PRSKILLER

Build date is 8/07. Lady @ dealer asked for my last 8 digits of my VIN then said it doesn't apply to me.

BroncoHound

With a build date of 08/07, you have the old style setup unless you've had the dealer install the new style setup. Either way, the recall doesn't apply to you. She was right.

PRSKILLER

Cool thanks

kokalit

Just now reading this long thread . Now I have a question. My 2005 is waaaaay out of warranty at over 63K miles. However, I bought it in July 2005 and subsequently in October 2005, hit a cow just south of Dallas at 70 mph. It hit just below the grill cross-hairs and pushed everything back into the engine block. Nearly $12K and one month later (Thanks Geico) what was then Smith Dodge just south of Dallas had me back on the road "good as new". One plus to the incident is the new inter-cooler was the all metal one. Now I wonder if I got the potentially fatal steering components during the repair.

Aside from going to the dealer, how is the faulty assembly identified? tomorrow I will be crawling under and looking for any part numbers I can find. But are there any other identifiers?

BroncoHound

You didn't get the recalled parts. The recalled parts are only on the newer design that was released in early 2008. Some people have taken this newer design and installed it on older (2003-Current) trucks, these are the only people with older than 2008 model trucks who have to worry about the recall. If the dealer hasn't messed with your front suspension since October/November 2005, the now recalled parts didn't exist at the time and you are good to go.

kokalit

Thank you Bronco for the clarification.

xtoyz17

Bought my truck in January used, previously owner had the upgrade done. Got the notification via carfax that a recall existed, brought it in last night, and found out the parts were the recalled ones. Parts be ordered, and Monday next week I should have all new front suspension parts.

Service writer knew EXACTLY what it was before I said a word, and was already climbing under the truck by the time I mentioned "H46"

Shawn

DECJ

Well, I see from this thread that the H46 recall for '08-'09 Dodge Rams apparently started clear back in January, but for me, the first I heard about it was when I got the safety recall notice in the mail last week from Chrysler for "H46 - Mopar Steering Linkage". Although it's been quoted before, here is the basic text on the recall notice I received:

"Chrysler has decided that a defect, which relates to motor vehicle safety exists in some 2003 through 2009 model year Dodge trucks. The problem is ... during a prior service appointment, a Mopar service parts steering linkage may have been installed on your truck. The drag link inner joint may fracture under certain driving conditions. This could result in a loss of steering control and cause a crash without warning. Also, the steering damper bracket at the tie rod tube may loosen. This could allow the bracket to slide on the tube and may cause increased vehicle turning radius."

When I first read the above, I thought it was a totally weird statement that, "during a prior service appointment, a Mopar service parts steering linkage may have been installed on your truck". I was sure this had not happened, and beyond that, what dealership would install parts on a truck that were neither requested or part of a recall or TSB (and would then not tell the owner about it)?? That made no sense to me. I also knew that my steering damper was connected to the tie rod with a conical stud or pin, and not a bracket.

Nevertheless, I didn't want to take any chances and made an appointment with my nearest Dodge dealership for this morning. Keep in mind that my nearest dealer is a 4 hour round trip from my remote location. When I show up, the service manager walks out to my '07 Dodge 3500, looks at my steering linkage set-up and says, "You're good to go. You have the "older" tie rod & drag link set-up, as well as the stud mounted steering damper, so you'll have no problems". He further mentioned that it was the newer set-up that was giving Dodge and some owners problems that the recall was aimed at. When I pointed out that 4 hours of driving was a pretty long way to come for what amounted to a 1 minute inspection to determine that my 3500 was not subject to the recall, the service manager said maybe they could have let me know over the phone what to look for to save me the trip. In any regard, he ended up showing me another Dodge Ram on their lot (I think it was either an '08 or an '09), with the problem set-up.

Anyway, here's a shot of my steering linkage (before I installed a Defiant/Radflo steering damper in place of the stock damper):


Now here's a shot of the newer steering linkage that the recall was all about (which, BTW, looks like a much cheaper set-up IMO):


If anyone else gets this recall notice, you might want to check out your own steering linkage to save yourself some time and hassle if you have the older set-up.

