SSminnow

I am in the process of purchasing the above truck, closing the deal on Tues. I did notice on the test drive that the truck pulls right. Since this is my first go round with the Dodge (coming from a Ford PSD) are there any consistent front end problems with these trucks, like ball joints, tie rod ends, rack and pinion, anyhting of the sort? The tires are fairly new, but the R/F tire onthe inside tread has some chop to it. All of the other tires are wearing evenly. Once again, any consistent problems with the front end on these trucks, or am I more then likely just looking at an alignment issue? Thanks!

Hounddog

Humm.Some ball joint issues.Get them checked first.Lots of 3gs go RIGHT.Many posts and threads about this.Mine LIKES right and worse on certain roads.

SSminnow

The truck has a 1500 mile 30 day warranty on it, so when I pick up the truck I am going to go have it aligned, and see what the alignment shop says. If it is a ball joint or the such, then the dealer will take care of it, so......

C Schomer

Mine is great! Drives like a good car and goes straight as an arrow on any road. I just bought it 4 wks ago and I was under it today - tinkering. I noticed it had recently been aligned - can see where adjustments were made. Somebody did a darn good job! Craig

riata_ag

Yes, Dodge has had a ball joint problem on their 2wd models for a long time. I am not sure about the truck in question. Probably should check tire pressure, because most highways slope to the right for drainage I usually run 2-5 psi more in my tires on the right side of my vehicle and it works great for me...

rammtuff

I think you mean to say balljoint probs on the 4x4's.
I don't rememeber reading too many issues with the 3g's 2wd and ball joint issues.
Remember a bad tire (tire pull) will NOT be corrected with an alignment. Swap your fronts side to side and see if the pull goes away. Road crown will also cause a perceived "pull" when none is present.

SSminnow

I am going to go to the Dodge dealer tomorrow and have them run the VIN for any warranty items that may have been taken care of. I ran teh Carfax report, and seems to be a 2 owner truck here in Texas. It was sold as a "Dodge Certified Vehcile" at a Dodge dealer in Madisonville, TX on 3/18/04 with 36,501 (it now has 96K) I am also going to have them rotate the tires and re drive it to see if it still pulls right. Either way, nothing I am too concerned about. So, I should be a "new" Dodge owner soon

underwoodtransp

well since you are still in the process of buying it I would just tell them you want it aligned before you purchase it. And the easy check with the ball joints is use a prybar to see if you can get any movement out of the spindles with no weight on the tire.

herb

best to have the dealer make it right before you close the deal

SSminnow

Well, closed the deal today. Went and had new front tires put on, and that was what was causing the pulling to the right. New tires, no more pull. I am headed to a Rockets game, but will give more info later....

jnaker

I bought my 03 drw new and that was my first compliant that it pulled to the right. Had the front end checked and it was fine. When the tires were new it was real sensative to road crown and 0n most roads the crown will make you go to the right. After several tire rotations and 25k miles I hardly notice any pull at all. I think the dual rear and single front tires make the crown in the road the culpert and not so much the truck.

SSminnow

Have now put about 550 miles on the truck, and tracks true and straight since the tire change. Darn Generals (still have them on the back however) I knew about radial (tire) pulls, and since the one tire had some chop on it, decided to put 2 new Goodyear's up front and see what happened. No more pull.

sherman

How much does on 03 go for today?