I have a 89 dakota 3.9 2WD. i put some jeep wheels with adapters (1.25") on my dakota a few months ago. when i hit a bump over 30MPH it wobbles for a few seconds. also if i firmly put on the brakes it pulls to the left a good bit. today i noticed the rack & pinion was leaking "burnt" fluid. my steering wheel also has a lot of give. if above 70 it seems almost unsafe. the majority of the joints and tie rods looked ok. i dont know if this is the adapters, bad rack and pinion, joints and tie rods, pittman arm & idler arm or just a old truck.

 

I don't believe the 2wd's have pitman and idler arms (could be wrong, I drive 4wd), as for the play in the steering, it's probably a combination of the joints and the tie-rods (very common), a bad rack could cause the problem too, but I would start with joints and ties cus they are cheaper, as long as the power steering works, just keep an eye on the fluid level. As for the wobble, I don't think it's the spacing, but probably the wheel bearing in combination with the ball joints, my sister recently had the same trouble with her Dak, and this is what was replaced (so call it an educated guess ). The pulling to one side when braking is definitely a brake issue, most likely a sticky caliper (they've really come down in price at auto zone), be careful when replacing the caliper though (replace both sides at same time if you can), if the caliper pin goes in half-cocked you will either need to retap the hole in the spindle (and use a slightly larger pin), use a heli-coil, or replace the spindle entirely depending on how jacked it becomes, if the pin goes in half-cocked it will cause the caliper to stick again, check to make certain that the pin isn't crooked. I've had this happen to me many times, just turn the pins (caliper bolts) nice and slowly, and stop as soon as it tries to turn, this means that either the caliper isn't lined up correctly to the spindle or the threads are already jacked (which is very common especially when the caliper is sticking. Hope this helps

 

Try taking it to an NTB or somewhere that does alignments. I have unlimited alignments for 5 years and I use it as a "diagnosis" tool also. When you take it there they will let you know what, if anything, has play in it. In a 4WD no play is recommended, I believe the 2WD has a little bit of a tolerance. Toe could be out which could make you wobble. As cody said, it is probably because of a tie rod or combination of joints. Might be worth taking it in so you know exactly what to change out. Also, if you aren't in a huge hurry for parts, I believe that JCwhitney actually has the components made by OEM for about half the price or so of autozone (speaking from 4WD components), but there is a lead time.

 

also check the stabalizer bar. i know on my truck the stabalizer bar linkage snapped and if i turn too sharply or hit a certain bump, my front end will wobble

 

I had the same issues with the wobbling, excessive steering wheel play, and pulling to left when braking. To solve the wobbling it turned out to be ball joints, uppers and lowers. Then onto te steering wheel play. Mine turned out to be the pitman arm. I know that rwd does have an ider arm I can't imagine that they don't have a pitman/steering arm. I couldn't find a listing for one that didn't specify 4wd. As for the pulling, I had a frozen driver side caliper. I think I paid like $60. They still make the rebuild kits for around $10 but they didn't have it in stock(big surprise) right then so I just bought a reman caliper. I don't know about the 2wd but in the 4wd the ball joints are pressed in. If there is an Advance Auto Parts by you they rent out the tool to do this with. Good luck!

 

To clarify, the lower ball joints are pressed in. (You press them "down" to get them out, and you press them "up" to go back in)
The upper ball joints are threaded in. You need a socket. 2-1/8" (two and one-eighth inch, 2.125") A regular socket will NOT work. If you look at the ball joint, it is squarish with rounded sides. The SPX Miller Tool number is C-3561 (the tool called for in the service manual). I bought mine from sjdiscounttools.com Socket made by SK, tool 84689. Please keep in mind these sockets are 3/4" drive.