2001 ram 2500 steering wander

[Bill Garland]

I know this topic has been beaten to death over the years-my 2500 ram 4x4 has always had a minimal amount of steering wander which I have been chasing for several years. So far I have installed a Lukes Link, steering box stabilizer, new tires, alignment, and a Borgson steering shaft. All other components seem tight-ball joints, tie rod ends, bushings etc. The truck only has 85,000 miles. In talking to one of my older mechanics here at PennDot today he suggests a worn steering box. After searching Borgson's site, they do offer a replacement which seems to have had good results, but is rather pricey.

Does anyone have any input on this complaint based on the repairs/replacements that I have already completed? I am seriously thinking of purchasing the upgraded steering box. I dropped off a CH Mack this week for some alignment work at a very old reliable front end/spring shop here in Harrisburg and mentioned the problem to the service manager who I know well-he just gave me a big grin.

Any suggestions?

BG

[Doc Dave]

Bill,
I also have a 2001 4X4 2500, with the CTD motor.
I had front end issues for some time, including the dreaded "death wobble".

One of the things that finally helped a lot was that my neighbor who is a mechanic by trade, got under the truck and had me saw the steering wheel back and forth with the engine off. When I did that he could see play in the track bar (that incidentally had a lukes link) and also one of the tie rod ends.

On two occasions, including what I mentioned above, the Luke's Link loosened up on me. So, I decided to get something better.
I went to the third gen retrofit track bar that is available through Geno's Garage. It is great - rock solid. I also replaced the tie rod end and added a steering stabilizer. This all caused the steering to be great, until another problem arose in the last 12 months or so.

What happened is that I noticed a steering "clunk" sound on occasion, and also the steering seemed to be getting "loose" again. Another thing that contributes to these symptoms is a worn out lower steering column bushing.

Often you will hear/feel the clunk sound on occasion and/or be able to feel a little sideways play in the steering wheel when you pull on it from outside the truck. Or, you can detect this side play down by the coupling between the upper and lower steering linkage. When I did research on the symptoms I noticed, it turned out this was the problem. I did an article in the PWA last summer on this. This fix is only $60 from rocksolidramtrucksteering.com

So, I would suggest doing the tests mentioned above and if they are all O.K., then consider the new steering column.

[Gordon Maney]

There is a commercially available piece that stabilizes the pitman shaft. It replaces the pitman shaft nut that holds on the arm with a longer one that is supported by a pillow block bearing. As Dave Brownlow demonstrated, you can also build this assembly.

It is one more step in our efforts to compensate for a front end that was under-designed with respect to front end weight on a Cummins truck.

I found steering gear adjustment is extremely critical on mine.

[Bill Garland]

2001 Ram Steering Wander

Gordon, In talking to you several years ago you had mentioned that you replaced ball joints on your 01. Were there any other components that you found worn at the time you did this repair?
I was made aware that adjusting the steering box is rather tricky. Benny Bernard installed the replacement steering box on his truck and noticed some improvement. It's rather expensive but if it cures the problem-----

[Gordon Maney]

Gordon, In talking to you several years ago you had mentioned that you replaced ball joints on your 01. Were there any other components that you found worn at the time you did this repair?
I was made aware that adjusting the steering box is rather tricky. Benny Bernard installed the replacement steering box on his truck and noticed some improvement. It's rather expensive but if it cures the problem-----

Yes, I did replace the ball joints at about 75,000 miles. There were no other parts worn at that time.

I did not adjust the gear. I had it aligned at a dealer and it was done there. The two previous alignments I had gotten done at other places did not work. That last one did.