Hello everyone - new to the forum.

Just bought my teenage son a 94 Dakota SLT 4x4 ext cab. 5.2L w/auto. Runs great and everything works aside from the classic fuel gauge issue. The steering is a bit sloppy. I know for a fact that the ball joints needs replaced. I'm good with that and can do those myself. What I don't know about since I'm rather new to this model of truck (I've owned all Chevy's and Fords) is what to look at for the sloppy steering issue.

It responds well turning to the right, but coming back left, there's a lot of play and the steering engages pretty quick after bringing the wheel far enough to get it to turn (sort of surprises you when it finally responds). Not what I'd call ideal, especially for a new driver. Tools around town just fine, but on the highway you can really tell when changing lanes, tight turns, etc. I'm wondering what to check on this. I have a few ideas, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Idler arm?
Pitman arm?
Both?

Thanks!

 

http://autos.yahoo.com/maintain/repa...ques104_3.html

 

If you can do the work yourself, you can probably get everything to completely rebuild the steering (if needed) for about $300 (check out RockAuto.)

If you're gonna do ball joints, do the tie rod ends, too. (There are 4.) The idler arm is spendy, but a new (remanufactured) steering box isn't. I don't recall the price of the Pitman arm, but it shouldn't be too much. It's a very conventional steering system on our 4wd Dakotas.

I think it sounds like the steering box itself has gotten sloppy. Probably wouldn't hurt to run it into Firestone or some other outfit that has an experienced alignment guy for a diagnosis--then when it comes time for the alignment, give them the job. Most will check out the front end n/c, btw. Brakes, too. Even if they do charge you, it's probably worthwhile to know what needs to be done.

 

I just did a rebuild on my 93 from ball joints to idler arm except pitman arm got all the parts from rock 160 bucks and a weekend job but really easy.

 

i had a ton of slop in the steering of my 91'. i replaced the pitman arm and all was good till i bumped the steering wheel while the pitman arm wasn't connected...

 

I guess it depends on what parts you use, if you grab the cheapest you can find on rock auto it can be done pretty cheaply. I am partial to moog suspension parts, you pay a bit more but they are top notch quality. If you just drive highways the cheaper stuff will probably be fine, but if you are really abusing it I would would spring for the good stuff.

 

I priced the parts out. Duralast comes in at half the price of Moog. 188 vs 415 (upper/lower ball joints, and pitman. Might just do the Idler too. For a truck this old that won't see a lot of miles, I'm not overly concerned using Duralast. I've used them on my 2000 F150 with no issues. I suspect the kid that owned it before me ran it pretty hard off-road. Looks like the passenger side took a pretty hard hit and probably tore something up. Not had much of a chance to get underneath it yet to get a good look. But I wanted to make sure I have everything I need before tearing it down. Want to avoid the "oh crap, I should have done this while I had it apart" thing. Probably take it in and have it fully checked before making a full list of what I need. On another note, I did buy the Moog wheel bearing for my Chrysler Sebring. So I may mix and match a bit. Thanks for all the replies! Much appreciated.

 

You can see the passenger front side I'm talking about in my earlier post.

 

Looks pretty nice. Your son's a lucky kid.

I would use the 'economy' parts as well. They are good enough for a daily driver & your son can be in on doing the repairs--you can use it as a learning opportunity. And, sneak in the comments about how the previous owner abused the truck and "this is what happens when you abuse your vehicle." Best part, if you can get your son interested, is that you'll start him on a lifetime of being responsible for his own ride, learning to fix stuff is a very valuable part of his education.

I strongly believe in doing things on a budget. I'm the guy who cleaned and repacked my tie rod ends and replaced the old boots with Energy Suspension urethane boots. My tie rod ends were decent, not sloppy, but full of nasty black grease and had a couple of torn boots. Brake clean got most of it out, btw.

 

nice truck! speaking from experience my old 93 was my first vehicle and i replace the front end components with duralast and they last 50K miles. just make sure to get an alignment right after. i was young and dumb and wound up going through tires every couple of months.

as far as the miles, my parents thought the same thing but i managed to put about 80k on the truck in 3yrs going between work, school, offroading, and hanging out with friends... something i put on my list to prepare for when i have kids and they are old enough to drive and give me heart attacks...lol