Ace

I think that dealer just BS'd you out of some warranty work. The problem with "some" of the new steering parts is they were produced with undersized 13mm bolts. The correct parts with the 15mm hardware looks just the same with bigger bolts. Way better, bigger and stronger than the old stuff like on your truck. The old parts with stud-mounted dampener should not be available after stock runs out and Chrysler is not supplying them anymore. When yours wears out and you take it to a shop for repair they will install the new stuff - and charge you full price if you don't get it done under warranty.

Crude dude

Ace, are they just swapping out bushings or something allowing for a larger bolt? Or are they using a 13mm bolt where a 15mm already fita and just swapping out the bolts? I have been through hell with death wobble since they installed the new style on my 07. Its fixed now but they said it was a dampener, replaced it and now its not happening. This has been going on since last november and dampener was swapped in february. Truck is out of warranty now and my dealership is one of those that is closing down. Never smooth for me.

DECJ

Ace, I appreciate your comments but I actually have to disagree with you. The other part of the recall notice I didn't initially quote states:

"What your dealer will do ... Chrysler will repair your vehicle free of charge (parts and labor). To do this your dealer will inspect the steering linkage on your truck and replace steering linkage components if required. The inspection will take less than 1/2 hour. If linkage replacement is required, the work will take an additonal 1/2 hour to complete."

Then, on the response post card (attached to the recall notice that Chrysler requests be mailed back to them), there are basically two check box choices ... "My vehicle was inspected and found to be OK", or, "My vehicle was repaired".

So, in reality, my dealer did exactly what they were supposed to do. They inspected my steering linkage in my 2007.5 3500 (with only 10,350 miles on it), found that it had the "old" parts that were not subject to the recall, and gave me a clean bill of health.

Since I first posted, I have in fact learned a lot more about this recall. First, it apparently started back in the January time frame exclusively for '08 & '09 Dodge Rams, since those model years had the "new" steering system and parts. However, when Chrysler subsequently realized that warranty replacement using the newer steering parts on '03 to '07 Rams had occurred in some cases, that's when much later mailings of the H46 recall notices took place.

From what I have also learned (and you have confirmed), the "older" steering parts on my 3500 are not as strong or designed as well as the new set-up, and that when I get enough miles on my truck (which is not a daily driver), then I can probably expect problems which will require the new parts to be installed. Luckily, I've got the maximum extended warranty (7 years/70K miles) on my 3500, so I hope that when it comes time to address this issue, I will still be covered so I don't have to pay full price for the new parts and the labor to install them.

In one way, it would be great from my perspective to cut to the chase and get the new parts now, but without actual problems or finding a dealer to wink/nod and then just replace them as if something was wrong ... that's not likely to happen, so I suppose I will just have to bide my time.

Ace

You should be good with an extended warranty. Alot of people with relatively new trucks on the 3-36 plan got screwed with Dodge's shoddy front ends. Crude, They have to replace the whole kit on the bad ones.

Crude dude

I did have the entire kit installed on mine. I did have the 2007 and older style and they installed the 2008 and newer when I had a slight knock in my steering column. Im not sure why they wanted to replace all of the steering but they did.

Crude dude

Just called my service writer...he is no longer at the dealership i was using. Now Ive got a new basket case at another dealership im sure.

03 ant a hemi

My friend has a 05 and he had all his steering linkages replaced under the warrenty. Everything is bigger.
My 05 just came back and they installed a new dampner bracket and a new cross link along with a drag link.
there is some confusion as to what has to be done and what they are actually doing.
Best thing to do is go to DODGE.Com and punch in your VIN, if it comes up and says your under the recall, print out the recall and bring it to your dealership.
This Steering recall encompasses from 2003-present trucks. Not all the trucks require it so it seems there were some different parts installed at one time or another.
My stock 03 has to get a recall done on the steering before the dealership can sell it.