Trackbar, Liftpump, etc...

[tragicwagon]

Does anyone have any ideas as to what it would take to get DC to do a recall on trackbars, liftpumps, 5th gear, and other common problems that happen to a majority of our trucks? I went to the stealer today and asked about any recalls on my truck, they ran a print out and there were none. I made the statement they should at least recall the trackbar because of so many bad ones, they told me that the trackbar was not a problem, they haven't replaced any. I know their diesel mechanic and talked with him 2wks ago. He told me he had already replaced numerous trackbars:--) . With the problems we are having, expecially the safety ones, trackbar and or stearing, I would think there would be at least one recall. I replaced my trackbar today and don't know about the liftpump yet because gauges are on order. I don't know much about the red tape or what it would take to get DC to listen. Does anybody have any ideas on how to get these recalls in the works??? It seems that DC would want to keep us happy because TDR members are a big profit to them. If they want us to keep buying their trucks they should do something to fix such widespread problems. We pay top dollar for a top notch truck and deserve to get what we pay for. I know I'm a new member and this has probably been hashed over before but let's try it again and see if we can get something done.

PS. I like my truck and love the cummins but am very unhappy with the apparent COMMON problems.

 

[THancock]

I'm with ya all the way on this. I'm now second guessing my vehicle choice, now that I see all these recureing problems. Makes me think DC doesn't really care what kind of junk they manufacture, as long as it sells. They'll worry about comebacks later, profit first at all cost. Pisses me off.

 

[WyoJim]

What are you talking about... . Common problems. Every time someone runs a poll it shows that most owners aren't having any problems.



Why did you replace your track bar... some one made you paranoid. By the way, what the hell is a track bar. I'm on my second dodge diesel with 150,000 miles between them and I don't even know where to look for a track bar.



I haven't had to relign any brakes, change any lift pumps, water pumps, serpentine belts, injector pumps. Oh ****, I had to buy new tires at 70,000 on the first one and 55,000 on this one. Might have been a recall on tires poor wear but I must have missed it.



These guys bomb the hell out of their trucks, then they break them and while discussing the problems make some of you paranoid. Some guys have even mentioned changing their lift pumps as yearly maintenance. I hope they were just kidding. Duh!!

 

[tragicwagon]

WyoJim



Yes I am paranoid, I'm afraid the damn thing will fall off and I'll run over somebody. According to alot of the threads on here it is a common problem however that is not why it was replaced. My truck at 41k miles was a struggle to hold in my lane, after having a friend rock the steering wheel I found the slack in it. Then my friend said lets check his truck and after inspection his had alot of slack too. His is a 2001. 5, 2500 with only 24k miles. As far as liftpumps go, alot of guys are having to replace them with low mileage, but so far mine is fine and so are the brakes. As far as bombing goes I dont see how a fueling box and a set of injectors will affect the steering, and liftpumps on stock trucks fail too. As far as a tire recall, my truck didn't come with firestones.

According to your sig your truck is a 2wheel drive and I think (not sure) it has a different trackbar setup.

 

[Ted Constantine]

Tragicwagon,



What it comes down to is that your average person has no idea what a track bar is or what it does. They have no idea that there front axle moves side to side when the track bar wears out. They don't know that the reason their truck does not turn as fast as they turn the wheel is that the axle moves before the tires can. The design of the track bar is not the issue and ball joint is. They have once again gone cheap on material and we pay the price. I have not had any lift pump issues. The brakes on my truck are great with the exception of a seized caliper on the front that they delt with very quickly and with no question.



My 2001. 5 is about ready for its second replacement track bar at 34,000 miles.



The dealer here can not keep trackbars or lift pumps on the shelf. The number of lift pumps they have replaced is stagering. You would think that corparate DC would see this but I guess it is easier to fix the ones that complain than tell all the other people about it.

 

[1tuffram]

[. You would think that corparate DC would see this but I guess it is easier to fix the ones that complain than tell all the other people about it. [/B][/QUOTE]



Bingo Ted, ya hit the nail on the head!!!!

 

[WyoJim]

DC will you hold my hand??

I see drivers in paved parking lots all the time turning their steering wheels lock to lock with out the truck moving. This probably puts a strain on the steering components. Might even wear them out prematurely. If these young pups would have growed up without power steering they would have never got in to this habit.



Ted... watch out for that dealer in Bozeman. He is just the kind of guy that would take advantage of the track bar paranoia. I was moving from Bozeman to Wyoming using a 20 foot gooseneck which required a lot of trips. Had him redo the clutch on my diesel to the tune of about $600. 00. It barely lasted to finish the move. I had it tore down by a little shop in Wyoming. It seems the parts that I was billed for in Montana were never replaced. After the Wyoming fix it ran great until I traded it.

Oh, and I doubt the track bar holds the axles in.



tragicwagon... I'll have to fix my signature because my truck is a 4X4. Sorry about that. And my tires are Michelins and that is all I run. And I do not rotate them, because that is another falacy contrived by the industry to sell more tires. If the front tires feather, cup or wear on the edges, putting the back tire up there isn't going to fix the problem.

I think wide open throttle helps the lift pump fail and the most important part of the fuel system to make bigger would be from the tank to the lift pump. I carry a spare fuel pump with me so when the dealer says he can't get one for a week, I can say I just happen to have one.

