Hi everyone, new to the board, and just recently purchased a 93' Cummins, 5spd, 4x4 club cab dually.

This truck has seen some hard use, hauling firewood and a 500 gallon water tank on logging roads for a lot of its life. I think that at some point it hit a water bar at speed with the full water tank in the back, as the front of the box has been blown out and pushed into the cab at some point (has been crudely fixed), and the guy I purchased it from had had the drag link and steering column replaced...The steering box bracket has been welded up as well at some point, and has a crack in it at the top of the bracket.

The truck steers straight, no shimmy at all, no vibration, etc... The problems with the steering are...it turns waaay tighter to the left than the right. I've pulled the pitman arm and turned the wheel to see what the unimpeded range is, and it gets about 3.5 turns from lock to lock. Going to the left it goes all the way to the stops, to the right it has about 1.5 inches between the steering stop and the adjuster bolt.

I'm scratching my head on this as it isn't possible to relocate the pitman arm to the next wide slot (90 degrees from where it is now), It almost seems like the drag link is the wrong length, and should be shorter than it is.

The other thing I've noticed is that there is a HUGE amount of flex in the steering box bracket!!! is this normal? all the bolts are tight, its the bracket itself that is bending.

I've heard that the frames do flex a fair bit around the box and that there is a reinforcement bracket that goes on the inside of the rails. I was wondering about doing a hydro assist setup to take the forces and move then directly onto the tie rod and axle. Anyone had any success with this?

The range of steering is my prime concern...it just gets stupid trying to get around with it the way it is right now.

 

Sounds to me like the frame is cracked.

 

It is going to steer tighter to one side more than the other because the front tires hit the pitman arm going to the right if the stops are not adjusted properly. I have not watched for frame flex at the steering box but there is an aftermarket brace that can be purchased for about fifty bucks the reinforces the frame and steering gear box.

 

Mine does the same thing. I don't remember which is tighter left or right, but there is a significant difference in radius from left and right. When I first bought my truck I looked all threw it and couldn't find any thing broken. It doesnt bother me until I'm backing or in a tight spot, so I haven't looked into it any farther. I'm in need of tie rod ends now so that's my next project.

 

The tires get nowhere near the pitman arm going to the right!! With the wheels turned as far to the right as they will go, the RH tire is only angled about 20 degrees off straight ahead! I've checked the frame carefully and can see no signs of any cracks. I'm wondering if a different PS box may have been swapped in at some point that doesn't allow the same range of swing for the pitman arm.....does anyone have the correct casting numbers for the PS box?

 

Is the truck lifted? I have to use two lanes to make a right turn with my truck. It seems to be worse with a lifted truck, although a stock height truck will turn better left than right due to the drag link design. I understand that crossover steering eliminates this problem. I too have wondered what hydro assist would do for my truck, If you get there first you will have to post your thoughts. These trucks came with either a 4.5 lock-to-lock steering box or an optional 3.5 fast ratio box. It seems that we are just destined to live with the oddities of these trucks until someone comes up with a better design.

 

Here is my take on this. My '93 does the same thing and I have replaced the steering box and the steering shaft, everything is tight there. I think the springs sag, and the spring bushings / brackets get worn, and the axle moves towards the rear of the truck. This reduces the steering to the right because the drag link has to go towards the rear for a right turn. It can't "reach" a full right turn any more. Mine will turn very sharp to the left and kind of pull that corner down if you go all the way.

The fix would probably to redo the front springs bushings, brackets. An adjustable drag link wouldn't hurt any thing.

I have a hydro assist setup on the '89. You can search and find some info on the install.

 

Same thing here, My 92 wil turn very sharp to the left, turning to the right takes a good 50 yards..LOL>> No cracks in frame,everthing is tight..

 

Did some more looking....then some more and then looked really hard while standing on my head.....it seems that the steering box bracket is actually split right up the center behind the steering box!!! very hard to spot it unless you are looking from directly under the bracket . This is allowing the box to twist relative to the frame which would account for it not getting full turn.

It seems I have the 3.5 fast ration box on mine.

The spring packs on this truck have been added to over stock (to the point of ridiculous!)...9 leaves in the back NOT counting overloads!!!!! I'm going to de- spring it and bag it, probably adding a torque arm setup in back as I want to go softer than stock 1 ton packs in rear, and let the bags take the load when needed. Once I get that done, and soften the front as well (again using bags to adjust the ride height), then I'll take another look at what can be done with an adjustable drag link. I think adding the sector shaft brace would also be a good idea, along with hydro assist.

Might seem like a lot of effort into an older truck, but I live in pretty twisty and hilly terrain, plus I tend to drive like a boggin, so having everything solid up front is prime concern.

Anyone seen a track bar setup done on these trucks?