hey guys, i have an 06 2500 crd with a leveling kit and the oh so great 315 bfg's.
my question is that when i was looking at my truck under the hood while it running i grabbed the steering shaft before the steering box obvioulsy and tried rotating the shaft to check for play, the shaft will turn about 1/4 1/8th of a turn without the tires moving at all.. i looked at the steering wheel and it turns as well..is this normal?.

Another thing is that my steering wheel is cocked to the right about 1/8 in order to keep the truck tracking straight down the road, am i able to fix this myself or would my best bet be to take it to an aliment shop. i have a shop and a good set of tools and a good mechanical sense but i have very little experience with steering ( more building motors). thanks for any help,

 

anyone?

 

Can't answer the steering shaft play, the toe in/out alignment can be adjusted manually in a pinch with a measuring tape, but it is best to have a shop do it. I have a lifetime alignment at Firestone. With the cost of tires,it's worth it.
To center the steering wheel, you have to loosen the appropriate tie rod and tighten up the other tie rod. Your tie rods might be loose/worn?

 

both tie rods have been replaced. prior.. i thought you could adjusted the steering wheel with the drag link?

 

One tie rod end is attached directly to the drag link, the other is connected to the pitman arm. You can adjust one to straighten up your steering wheel, but the other tie rod must be moved in the opposite direction to maintain your toe in/out. This assumes your alignment is correct........

 

Actually if you just loosen up the clamp on the drag link and rotate it, you can get the steering wheel back to center. The drag link is the bar coming down at an angle from the steering box.

 

I haven't looked underneath there for awhile.Your correct, sorry for the bad advice.

 

That 1/4 turn is a bit much. Is the pitman arm moving but not the tires? Either steering box or steering linkages may need attention.

 

i checked the steering linkages, they seem to be tight with no play.. it seems to be coming from the steering box. i just checked my buddies 03 ctd he just had his steering box replaced with a new one and his does the same.. oh well im going to have to try adjusting the drag link to straighten up the steering wheel .. thanks guys!!