Alright. My Dodge has 54000 miles on it. It was all over the road to the point where it was dangerous to drive. I had the ball joints replaced with moog. I had the inner and outer tie rod end (pass side) replaced and an alignment. Still all over the road. I installed new tires (factory size) and I put on a steering stabilizer, no difference. Took it to a different alignment shop for inspection. They found nothing wrong and re-aligned it. Still all over the road. Took it to another alignment shop that specializes in lifted trucks. They backed off the adjustment screw on the steering box claiming it was too tight and was causing over-steer. Still all over the road. Took it back again and they put a different steering dampener on it (Monroe) claiming mine was too stiff. STILL all over the road.

There is nothing left to fix. I don't know what else to do. In order to drive the thing, you have to stay on top of it ALL the time. Add a 34' trailer to the mix and your asking for trouble. The steering constantly has to be corrected just to go down the road. I have been fighting with this thing for over 2 months now and I have had it all over the area up here trying to get to the bottom of the problem. Any ideas? Could the PS pump not be assisting the steering box enough?? Is there another adjustment there? I really did not notice any change after they adjusted the steering box. In fact I haven't noticed any improvement in the way the truck drives since I started trying to fix it.

Anyone else have any experience with this?

 

Is it "death wobble" you are experiencing?

The trackbar is a common remedy to this...

 

Most of us find 5-6 degrees of positive caster does the trick.
Both sides equal.

 

I was also going to say check track bar bushing slop and increase caster. Have you looked at the shaft from steering wheel to gear box for extra play? To bad you already did a few tie rod ends or i would say go for the new upgraded steering setup.

 

Is it "death wobble" you are experiencing?

The trackbar is a common remedy to this

Not "death wobble"

 

Most of us find 5-6 degrees of positive caster does the trick.
Both sides equal.

What do I do? Just tell the alignment shop to add 5-6 degrees of positive caster?

Trackbar bushings are good. Everything is as tight as it can be.

 

What tires are you running? Some people seem to be experiencing this with certain brands....

 

My 2001 was bad almost from new. All the dealer did was adjust the steering box, just a waste of my time. I replaced the steering box and added a DSS, problem fixed.

 

This is trouble with raising sometimes. The suspension geometery gets out of wack.. Everything in suspension must be equal. steering linkage is probablly not level from gear to other side. Every little movement of body changes toe and off you go having to correct. This assumes you have no looseness in steering and steering shafts. Doubt the box was too tight. There is a tie rod setup that fixes but can not recall who offers!!!
A interim fix may be to roll more positive caster into axle. Get a copy of current alignment specs and someone can make better suggestions.

 

Do you mean that the truck drifts from left to right, and you have to constantly correct the trucks direction with the steering wheel? Meaning that with the wheel at the 12 o'clock position, the truck will wander to the sides?

 

The truck is not lifted. It's factory height.

 

BFG All Terrain T/A's - Factory size.

 

Sort of...

Any vehicle will move about the road requiring slight corrections. I don't think it drifts anymore than any other vehicle. I think the problem comes in when I attempt to correct the natural tracking of the truck. It seems almost that the steering over corrects causing the need for additional correction.

 

Does the steering wheel return to center when you make turns? My truck's steering would not return to center on its own. In the end, it needed a new steering box.

 

Yes. It returns to center. It didn't right after the bj's were done. But after a couple thousand miles, it did. I guess that is the only thing i have made progress on. After the steering box was adjusted, the centering also improved.