2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission That infamous "CLUNK" in the steering wheel!

[vssman]

You I-shaft is part of the family from the 97N truck class. Yes the rag joint will have some minor movement. Is it from one set of rivets, i. e. does it appear that the holes have relaxed? Or is the movement from the slider in the i-shaft itself. I think the slider was allowed something like . 015 inch lash but that's going from memory.

 

[SMorneau]

I had the same problem. Exact description many of you are giving. Search my posts. I have at least 2 that deal with what I found, one very recent, and I don't have time to search them right now or I would give a link. Good luck hope it fixes some of your problems that clunk drove me nuts for two years and two intermediate shafts (waste of money).



Scott

 

[JGK]

You I-shaft is part of the family from the 97N truck class. Yes the rag joint will have some minor movement. Is it from one set of rivets, i. e. does it appear that the holes have relaxed? Or is the movement from the slider in the i-shaft itself. I think the slider was allowed something like . 015 inch lash but that's going from memory.

Vssman,



Yes, it appears there are just the 2 rivets and the movement is not a lot. Just enough to see when you grab the shaft at mid-point and wiggle it. Can't tell if the holes have relaxed. It just looks like the upper (or right end in the picture) is rolling slightly at the joint.



Also there is slop at the slip joint. The rubber dust boot is still in place so I haven't done a visual but I can feel movement between the 2 pieces when I grab it at the boot and wiggle. I'm just thinking between these to areas, there is more play than would make sense.



The clunk is not real pronounced and I mostly feel it when descelerating and go over a bump, like RR tracks. I can live with it for now. I'd just hate to go through what SMorneau did - spend a bunch of $ on a shaft (not 2!) and have that not be the problem/fix.



Thanks,

-Jay

 

[vssman]

If you grab the upper U-joint and Lower U-joint and try rotate (with light to moderate pressure) them and end up with more than slight movement, then the I-shaft may be worn. Are there any other members in your area that may allow you to look at their I-shaft? You need a 97 to 02 truck. 94 thru 96 used a different isolator (rag joint).

 

[JGK]

I'll try that check this evening. I have a friend with a '98 12v auto I can compare with. I also thought about seeing if one of the 3 area dealers have a shaft in stock I can check out.



Thanks,

-Jay

 

[fest3er]

The OEM steering shaft on my '98 developed a bit of a clunk some years back. I replaced it with a Flaming River shaft and have not had the clunk happen at all since then (about 110K miles). I *think* the clunk is related to the 'isolation' joint at the firewall end of the shaft.



N

 

[JGK]

That seems to be a common solution. If I had to replace it and was going to use an aftermarket, the Flaming River version is the one I'd get. I've found it on one web site for about $230, with the slip joint.



On the other hand, I stopped by the dealer today and checked a new one. There's a little bit of play/slop at the slip joint, but I could get no movement at the riveted end as shown in my photo above. And they only wanted $127 for it. Then again, I'd be replacing it again sooner or later (probably sooner than the F. R. version).



I think I'll check my friend's '98 and ruminate on it for a while.



-Jay

 

[muchsnow]

Ya know,,,, I've searched these forums high and wide regarding that annoying "clunk", that evidently so many of us get at low speeds. You can feel it mainly through the steering wheel. God it's annoying!!!!!!!!



Well, I had the entire front end checked out by a very reputable alignment shop. I needed a lower right ball joint. That was replaced and still the clunk persists! No other front end parts show any need for replacement. The track bar is OK. Shocks have been checked. The intermediate steering shaft doesn't have any play in it. The truck doesn't wander and I have a DSS on order from Rip. An so on,,,,,.



By chance, do any of you have any other suggestions as to finding this noise/vibration?



It just makes the truck feel cheap having that loose feeling in the steering. How about wearing extremely padded foam gloves so you won't feel the vibration when holding the wheel??????



We have one fantastic engine,,,,, which, IMHO, is surrounded by an inferior shell!!! We definitely shouldn't have to deal with chronic problems as this crazy,,, clunking in the front end, in a supposed HEAVY DUTY TRUCK! This is an evident flaw in the design, among other annoyances that seem to plague these trucks! It's as if the truck slowly turns itself into a leach which slowly bleeds your wallet with continual problems that have you replacing various parts in an effort to chase the problem hoping that one of the new parts will finally correct the symptoms!!!



I really love this truck! Mainly because of the CUMMINS! I definitely cannot afford to buy a new one, so I'm destined to either continue to,,, chase these damn problems or raise the white flag an sell the truck, reverting back to my car that hasn't caused ANY problems what-so-ever!



To the Dodge engineering staff,,,,,,... . You s$%*! Go back to school and learn how to design properly!!!!!!!

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1066735



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1065543&postcount=13

 

[SMorneau]

If you are disconnecting your intermediate shaft have someone grab hold on and shake the end of the shaft from the column. That is how I found my cbad bearing assembly in the base.



I also had a very slight clunk with the flaming river shaft and cured that by getting long steel shaft coupler and using some Ball detent set screws . I slipped the coupler over the large shaft and set the set screw against it. The other end used the set screws with the spring loaded balls to preload the smaller shaft. No more clunking.



While I was looking for this clunk caused by the steering column bearing I had a buddy beat various things on the truck with a big mallet. Nothing on output side of the steering gear would produce a clunk in the steering wheel. Yes the ranchos will make noise if they are loose but it never translated to the steering wheel.