Wandering….

[KPotter44]

99 2500 4X4. 150,000 miles. Truck wanders badly. Right and left. Had a rebuilt, from Napa, steering box installed in ‘19. Noticed a little play in the steering and the box was lifetime guarantee, so we installed another rebuilt box. No change. Took it to have the front end aligned. Replace drivers side upper and lower ball joints and did the alignment. No change. Took it to shop #3. He said there is too much play in the box. Back to shop #1 for a NEW Napa box. No change. Can’t take my hands off the wheel. Everything is tight. Shocks, brakes, wheel bearings. Getting frustrated. Any suggestions?

 

[petersonj]

Are you the original owner of the truck? If not, how many miles on the truck when you bought it and did it have any steering problems at the time? When did the problem occur? Did it come on suddenly, or gradually?

Replace drivers side upper and lower ball joints and did the alignment.

Do you have the report from the shop that tells the alignment settings? If so, can you post them?

- John

 

[Matt42]

Check the track bar. Even if it was fairly recently replaced, the OEM types can go bad fast. Also check tie rod ends.

 

[Ozymandias]

Alignment, Alignment, Alignment.

It is the Alignment that makes your truck going straight down the road, 95%.
No binding knuckle ball joints are the rest - without the steering linkage installed, no wheel, just the bare Knuckle and Brakes, it MUST move with the tip of a finger, smooth, end to end. If you have to use your whole hand to move it the truck will never go straight, no matter what you do.

Have it aligned to Thuren spec as you habe a T-steering in yours.
Zero toe in is the magic number.

 

[KPotter44]

Yes, I am the original owner. The problem seems to start after I got new tires. And one would assume that a shop that specializes in alignments would check the track bar and the tie rod ends. Disconnecting the tie rod and checking for stiffness was one of Shop #3s suggestions and when we get back from vacation, it will go back to him. Thanks for the input.

 

[Ozymandias]

How many miles on the new tires yet?

 

[fest3er]

150,000 miles? Replace the front suspension bushings; they're usually done at 90k. Worn bushings contribute a lot to steering wander. When I had mine replaced at 190k, I had to relearn how to steer.

Also, check the steering gear mounting position on the frame for cracks. And verify that the steering shaft is not worn.

Which tires did you buy?

 

[JMcCoy]

Check control arm bushings and wheel bearings. Then realign with extra caster.

 

[KPotter44]

Follow up. And thanks guys for your feedback. Took the truck back to the shop that did the ball joints and front end alignment. Asked them to double check all the alignment specs and go over the suspension one more time. They had it for a few days and the suspected the tires.

 

[KPotter44]

They were 285/75R16 Cooper ST MAXX. The same tires that had been on there for 3 years with no problems. I said OK, put some new tires on it. They went with Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT. A less aggressive tread design. No change. Got an appointment at the local Big O. He adjusted the caster and said it should be fine. No change. Just got back from a trip pulling out 26’ TT and it’s scary in some places. Wants to oversteer the turns and won’t keep a straight line.

 

[Ozymandias]

Ball joints binding, must be that.

 

[KPotter44]

OK, so I disconnected the passenger side front wheel assembly from the drag link. The wheel assembly is easy to move from left to right. One finger effort through the range of motion. There were new upper and lower ball joints installed on the drivers side, and the problem was there before and after they were replaced. One would assume that when the truck was up on 2 alignment racks, a thorough inspection was done on the drag link and tie rods ends and the track bar, but you know what happens when you assume. I hate to start throwing parts at it. Just not the way I was taught. Need to find the problem.

 

[Ozymandias]

Sounds good there. Do you have a printout from the alignment?

 

[petersonj]

Would be nice to see a printout of the before and after alignment numbers.

- John

 

[KPotter44]

Alignment printout. Hope this works. Not a real computer savvy guy.

 

[Ozymandias]

Horrible setting... this is for a sports car..
You have even more toe now then before - instead of less.

And this is not the Thuren spec that I said you should have it dialed in, this is the factory setting.
No wonder it wanders all over the road.

0.02° Total Toe or less is what you want to see - not 0.25°

 

[KPotter44]

Thanks for your input Ozymandias. While I was a mechanic for many years, I never got involved in alignment stuff. Are you saying I need to take it back to Big O and have them set it to Thuren specs? Will they have access to those specs? Will they balk at this request in your opinion?

 

[Topzide]

Thuren Spec is what you need. If you asked for it to be set to that, I wouldn't have accepted what they set it to, let alone pay for something that you didn't get. With the Thuren Spec, you'll think you're in a new truck!

 

[Ozymandias]

Thuren Spec is what you need. If you asked for it to be set to that, I wouldn't have accepted what they set it to, let alone pay for something that you didn't get. With the Thuren Spec, you'll think you're in a new truck!

Print these Data and hand it to the shop.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0510/0529/2724/files/1994-02_2500_3500.pdf?v=1638206406

Read this for your information.

https://thuren-fabrication.myshopify.com/pages/1994-2002-2500-3500-alignment

You have a T-steering from factory, that was the case between 1998 ans 2000.

Your Truck will handle like day and night compared to now.
Insist in using these specs, if they rule to do it look somewhere else.
You pay, you decide - not the Shop.

 

[Ozymandias]

The different caster left/right is welded into the axle assembly, so both adjusters left an right on the control arms are in the very same position to accomplish this.
Some shops are fooled by this fact and try to adjust dem independently which isn't possible on a live axle.