 

[BILLUA]

Add me to the list of trackbar replacements and steering box replacement after 30K.



WYOJIM: contrary to what you pervceive as a driver porblem with these trucks, I do not rack my steering wheel from lock to lock, nor do I park it with the wheels turned at all. . I don't take it offroading or do any other abuse to it. I have NEVER had to replace a trackbar on anyother vehicle I have owned, nor do I know anyone else that has, so I do beleive that this is a problem on these trucks that needs to be addressed. The one thing I will say is that the dealer got me right in and now instead of the truck having 3 inches of play in the steering wheel it is tight and feels like a new truck

 

[Ted Constantine]

Thanks for the heads up Jim. I have heard all the warnings about Billion and actually posed the question to the membership when I first got here. I have come to trust one of the guys there and only go there when I want something specific under warranty. They are easy to deal with if you know how to request your service and show them exactly what you want.

 

[THerman]

Let me add one more variable to the mix here.



EXPECTATIONS



I've driven manual steering, old jeep steering, tractors, etc... . as well as very nice High performance cars as well...



If I were to compare this truck with a bad track bar to any of the old things... . it fits right in... . especially with my jeep(when it's track bar was out... . You can and will get used to it steering this way if you do nothing... . I KNOW..... But more of us are starting to expect more performance... . we Know how well these things can steer and how tight it can be...

Those that drive both new small cars And thier truck will notice the difference much more! I oversteer my wifes car for the 1st mile every time... .

But I do think those that are blaming this on wrecks are way off base... yeah the steering gets a little loose... Yeah you have to actually pay attention and Drive the thing..... But It won't cause me to go into the ditch unless something actually BREAKS!

:{

I will also say that the lift pumps do go out... . BUT you will NOT notice it if you do not have gauges in!... . Until the injection pump goes out, that is...



Just MHO...



Tod

 

[JJW_ND]

Just to point out that some trackbars and balljoints last pretty long. My 96 has 210K on the same factory ball joints. They have never been greased becase the 96's never had zerks. I put the 4th set of new rubber on while back and the front end was very tight and aligment checked out great as it has for every set of rubber.



I recently added the Lukes Link to my trackbar because all this talk of bad track bars. Checked mine and their was some play. Truck drove fine before and drives fine now.



The 2000 and up trucks have strong front end as a hole (brakes, ball joints, ect). I have a 2001 work truck and the front components are bigger then my 96.



BTW... have lots of gravel and very rough rodes here in ND.



jjw

ND

 

[tragicwagon]

Well it seems that alot of us are having the same parts fail,and some members are reporting 5 or 6 track bar failures within 100k miles or so. It is good to hear that everyone is not having problems,just wish that I was one of them. I would like to see DC stand behind their product. The question is what can we do to make them fix it?Is it possible????

 

[THerman]

They really need to change this track bar design to get rid of that &%^$! ball joint end at the chassis. The jeep cherokees (at least in '85) had this same design for their track bars... . I went through a ton of them... The only fix at the time was to modify it...



$10 bucks says that the engineers actually know the problem, but aren't allowed to change it... . the decision being made by marketing!

 

[redneckdr]

track bar

had my new ride aligned shortly after new. the alignment guy is a genius with front ends. told me then he typically sees track bars on ram 4X4's needing replaced at about 15,000 miles. my truck with 13. 5K miles is starting to pull to one side. he'll be checking the alignment Monday. we'll see... ... ... . must be a fairly common problem, Wyo... .....

BTW, the alignment man is NOT associated with DC.

 

[WyoJim]

redneckdr... How far was your alignment guy's chest puffed up when he came up with all this wisdom?

Why don't you check your own track bar to see if it is loose before you take it in to him?

Your alignment guy must have worn out track bars in a big pile someplace. How big of a pile is it?

 

[redneckdr]

trackbars

sorry wyo, don't want to get into a urinating contest. and yes, i can check my own trackbar. i don't think that is the problem at this time. he will check the alignment, and while he is there, the trackbar. only made the comment because he mentioned the trackbar without any prompting from me.

 

[Silver Bullet Ram]

track bar

Oo. I have 30,000 miles on my ram and the track bar is shot. Some of that maybe do to my own doing. i just noticed the grease fitting not to long ago and did a few Walker Texas Ranger stunts with as well. I keep hearing this lift pump stuff. How do you know when it is going bad? where is it located at? I am new to the diesel and 4wd world.



Gary

 

[tragicwagon]

silverbullet



so far Ive been lucky,no lift pump failures only track bars. do a search on lift pumps and prepare to do alot of reading. Im a new member too,this is a great site with alot of info. welcome aboard.





PS. fill out your sig so these guys can help you more.

 

[redneckdr]

lift (transfer) pump

silverbulletram, if you don't have gauges, best get a fuel pressure gauge hooked up. most of the pumps that go bad give some warning with gradually falling or fluctuating pressures before they go t!+s up. if it goes and you don't know it, will eventually take out the injector pump. without a gauge, you may not be aware 'til the VP44 dies.

 

[Silver Bullet Ram]

reply

I think gauges are going to be the first order of business.

Thanx for the input.



Gary