2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Steering loose and or wander saga part 2

[dieselshu]

Well after stewing last night about the thought of having to pay out of the pocket for a warranty problem, I pulled up TSB 19-10-97 on the website, read it throughly and printed it out. This morning I drove to the dealer explained to the service adviser about the TSB and how it describes my problem.

He said I wonder why (the tech) didn't pull it up? I told them about the loose steering shaft and leaking cover of the steering box. They asked how long they could have the truck and penciled me in for the day.

Well I called just before closing to find out if they where done, they told me the performed the TSB, the steering shaft being loose was normal and found no leak. Well I drove the truck home and they definitely did something... the truck has pull to the right, and they play in the steering is much less than before, so know I am wondering if I need the alignment? I will drive it for a few days and see how things go and check to see exactly what they put a wrench on. I don't believe they did all of the tsb, just the first part of adjusting the screw.

Here's something the service manager told me about ... he stated the tech only does what he is told, so if the customer says his tire is loose the tech wheel look for a TSB and then tighten the wheel, they wont dig into it and troubleshoot the cause, just fix the problem and move on to the next job. He called it flat rate. Anyone heard of this?

Sorry for the blabbing, but you all give such great input and replies I find out something new every time.



Hope everyone had a safe and Happy journey into the New year.



David

 

[HC]

A good alignment will make the truck run straight, as long as you are on a good level road with no ruts or depressed areas where the wheel loadings are seen most (or shallow ruts, in other words). But IMO, it is not a basic cure for the problem - it just makes it less noticable on good roads. When anything disturbs the trend, be it a crosswind, a passing truck, or just a bump in the road, you're still going to have to move the wheel "excessively" to prevent wandering.



My steering box was replaced at ~36k, under warranty, and that helped some, but the problem returned. A new Rancho steering damper did not help me, but others reported success. A new trackbar from Lindstad helped, but did not fully solve the problem. Performing the TSB (nut adjustment only) helps a little. My next installation is a Flaming River steering shaft.



My overall conclusion is that every part of the chain is underdesigned for the weight of our engines, and I'm going to replace every link in the chain until things get better. I'll be spending several hundred dollars - less than one monthly payment. The best advice I can give you is to keep trying while under warranty, and when the warranty runs out, keep trying anyway. And remind yourself - you still have the best engine/drivetrain on the market, even if the steering is a little bit loose.

 

[dieselshu]

Steering Saga Final chapter

Hello all, this is such a great site that I wanted to pass on my final chapter of the loose steeering saga... After part 2 the dealer completed a TSB to adjust looses steering. Well it help a slight bit... but it also created a pull to the left, so I phoned the service advisor and made another appointment. Well about 3 days before the appointment the advisor called and said they decided to replace the steering box, because who knows your truck better than you So I waited the week and half for them to order the steering box and took my truck in, well the day they told me was not the day they wrote down I dropped the truck of the next day while biting my tongue in frustration... and had to depart out of town on business... so my wife was going to pick it up after work, not a problem. I told her to make sure she drove it around the block making left and right turns lock to lock on the wheel. She called me that evening and was in aw! from the difference and said I wouldnt believe it. I returned home a week later and drove the truck to work about 4 miles, wow!:--) What a difference, well sunday morning rolls around and I do my weekly checks of belt tension, fluids, loose parts etc... And to my amazement, The power steering fluid did not even read on the stick, Well of course the stealer is not open on sundays so I waited till monday morning and called first thing, boy was he apologetic, and said he would have some fluid waiting for me to pick up and most likely the fluid had foamed up after the initial fill from the replacement and caused a false reading, he stated they should of rechecked it out after it had time to settle, and of course they didnt tell the wife, she was ****** when she found out! So I made sure they documented it that the pump was run low on fluid due to service techs error and if pump failure occurs again after 36000 miles I will be covered. Well I went in the following day to pick up the fluid to top off with and the service advisor hands me ATF+4, I was did they change the fluid thru a TSB and I was unaware? The service advisor said this is what to use, so taking his word for it, "glutten for punishment I am" When I returned home I was in shock:--) and the owners manual specifically states do not use ATF, !@#*.

I got wondering then if the service tech put ATF in the reservoir or not. I checked with a flashlight and to my amazement it was power steering fluid, phew! Well another trip back to the stealer to pick up the correct fluid and recieve more apologizes, apparently the service advisor ask a different tech than work on my truck and the tech thought it was a 2002 that the advisor was asking about and the tech told him to use ATF. Well I have since then purchased the service manual on CD. As the saying goes " I am my own warranty station now":{

But I still LOVE my Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel



The End!



2001 CTD,QC, ST, 4X4, SB,