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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
So My truck is done at the body shop and they can't figure out why the steering goes 2.5 turns to the left and 1.5 turns to the right. I told them that the frame is bent but now I'm not sure what if this thing (that I can't find the name for) is bent?
The accident affected the left front shearing the locating pin on the springs shoving the axle back so far the tire was pressed into the fender. They replaced the steering gear box, and drag link trying to figure out why the steering is so off. I have a 2" leveling lift in the front and the stock drag link is not adjustable like the one in the picture and they said the frame was not bent but I'm wondering if this item highlighted in the pic could be bent? It looks pretty beefy but...
Possibly, but doubt it. Not sure what's causing the lock to lock being off so far, but if it was hit that hard did they also replace the pitman arm? Could be it sheared or twisted the splines?
I haven't gone out to check the number of turns on my truck but is it as simple as they didn't center the pitman? Like is it only supposed to turn 2 revolutions each way?
The gear has internal stops. you can send it to a gear rebuilder and have them removed. This will eliminate your issue all together.
you can try this.
Remove the pitman arm from the draglink
Turn the wheel lock to lock, finding the center of the internal stops.
Once you find that, extend the adjustable draglink to the pitman arm taking into account the steering geometry is straight forwards.
One of the problems with our trucks is the "unevenness" of the ability to steer, left vs right, which is why they went to the second gen designed steering.
I haven't gone out to check the number of turns on my truck but is it as simple as they didn't center the pitman? Like is it only supposed to turn 2 revolutions each way?
This is not likely because there are 4 guide grooves, for lack of a better term, that allow the arm to be installed. That means that, in my experience anyway, there is no way to install everything if the arm is not indexed correctly. There are different gear ratios in the same type box. I bought a reman that was more, or less, I don't remember which, rotations stop to stop. I believe that a difference is a tighter turning radius on the drivers "non blind side" as opposed to the "blind side" passenger side. Of course, I could be wrong about all of this. My rig will make a u-turn in a normal street on the drivers side, pulling a boat, without repositioning. The opposite is true on the passenger side...Mark
Sure, T beat me to it... didn't know about the internal stops, thanks T. My 4x4 also has external stops on both sides of the axle, don't know about 4x2's, but one could be broken, 1 of mine is
Last edited by maybe368; Nov 10, 2017 at 07:37 AM.
Pitman arm was not replaced. I will have them replace that and the other thing I can't identify circled in the pic. The pitman arm has a keyway so it only goes on one way. I suppose it's possible that the steering gear box was the wrong one ( it was replaced twice thinking that was the issue). The picture is not my truck by the way.
Pitman arm was not replaced. I will have them replace that and the other thing I can't identify circled in the pic. The pitman arm has a keyway so it only goes on one way. I suppose it's possible that the steering gear box was the wrong one ( it was replaced twice thinking that was the issue). The picture is not my truck by the way.
Check those stops on the ends of the dana 60. They are just bolts acting as stops. It could be something that simple. here is a pic I found:
That looks like an adjustable drag link from Sky Jacker. I believe it is meant for trucks with a 4"-6" lift according to most of what I've seen on their web site. If your truck is not lifted that much it could be binding in one direction while you are steering. I would go with the stock drag link.
That looks like an adjustable drag link from Sky Jacker. I believe it is meant for trucks with a 4"-6" lift according to most of what I've seen on their web site. If your truck is not lifted that much it could be binding in one direction while you are steering. I would go with the stock drag link.
I am thinking the same thing, that would do it.
The frame would have to be bent so bad a blind man could see it to caus that much off center.
HMMM.. my 90 plow truck does exactly the same thing, it can be a royal pain on some of the jobs I do. I was thinking all I had to do was change the box ( it's really worn out) but you said you have already tried 2 different ones and it didn't fix the problem, I am going to be following this thread
If you buy a box no internal stops, this thread will have fixed your issues.
The adjustable stops on the axle itself will determine your lock to lock. You then reposition the steering wheel wherever it needs to be once the truck is back on the road, and you can travel down a straight, flat road to see how off the wheel is.
The Steering arm you keep referencing is still available in the "lifted truck" version. The one you have I would be dollars to donuts isn't bent, but if you insist that you need one, and you have a slight to moderate lift, here's where you can buy a new one.
rotations stop to stop. I believe that a difference is a tighter turning radius on the drivers "non blind side" as opposed to the "blind side" passenger side. Of course, I could be wrong about all of this. My rig will make a u-turn in a normal street on the drivers side, pulling a boat, without repositioning. The opposite is true on the passenger side...Mark
