kingofdodge7131

Hey guys got a quick questions for ya. I have a steering issue. Whenever im turning the wheel and stop turning ( picture 1/4 turn) the wheel will bounce back and forth. Like it gets Power steering power then looses a bit and comes back. does it going around corners, at a standstill. And does it in both directions. Any Idea?

jhenson

Remove the PS cap...if it blows out of your hand the system is pressurized. Don't know much about it....mine did the same thing for a while and then it quit doing at all. Read something out a vent hole in the cap becoming clogged. Might look into that.

Kylemm1002

I have the same problem. It almost feels like some one is playing with the steering wheel while going around graudal turns.

Ive replaced everything but the pump and the steering box. Its not REALLY bad but its there.....and makes the front end feel light while pulling a load

kingofdodge7131

I also noticed that when im sitting still the wheel wont turn. as in i cant run it back and forth. Any Ideas?

Kylemm1002

That sounds like a pump issue. Do you notice a change while driving if you hit the brakes?

Roadmedic

The system should not have any pressure when you remove the cap?

BlackPuff_Gone

No. Some of the caps are defective. When the engine is off, take the cap off. If it releases pressure, it is defective.

This usually causes leaks in the reservoir and steering cylinder.

See this: https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...11&postcount=6

Roadmedic

Thanks, I will check into further.

I have checked 4 different dodges and they all have the same pop on them.

Put my cap on another truck and theirs on mine and it did the same as well.

Mechanic stated it would be a slight pop.

bluthndr

Curious if anyone got this sorted out. Friend of mine's is doing exactly what you describe... Sounds like he has already replaced darn near everything in the front end.

46mech

Seems to me there could have been two issues since it was mentioned that he couldn't turn the wheels while stationary. If the problem seems to be just when the truck is in a turning motion, I'd look at the front axle u-joints. The initial description in this thread sounded similar to what I had going on and I was leaning toward maybe a bad steering pump or box; I would not have thought the problem was in the u-joints. Warranty replaced them and problem of "jerking" steering wheel while in a turn went away.

Kowalski

One thing you might want to check is the supply hose, the liner may have come loose and under sucksion it colapses and cavitates/restricts the pump. A friend of mine had that same problem on his ferd. Dealer replaced 3 pumps, 2 brake boosters, steering box and cooler in four trips to them. He had asked the dealer about changeing the hoses but they said they looked fine and could blow air through/no restriction. The last time he got a place that does the hoses for their drilling rig to make new lines for his truck and when they changed the last pump he gave them the lines and said put them on, no problems since.

JThiessen

I too am interested in determining if my PS pump may be bad. Last spring, right before a 1200 mile trip to my parents ranch, I had all new ball joints and u-joints installed. Also had new BFG 285's put on it (E rated). About halfway through the trip, I started noticing some handling issues while going through turns. It progressively got worse and by the time we made it to the ranch, my steering wheel was about 10 degrees off when going straight. Took it in to a local shop, and they found that the steering nut had loosened and the alignment was out (by about 7 degrees if I remember correctly). I had them replace the steering box as well as align it. Halfway home the nut loosened again.
I ordered the 08 steering linkage, as well as one of the aftermarket steering box stabilizer kits, installed those and took it back to the place that did my ball joints. They rechecked their work (not sure how that was done), re-realigned it, and sent me on my way.
I still have some significant movement in the front end. It almost feels like I hit a patch of ice when going around corners at highway speeds. Especially bad when on mountain highways. Turning right is not as bad as turning left. At times it actually feels like the steering had bound up - i can move the wheel about 5 degrees smoothly then it hits a hard spot, and a little more pressure to make it go past that. Its not repeatable, and no matter which shop I take it to, they think its fine.
Not sure what to do except keep replacing parts....only things left are the pump, hoses, and track bar. I called the local shop (I'm back at my parents again for x-mas), and he looked in to the new pump. Apparently there is an updated pump system for the trucks, and he thought I should look into what and why they updated them before jumping into it. Anyone else heard about that? Or have any other thoughts? I'm seriously at the point where I am not comfortable driving the truck.

05 Thunder Beas

A good way to check pump is to mash on the brakes while turning the wheel at a stop. The steering and brakes are on the same system and when the pump gets weak it can't operate the brakes and steer at the same time effectively. Kind of shadetree mechanicish but it works. What you are describing sounds like the box though.

JThiessen

I'll give that a try this morning. I had been thinking that maybe it could be getting air into the lines somehow.

JThiessen

I tried the brake/steering test and everything functioned. Full lock to lock with brakes applied.