Important update regarding my recent front end upgrade:

I was driving the truck today and the steering started feeling a bit loose. I was able to turn the wheel about 2" to the right before the steering would respond. Turning to the left seemed fine though (???). This happened while I was returning from San Antonio heading towards Corpus Christi. It felt like the steering gear box adjustment the alignment shop made had possibly backed out some. I stopped and looked it over but couldn't see anything out of place. I didn't have my tools with me (took them out of the truck the other day to work on my trailer) so I couldn't adjust it anyway. I just reduced speed and continued driving home cautiously.

When I was about 30 minutes from home, I slowed for an upcoming turn. As I entered the turn I heard a loud "BANG!" and the steering went almost completely slack. I only had a little steering control at this point. 90 degrees of turning from the center did nothing, but past that the steering responded, albeit weakly. I fought the wheel to keep the truck under control, slowed the truck as quickly and smoothly as I could and pulled over to the side of the road.

When I got out and looked under the front end, I noticed the track bar mounting bolt in the bottom bracket was missing and the track bar was just laying loose in the pocket. I walked back down the road to where the front end made the noise, but couldn't find the bolt anywhere. I found two other bolts, but neither one of them came from my truck.

I was in a dead cell zone (of course) on a scarecely traveled road, so I had to I had to figure something out. I got my wife to start the truck and work the steering back and forth to move the track bar until I could get the bushing hole lined up with the bracket hole. Of the two bolts I found, one was long enough but too thick to pass through the hole and the other was too long and too skinny. The only tools I could find in the truck were a tape measure and a roll of duct tape. Guess which one fixed the truck...

The first two pics below show what I had to do to get the truck driveable enough to get 7.5 miles into town. I wrapped the long skinny bolt with duct tape and put it in the hole. Then I wrapped the end with some long pieces of tape and stuck it to the track bar. After that, more tape still, this time around the track bar to lock down the other pieces of tape. I had my wife work the wheel back and forth again and it looked like it was going to hold the bolt in place well enough to limp the truck into town.

We very slowly drove into town with our hazard lights on and went to the auto parts store. There I looked for a suitable bolt, but they didn't have any that large. I still had to get home, and this was the only place open in this small town, so I put on my McGuvyer hat and got creative. I bought a 3' long piece of 1/2"-13 threaded rod, four 1/2"-13 nuts, a pack of flat washers, a pack of lock washers, some blue locktite, a hacksaw, a pair of long needle nose pliers, and two 3/4" wrenches.

I double nutted two of the nuts together to allow me to turn the threaded rod like a bolt. I then installed another nut , lock washer and flat washer on the rod. I worked it into the hole and put flat washer, lock washer and a nut on the threaded rod on the back side. Using the locked double nuts and a 3/4" wrench I was able to tighten thread the back nut onto the rod. Then I took the other 3/4" wrench and turned the front nut to pull the whole assembly together. Once it was as tight as I could get it, I seperated the doubled up nuts and tightened one of them up against the nut that was now locked down on the front side of the track bar and double nutted it against that nut. I used the blue locktite on the front side and back side of the assembly as I put it together. It shouldn't go anywhere until I can get the truck back to the shop. Threaded rod usually isn't grade 8, so this is only a temporary fix.

While I was putting the temporary fixit bolt in, I noticed another unnerving thing about the track bar. The large lock nuts for the bushing end and the upper heim joint adapter were completely loose at the top and bottom of the track bar. The shop either didn't lock them down, or they didn't put enough torque behind it.

I saved the receipts from the repair and will be having a nice long chat with the owner of the shop that installed the track bar on Monday.

I still say the DT Pro Fab adjustable track bar and steering shaft stabilizer are excellent parts. The loose installation of these parts is what caused the problem today.

BTW: In case anyone is wondering why I didn't just install the these parts myself in the first place, I've recently had major back surgery (two disks removed and the vertebra fused) and I still can't do any heavy work yet. I hate paying someone to do things that I used to be able to do. Stuff like this is usually what I worry about, but until today, had never happened before.

 

Wow! I'm glad you're ok. Could've been a lot worse. So you think it was the shops fault? Man, I can't stand shops. There's only a few that I'd take my truck to and even then I watch them closely. Just a few weeks ago a shop forgot to put in a brake caliper bolt on my friends car!! Luckily the problem arose when he pulled into a parking lot. They ended up towing his car to the shop and it cost a few grand in damages.

 

I swear I'm done with dealer repairs and some shops too. I've had lug nuts on all 4 wheels come loose (if they were even tightened), was told I needed a new steering box, had fuel lines to the injection pump left loose (this one was done at Cummins !), was told something was done and it wasn't (use marking paint on your parts guys !), was told I must have hit something because "my trackbar was bent". I'm surprised these people can even read. Had some airbags installed while the brakes were being done, and I stood there and told the guy he was putting them in backwards. He ignored me so I went to lunch came back told the boss, and they had to do it all over. So funny !

 

i had a wreck about 2 years ago (my fault lookin in mirror to switch lanes and traffic stopped in front of me) anyhow the crumple snout of my truck did just that. right back to the inter-cooler and radiator. took it into the body shop they replaced all the parts, no paint or body damage just all the bolt ons up front. sent my wife to pick it up and this is what i got back
Problems:
1) front bumper mounts LOOSE looked like heck with the sag
2) a/c did not work.......was over charged
3) intercooler clamps loose, one side blew off
4) did not replace grill mounts, rattled at 35 and up
5) coolant low when i picked up truck, lower radiator hose was leaking.
6) did not replace cracked headlight housing.
7) they left the horns off!
8) they did not use OEM parts after i told em to even if it cost me extra.
9) truck drove terrible, they told me front end was fine.
(drove great before the accident)
I called the shop and asked "whats this"
He pretty much told me on a insurance repair ya get what ya get
I just called up my ins. company, every item they were supposed to fix they failed at. ins. co told me to take it back to em, i told em no frigging way , I'll take it to a GOOD body shop and have it done right and they can back bill the other place. ins. didn't argue got a call from the shop in question askin me to please back off and give him a chance to make it right. the ins. company was gonna quit using him if he did not get this settled with me.
I took it to the other body shop, they also found some front end problems they repaired on the claim.
good shops are out there, it's just finding them. also, everyone messes up a little people that say they do not are lying. Messing up on that scale is unacceptable.
I don't know what happened to the first shop as far as my ins. co goes, don't really care tho.

 

Today after work I took the truck back by to the shop that did the track bar work and showed them what happened and what I had done to fix it. The owner apologized for the trouble that they caused me and wrote a check for the entire cost of the parts and tools I bought. We both watched closely as the mechanic tightened everything back up on the track bar. The shop is also ordering the OEM bolt and nut (with the long tab) for the lower track bar mount and will be installing them when they arrive.

I'm just glad they stepped up to the plate and did the right thing. He and I both knew it could have turned out a LOT worse under slightly different circumstances.

 

I want to comment on the vacuum pump responses. Per Peter Gould, a common problem is leaking seals. In which case engine oil is what leaks. The fix is to replace seals. It's easy to do & there is usually no need to buy another vacuum or power steering pump. Peter is a good resource & I suggest calling him with your details if there is any possibility that you have misdiagnosed. I decided that his knowledge was worth the few extra pennies for his kit.