Vague steering still :confused:

[hearingyourlies]

Ok, here's the list ... new tie rod end set-up, upper and lower ball joints, a front U-joint, steering stabilizer, DSS steering brace . . and the truck is STILL wandering ...



But before any chimes in and says it's the tires, it was doing it when I had the Nitto's and now that I have the Toyo's.



What the hell is left?!?



I'm leaning towards steering box or track bar bushings.



Any other ideas?!

 

[CPittman]

Does "... new tie rod end set-up... " include the tie rod end on the pitman arm? That's the one that was loose on my truck and gave it the "floaty" steering feel. Also, I believe that there is an adjustment on the top of the steering box too.

 

[JimScott]

I've been plagued with vague steering on my '05 since new. I finally sprung for the Dynatrac free spin hubs and the steering improved immensely. It's a lot of $ for Dynatrac but the factory unit bearing and the rotating mass of the factory design leaves a lot to be desired.



I've only had the Dynatrac hubs installed for about a week and have only done one long trip, just got back today, so I haven't fully tested the setup. I believe my fuel mileage has improved a little, but I need a lot more runs before I know for sure.



What I do know is that it steers much better. I think the vague steering is caused by the rotating mass and the friction in the U-joints. Plus it may be caused by unit bearing itself. It may have some lateral "give" compared to the timken setup of the Dynatrac hubs allowing the wheels to follow their own track.



To test whether the vague steering is caused primarily by the inertia of the rotating mass I am going to try some runs with the hubs engaged, but I haven't gotten to that yet. When I do I will post something.

 

[Superdawg]

I too have been working to improve the vague steering on my 2004. 5 for some time now. I started with about 3/4" slop in the steering wheel:



A little tightening (1/4 turn) of the steering box: some improvement

new drag link/tie rod/HD dampner: some improvement

Defiant steering brace: big improvement, should have done this first, I just can't believe how much this makes a positive difference.

new track bar bushings(Genos): decent improvement. The old ones looked good but the new ones minimized the wander. Don't take it off unless you have access to a press.



Now I don't have slop and the wander is much reduced. I still think I could benefit from removing the steering box from the truck and properly adjusting it. I am hard to please when it comes to a vehicle tracking straight. Free spin hubs would dramatically improve the tracking probably but there's that cost thing. My tires have about 50% tread left. Seems like they track better w/ new tires. 65k miles, no hard off roading, mostly city driving, decent amount of towing a 9k fiver. My . 02 cents.

Tom

 

[Bob4x4]

Don't overlook toe-in setting,and caster can affect the feel.

 

[Superdawg]

I forgot to add-

alignment after drag link/tie rod.

re-check alignment later-within specs

add a little toe in: very minor improvement.

New shocks probably wouldn't hurt.

Tom

 

[JKreiss]

ultimate steering fix

I was battleing all of the same symptoms. I'd replaced the entire front end twice. Everything from ball joints to pitman arm, to drag-link and u-joints. Finally at wits end, i called Thuren Fab. I ordered the extreme steering kit, along with his track bar and it completely changed my truck. It was that or order the "new" steering from dodge. Dodge was something like $800, Thuren was under $500. I understand some people might not want to drill the knuckles but i wanted it fixed and i wanted it to stay that way. Since i installed the kit, i feel i have a brand new truck. The steering "slop" has been eliminated, the response is incredible, and it was hands down the best investment i've ever put into this truck. It may not be what you're looking for but IMO it's definitely worth consideration.