I have had my 1999 durango 5.9 for about 2 years now. it has 130k on it. It has ran great for me and I love this truck. A hand full of problems have came about this last year and has been sitting for a couple months. First off it has been running rough i thought headgasket but no signs of that, i am going through a lot of oil but it is not smoking out the tail pipe or leaving puddles of the ground?? Idk whats going on? My other issue is with the suspension, i am driving down the road and it starts turning wherever it wants whenever its scary and feels like the wheels are going to stop. PLEASE HELP.

 

Check plenum gasket. Spark plugs. On the suspension and steering you need to check ball joints tie rods steering gear Pitman arm. Make sure the upper arm is still attached tightly.

 

srch prety much nailed it, burning oil and rough idle is classic plenum gasket, open the butterfly valve and shine a flashlight down there and you will see oil if the gasket is bad.

 

First my apologies for highjacking Dallas' thread...I obviously have the same issue and I do see the oil coating the inside of the plenum. My question is, would the smell of raw fuel also be the result of the plenum gaskets being bad?
Thanks and sorry Dallas...
Just saw where this is for the 5.9, I have a 4.7, same fix???

 

OK they have the engine problem covered so I will voice my opinion on the suspension problem.

1st: open the hood and grab the steering column in the middle and twist the middle shaft then you will need a new intermediate shaft if not then that's OK.

2nd: lay under the truck and have someone turn the steering wheel and see if there is any play in the pitman arm or idler arm.

3rd: raise the front of the truck and support with jack stands (remember to block the back wheels) take off the tires and wiggle the hub up and down and sideways. Doing this you will be able to see if the ti-rod or the ball joints have any play if so then you have found your problem.

If all of this does not show and play or movement then it is your steering box.

 

I had the same problem were my steering wheel would turn to the left randomly like the D was going to run into oncoming traffic and commit suicide. Hydrashocker told me how to fix it.

He said the problem was that the front differential was binding up. First, shift into neutral and put it in 4wd, then shift it back to 2wd. Then put it in reverse and hit the gas and jerk the steering wheel back and forth, put it in drive and drive forward, stop put it in neutral 4wd, 2wd and so on, repeat, repeat. I did this 4 times and it never jerked or randomly steered whenever it wanted to again. Thanks Hydrashocker.

I did this after I inspected all the suspension components.

 

no raw fuel does not result from a bad plenum that i know of

and the 4.7 is different and does not have the plenum gasket problem.