to death on what is left of the roads in Texas and Oklahoma but I had 180k on the y-type and the steering box went first. Nex ttime it will be cross over steering with much bigger ends. The tie rods are still good but the drag link ends are not holding up.