Dodge Ram steering issue...similar to jeep

[ghettocruiser]

Hey everyone. Posting this in non-tech maybe some of you can help. My buddy has a 97 Dodge ram 1500 4x4. He has a 3" suspension lift, and a 3" body lift. 35" tires. Recently he installed a drop pitman arm, sway bar drop, and dual steering stabilzers to try to improve steering. However, his truck got much worse. Now when he goes over crests in the road that make the suspension compress and rebound, the truck veers pretty bad. Sounds and feels to me like bumpsteer. It also likes to wander quite a bit.
The ram steering set up is very similar to the XJs...thats why I figured someone might have an idea. I know drop pitman arms can cause bumpsteer sometimes. I dont think the sway bar drop or the stabilizers are causing the problem. We checked his alignment and it looks good...in other words nothing is so far off that it would cause an issue. Any ideas? He posted in the dodge forum...but all they want to help with is why they are getting bad gas miliage, or how to do tint, or why is my weatherstripping making noise......no help. Thanks in advance from both of us...I commute with him to school every other day and with icy roads on their way it would help me out too!

Justin

 

[DaveD912]

I had a Ram, but never lifted it - try pavementsucks.com for help/info. The site is open to all, but has mostly Dodge guys.

 

[Jaysheep]

I have a 98 ram running basically the same setup, I would give a good look at the trac bar, replace it with a quality unit, they are known to have problems. I am also a gold member at pavementsucks.com and i would highly recommend this site for any dodge ram info. Great people with real world experience.

 

[WayneXJ]

I would agree on checking out the track-bar. On my 98 2500 I had alot of wandering, and when I'd hit a bump I could feel the death wobble about to start. Last week I replaced the track-bar with one from Napa with a lifetime warranty for $200, problem solved.

 

[dyna]

I can tell you from experance Dodge 4x4 front ends are a little touchy. The trac bar is a issue and yes its the same as the cherokee front end set up. Check out Lukes link for trac bar repairs. There is also a setup that runs a plate under the sway bar mounts and drops a bracket and mount directly under the output shaft of the steering box. The pitman arm is nut is replaced with a special nut that has a section that inserts into a bearing that is mounted in the bracket I mentioned. The result is similar to the XJ/TJ steering box brace. Ball joints are weak, axle u joints bind. All affect the steering.

 

[ghettocruiser]

Man....and I thought you guys were helpful with jeeps! Thanks a lot for the info...and that website. pavementsucks.com. Thats a pretty cool site! Mike, owner of the truck, has already taken into consideration the whole track bar thing. Im trying to convince him to replace it. I think the drop pitman arm is messing things up as well. It all started when he installed that. SO I think he is going to pop that off and see if it helps. Keep the ideas coming and thanks for the info given!

Justin