V06 drag link recall

[sag2]

employees at a dealer dont know anything about welding so what do you expect. about 1/4" of good weld on only one of the flats would be more than plenty to keeps the nuts in place. then again if the nuts are torqed they shouldnt need any weld in the first place

Actually the nuts were torqued and they still came loose. Hence the welding of all the nuts.

 

[crazy jerry]

oh really. who torqd them and to what spec ? the average joe wouldnt have the tools or know how to do it. or did the dealer tell ya YEP we got it all tightened up for ya sir . turn buckle and jam nut has been around since crist was born. i just cant believe theyre getting loose if tightened correct

 

[kthaxton]

They were torqued at the factory, there was an issue with the threads. Hence a factory recall.

 

[Tuesdak]

Just grind the welds off and have your shop do the alignment as usual. They either have them weld it back, or just leave it as is. Most of the weld photos I saw posted looked pretty awful so it would probably take five minutes with an angle grinder to do it.

Has the alignment procedure changed any from RAM? IDK why RAM was replacing the welded parts after grinding off the weld to do an alignment.

 

[sag2]

You didn't have to grind off the welds to do an alignment. There was a procedure issued shortly after the recall that gave a procedure to perform an alignment with the nuts welded. Apparently no one knew about it or refused to think it was valid. Not positive, but that may be why they started to replace some recalled parts. Remember, the welded nuts only affected steering wheel center, not any other alignment angle adjustments. The procedure issued was so the alignment could be done and the steering wheel still being able to be centered.
I have always said that there was way too much noise being made about this recall. Yes it was not the perfect solution, but it was way overblown. It took longer to type up a tirade than it would to just crawl under the truck and grind off the welds in the unlikely event you needed an alignment. Most of us have never had to have our trucks aligned.

 

[JLandry]

sag2,

Are you able to verify the part status of the drag link? This online Mopar parts supplier shows it as being discontinued.

Thanks!

John L.

 

[sag2]

John, there are 700 in depot stock and 1,300 in dealer inventory. That price is very good as dealer net is $327. Perhaps that is why they are not taking orders.

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

sag2,

Are you able to verify the part status of the drag link? This online Mopar parts supplier shows it as being discontinued.

Thanks!

John L.

View attachment 137774

It also says its unavailable due to a manufacturer supply shortage. So which is it?

 

[Cummins12V98]

No one caught the---"JB"---weld??????

 

[Ozymandias]

No one caught the---"JB"---weld??????

I doo, i remember that you told us about you wiggling around the recall.

 

[JLandry]

Just thinking out loud here: Presumably Chrysler (et al) must have tried different solutions to prevent loosening of the drag link jam nuts before resorting to welding. That seems so crude. I wonder if a second set of jam nuts and thread locker wouldn't have been adequate? Or better yet, how about using two sets of drilled jam nuts (like the example below) on each side of the adjuster sleeve to accommodate safety wire (common in the aircraft industry) securing the jams nut pairs from loosening?

We'll probably never know.

John L.

 

[SnoKing]

You didn't have to grind off the welds to do an alignment. There was a procedure issued shortly after the recall that gave a procedure to perform an alignment with the nuts welded. Apparently no one knew about it or refused to think it was valid. Not positive, but that may be why they started to replace some recalled parts. Remember, the welded nuts only affected steering wheel center, not any other alignment angle adjustments. The procedure issued was so the alignment could be done and the steering wheel still being able to be centered.
I have always said that there was way too much noise being made about this recall. Yes it was not the perfect solution, but it was way overblown. It took longer to type up a tirade than it would to just crawl under the truck and grind off the welds in the unlikely event you needed an alignment. Most of us have never had to have our trucks aligned.

Yes the drag link only effects steering wheel centering. One do the same thing by working on the steering linkage at each wheel. In on one side and out at the other. When I install the updated drag link myself I had to adjusted the drag link a bit to center the steering wheel.

 

[Tuesdak]

I have always said that there was way too much noise being made about this recall. Yes it was not the perfect solution, but it was way overblown. It took longer to type up a tirade than it would to just crawl under the truck and grind off the welds in the unlikely event you needed an alignment. Most of us have never had to have our trucks aligned.

Having gone through this with a NEW vehicle needing an alignment... Why would anyone take the liability of un-doing a recall fix esp. on a NEW vehicle under the Adjustment warranty? Bluntly many shops simply say "No!" because: Liability. When a RAM Truck Center dealer also says they can't do an alignment... You know there is a serious problem. The RAM Dealer did not care you could do an alignment without bothering the welds: they simply refused and by the time I got it figured out with RAM it had cone shaped the fast wearing tires along with several alignments and swapping tires all day to eliminate the one(s) with radial pull. What a long Circus that was when Frankly, I have better things to do let alone deal with an off center steering wheel due to pull for 15K miles while I raised hell with RAM to get this done.

Is the/a RAM Dealer now able to install the new updated part for COLD HARD CASH? In 2019 RAM Dealers were unable to do so. This added to the pain of what should be a common easy simple alignment.

Even with RAM involved ... finally to get an alignment ... RAM had the dealer replace the parts that got the weld ground off. And that triggered another recall on my 3500. It wasn't the dealer's fault as RAM directed them what to do.

"Can't Do It."

Rather than tell people to undo a recall and put the liability on them: The correct fix is the updated part no matter if RAM or the owner pays for it out of pocket. The alignment procedure on the old style parts is replace the welded on old parts with new and re-weld them unless that's been updated since RAM did it to mine.

Do you think for one second I wanted to call RAMCares TWICE just to get my NEW 3500 RAM aligned with updated parts so future alignments could be done No Questions Asked?

The current dealer I use that put the updated part in with RAMCares finally approving the updated part ... Subs the alignment out to the Chevy dealer because they don't have a rack long enough for the crew cab long bed pickups.

Those who do need an alignment did find out what a Circus this Recall is without touching the entire issue of the DOT prohibiting welding on steering parts.

 

[sag2]

Is the/a RAM Dealer now able to install the new updated part for COLD HARD CASH? In 2019 RAM Dealers were unable to do so. This added to the pain of what should be a common easy simple alignment.

As mentioned above, there are over 2k parts in the depot/dealer system. Any dealer can sell them to you.

 

[Cummins2014]

As mentioned above, there are over 2k parts in the depot/dealer system. Any dealer can sell them to you.

Why in the world would anyone buy that part ,the process couldn't of been any easier dealing with Ramcares , the process was easy. They took care of everything .

 

[AH64ID]

Why in the world would anyone buy that part ,the process couldn't of been any easier dealing with Ramcares , the process was easy. They took care of everything .

I bought the part and installed it my self, so much easier to do it myself and get reimbursed than deal with ramcares and the dealership.

 

[SnoKing]

dup post

 

[Cummins2014]

I bought the part and installed it my self, so much easier to do it myself and get reimbursed than deal with ramcares and the dealership.

Not sure how much easier it could of been letting them do it . Couple phone calls , but yes there was a bit of confusion on parts , nothing that amounted too much . And yes it was two visits , but I live less than 5 miles from the dealer . I have had several recalls on this 2014 , all by the same dealer without issue .

 

[AH64ID]

Not sure how much easier it could have been letting them do it . Couple phone calls , but yes there was a bit of confusion on parts , nothing that amounted too much . And yes it was two visits , but I live less than 5 miles from the dealer . I have had several recalls on this 2014 , all by the same dealer without issue .

You just explained how it was easier to do at home.

 

[Cummins2014]

You just explained how it was easier to do at home.

I just don't find it as fun laying underneath a truck these days at 75 . Being retired it couldn't of been easier for ME !!!