If I pull any heavy trailer my truck drives great. It makes a big difference. If I'm not towing it still drives like crap. Could the toe be in or out too much?

In two weeks I've put a new PSC steering box, Bilstein shocks, and Moog trac bar. It is better, but now it drifts to the right.

I'm really burnt out with the way this truck drives.

 

Front end alignment and tires?? There's not much for you left to do by the looks of things. I'm lucky to have a friend who works in a local front end shop. While their prices are known to be on the high side, I trust my friend and they only fix what needs to be fixed, when front end misfortune strikes. If it's an easy fix, he tells me what needs to be done and even how to do it. I'm lucky to have many such friends!! Maybe it's time for a trip to the local front end shop for an "expert" diagnosis and then back to your place for the fix. These front ends aren't that complicated and shouldn't be that hard to dial in. Good luck!

 

During lunch today I thought more of the towing and how it lifts up the front end a tad and affects the toe in. So, I adjusted the toe by turning the buckle 3/4 of a turn to achieve more toe in. I drove it back to work and I can tell a difference. It doesn't wander all over the road and it feels tighter. I might back it off a 1/4 of a turn later.

I think the specs doesn't give the toe in enough. I recommend trying this because it's free and quick. if it doesn't work return it back to the setting before you started.

 

Does Your Steering Return To Center After Turning A Corner.if Not,
Your Ball Joints Are Sticking Or Your Truck Does Not Have Enough
Positive Caster.dodge Trucks Dont Drive Very Well With These Issues Because They Have A Staight Front Axle And Tend To Follow Road Crown.and Can Also Cause Poor Woundering Conditions.
Hope This Helps You

 

Tommy
My truck was just like yours, wandered all over when emty, and felt better when I towed,
When i changed steering linkage I adjusted more toe in. And it drove arrow strait.
I will just cheek the tires for wear and se what happens.

 

It drives alot better since I turned the buckle 1/2 turn to toe in. The last alignment back in Nov. The caster was set at 3.5 and 3.3. It's funny because I kept adjusting the caster myself to get the best driving quality and the guy at the alignment shop didn't touch it. It was in spec. i think I might add a little more caster though.

I just put a brand PSC steering box on it last week. It help significantly, the factory box was adjusted until the bolt disappeared. Now, I found a tierod bad a the pitman arm. I guess I beat it too much getting it off.

Its steering better, the new tierod end shopuld make the difference. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks,

 

As an ex-alignment tech.. I'd say your problem is not enough positive caster. I had my truck aligned at a shop where they would not let me see the specs that they set it to. It wandered horribly. Then I went to my friends shop and we aligned it togetther. Turns out the other shop had only set 1.5 degrees of positive caster (probably what it had when I came in in the first place!) we adjusted it to 6 and the wandering woes are gone for good.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I had to order a new tie rod at the pitman arm. I replaced it 1.5 years ago with a Moog and its already bad, real bad.

Adding toe in made a huge difference. I also think the lower ball joint is badon the drivers side. I can jack the tire up and try to find play, but its tight. The rubber is gone around the joint. Before I adjusted the toe in, the driver front would shake a little coming to a stop and it doesn't.

As soon as my tierod comes in I'll post the results.

 

Maybe you should switch to crossover steering.It should reduce the problem of the trailer syndrome I think. I'm still trying to get some feed back about it before I try it.Not trying to hijack this.Just trying to help.

 

first day my wife drove the truck she said there's something wrong with it. i said "what". she said it pulls really bad to the left. i got to thinking and asked her what road she took home and she told me. the road is slanted to the left. i knew there was nothing wrong because it had never pulled when i drove it