Dodge steering is garbage

kawi600

kawi600

got Coal for Christmas
Joined
Jun 9, 2008
Messages
861
Ive got a 2nd gen with a 3" lift and 35x12.50 tires on it. The last two are probably not doing me any favors but I should be able to make this thing steer straight somehow, right?
Ive got thuren fab's heavy duty steering, a 3rd gen trackbar conversion and thuren's trackbar on it. thuren control arms, borgeson steering box and shaft, a fox stabilizer in the late 2nd gen position and a sector shaft reinforcing bracket.
Have gone through all the joints in the front end they are all good. trackbar as well.
But the truck likes to wander around over defects in the road. bumps, ruts, holes. it will knock me around so much I fear getting near parked cars on the right side.
Have set caster to 3.5* and a tiny bit of toe-in to try to keep this thing going straight.
Any ideas on what else to try? I am at my wits end. Ive spent enough money to consider a ford 12v swap.
thought about putting a camera under there as I drive and see if I can see something flexing, like the trackbar bracket (It cracked in half once already I had to weld it back up).

Last two Ideas I have are, load the thing up with stabilizers or install a hydro assist on it.
Anyone run hydro assist?
 
I've heard bad things about Borgeson boxes and those seems to be the main cause of issue in these trucks. I went with the psc 6 bolt box just need to install it and all the other I'm replacing. I'm not sure if you know but on Thuren's website it states you must have over 4.5" lift for his steering to work properly. I'm curious, as I would have run his steering over synergy, did you consult with Don about using his steering with 3" springs?
 
I have thurens 3" coils and king shock package on the truck already. lift comes out to about 3". I had to order the steering like 1/2" shorter I think.
I turned one of the tie rod end heims 1/2 turn thats probably 1/16 or less. tried one full turn and I swear it was worse.
If I swap out the steering box at this point it will be because Im going to the PSC hydro setup.
 
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theyre about as close as I can get without either welding new mounts or buying a pile of pitman arms to see which has just the right drop to it =(
 
Did you try aligning the truck to the specs on Thuren’s website?
Also what make/model tires?
 
kawi600 said:
theyre about as close as I can get without either welding new mounts or buying a pile of pitman arms to see which has just the right drop to it =(
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I chased this issue with my 95 forever... The best thing I did was the PSX Big Bore Box, but it still didn't cure it fully. I am at the assumption something is going on in the steering column itself. The Truck drives and steers fine, doesnt death wobble. but It wants to track and is also very touchy on the interstate. I honestly hate it.
 
my buddys truck des this bad..mine does not..both stock front ends in decent condition..his has an offset to the outside 16.5 rim and mine has a stock offset ..both 35s his jusy happens to e wider and finds the grooves in the road from the semi more where mine does not..its all we could ever figure out...just food for thought
 
Mudn_1 said:
I did one of those with little to no change. My Truck consists of: 99HD Steering, new balljoints, New Dodge off road Control arms, New Stock Track Bar (stock Height) PSC Big Bore Box, carli low Mount, borgeson pump and shaft...
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That's a pretty solid setup so I would just ask what the caster is set? I:m no expert but it could be on the higher side if it feels too touchy on the interstate.
 
Marq92 said:
I've heard bad things about Borgeson boxes and those seems to be the main cause of issue in these trucks. I went with the psc 6 bolt box just need to install it and all the other I'm replacing. I'm not sure if you know but on Thuren's website it states you must have over 4.5" lift for his steering to work properly. I'm curious, as I would have run his steering over synergy, did you consult with Don about using his steering with 3" springs?
Click to expand...
X2 on the borgeson. Red head oem style fixed a lot of stuff I didn't like. Next is radius arms.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
youre limited on how much caster you can put into a 4wd truck, any more than 3.5* youll start to get vibration from the front drive shaft due to the pinion angle. I tried 4* and it was shaking the cab pretty bad.

I thought about the rims as well. Im running H2 rims on it since they were cheap. They stick out more than Id like, but to get a 35/12.50 tire under there you need some offset so youre not hitting the lower control arm. Is there a narrower metric tire size I could use that works out to 35" diameter?
 
I'd guess it's tracking. Mine did this the one time I tried 305's, went back to 285's, and mo more tracking. Not sure what's available in 35's but I'd look narrower.

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The roads where I live are horrible. Im going to develop some kind of kidney or spinal disc disorder driving here Im sure. cant bend your knees and ride off the seat like you do on a dirtbike to soak up the hits.
seems like the bumps are worse than the highway tracking. when I have had tracking its been from a loose toe-out condition or tires with lots of wear on the shoulders. I have had some scary encounters with ruts on the highway like that before. about as bad as clipping a pile of sand or snow with a tire the way you get pulled in.
from what Ive seen here so far Im going to try to find a different pitman to get the drag link closer to trackbar, but its hard because they are listed by lift not by drop. Also looking into a hydro assist kit with a new gearbox. Really fed up of the steering on this and want whatever I do to be the best fix I can get on it.
I love the borgeson box, it really puts out a lot of power. I just wonder if running ATF in it all these years has made it wear out internally. Since theres not much left to replace my bet is on the gearbox.
I would post pictures of the drag link / trackbar angles but I cant figure out how to post pics.
 
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Stupid question, but are the set screws in the steering shaft still tight? I’ve had that problem before.
 
I will check it, but it didnt feel like there was much slop in it when I saw the wheel.
 
Honestly, I'm not going to read any of this, but I want to share what happened to my 4G recently.

replaced entire front end, added some upgrades, only to trash a box a couple hundred miles later.

long story short, the nut for the brace is slightly off, which killed the bearing and seal. I've yet to take it in to work to check runout, but even after shimming around the pillow block the shaft is visibly off.

Not sure how that happens on a lathe, but here we are. new steering box is going on this weekend, and the brace is gonna sit for 100k+ miles until the box is worn out and I want to buy some time.
 
It sounds like bump steer, which is kinda inevitable with the lift and a setup that's not 100% custom.

Adjust the track.bar a little bit see if you cant find a medium?

I just trashed a napa box after I thought i trashed it and tried to adjust it and now the thing wont hold power steering fluid long enough to drive anywhere.

I have 2.5" springs, extended fixed length short arms, carli +2" shocks, napa stabilizer, mopar upgrade steering, pure performance track bar and a steering brace.

It rides decent, doesn't steer the best and the center is vague, but with the lift springs I effectively have 5" of uptravel up front so I can take most bumps and dips at full speed if I want.

2006 4x4 quadcab with a hillsboro flatbed (7800 lb truck)
 
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