Wife popped a tree stump during the elk hunt. Musta been the Bud Light while drivin at night. replacing upper and lower suspension control arms. Junker says the model axle matters, book says nothing. Where do I get the info off the housing to determine this. I bought it used and I was Chevy man before it. Also, while pulling steep grade at slow speed the truck appeared to not want to down shift and mid-way up grade acted like the tranny was slipping.Only at slow speed, Never at cruising speed pulling a grade. any suggs?

 

Fill out your signature so we know what model of truck we are dealing with. Make it a lot easier to respond to posts.

Should be a tag somewhere on your diff...............

Also, you cal call the dealer, give them your VIN number and they should tell you.

 

Shifting problems started after the wife stumped your rig? Ouch...

 

if you poped it on the driver side and bent control arms (4x4 right?) you could have shoved the drive shaft back and cracked the transmision housing or t-case housing.(i'v seen both) loss of fluid wouuld explain the weird shifting, cracked housing would explain low fluid. hope that's not it.

 

I need to learn to be more specific, the damaged area was on the right side. yes its a 4x4, turning to the left is severly limited to the right is not as bad. the shifting problem surfaced before the stump incident, sorry for the confusion folks. the arms are only 60 bucks for the both from the junker, but there are cam adjustments on the lower arm and i have no way of knowing what to set them at as a starting point. the lower bushing area is so mangled i cant tell. now the shifting problem was pulling a moderate grade while pulling a 19 foot trailer(more specifics). ive pulled steeeper grades than this. it felt as if i was starting off in 3rd gear, placed it in low and engaged 4wd and it pulled fine after that. hope i was a lot more specific

 

after i ran over a tacoma last january i had a similar problem but not as bad. the front steering linkage were slightly bent and rubbing one the diffcover!
also my sway bar was bent! but i still have it and no problems after replacing all steering peices!

just an idea hope this helps

 

it appears that its localized to the upper and lower control arms. although a slight leak has now mysteriously appeared at the top of the steering box. hopefully just a seal or packing. cheap to replaced but from the looks a pain in the rear to get at. thx everyone for the info, and Tool, ive updated my sig. Great name its my favorite band.

 

The front axle on a 97 Dodge diesel 2500 is the DANA 60. On the steering box, they are crap when new and never get any better, so just plan that when it got whacked it destroyed the housing and pick up a rebuilt. Then go to someone like Solidsteel and pick up the aftermarket front sector shaft support bearing kit before your new box is trashed too.

Your shift problems are more than likely the either the holder for the throttle valve cable, or the plastic end that actuates either the bellcrank on the throttle linkage up by the injection pump, or down on the side of the transmission. You have to pry the cable a bit to see either problem, but the cracked end will only show up under pressure on the cable. A good jolt to the drivetrain will just about crack one end or the other every time.

 

Can I get by pulling the top off the steering gearbox and adjusting till I can pick up a new gearbox? Its still hunting season and I dont want to lose time on the mountain, Elk fever cant describe it! Steering is great turning to the right but limited to the left as if the steering gear jumped (teeth?) after the impact. It just whines when you crank it hard left. I can live with it for a couple weeks if I can get away with it. What say you?

 

You need to look under the front end while someone tries to turn the wheels to the left so you can see what's hanging up/interfering.

 

I dont mean to tread on your thread, but on my 95 does it also have a dana 60 on it too. I can't seem to figure that out myself.

 

green d, RCW told me to pull the vin and call the dealer. it worked for me. As for the interference. Weelll, the pitman shaft was so twisted the splines appeared to look like a worm gear! You would think that a ball joint would have broke or at least a weaker part of the steering system fail. When I got off the mountain and cleaned it up enough to see it closley the shaft had cracks all the way around it. failure was definitely imminent and we were lucky to have made it home alive. driving through Idaho mountains leaves very little room for error. So now this is definitely a weak link for future reference to anyone having a mild impact to the lower right axle area. THX to RCW for the tranny tips, I'll look into those as soon as I reinstall the steering box.

 

There's a mopar only junk yard here in Birmingham, Palmer Brothers Auto Parts on Ruffner Road. They have been in business for over 40 years. Randy runs the late model side and has been there over 20 years. He probably can answer any interchange question you have. Rick

 

Already have the part. Should be up and running this time tomorrow. The initial operational run-up will probably take longer than the re-install. Thx for the line on parts, and the prayers of me and my entire family go out to your daughter as she defends the best interests of our great nation. they are truly our nations greatest assets.

 

Thanks kelly!