My 2004 Dakota is the love of my life. I got it as a special order with a Magnum V8, instead of the standard V6, which gave it some major *****. The only problem is I'm continuously having steering issues. Back in 2006 I posted, in the 2000-2003 recall topic, that the dealership completely replaced the entire front end. Sorry it took so long to return with an update, but here's one anyway...

The problem remained. After the entire front end (ball joints, steering arm, and power steering) was replaced the issue continued. I found out through my OWN troubleshooting that the problem lies in the connecting rod that runs between the power steering box and the bottom end of the steering column at the firewall. There are two universal joints on this rod that are very sensitive to greasing, or a lack there-of. Two years into my lease I had the problem corrected with a replacement connecting rod, unfortunately here I am 2 years after that with the same problem. The joints in question are displayed here;



This is the shaft that the joints are on, you have to look past all the tubes to see it way down there. It's fairly easy to see that it doesn't take much for tire-spray to get on this shaft.





This is the upper joint, under the brake boot, by the firewall.





This is the lower joint just above the power steering box.

All the stinkin shaft needs is a couple grease tips on these two joints so you can keep them lubed, but Dodge still hasn't repaired the flaw in their design! This issue is very serious, as when the grease finally wears out it feels like your running without power steering. You have to forcefully two-hand the steering wheel just to get it to turn. Need to turn quick in an emergency situation? Forget about it, it's not happening. I'm a big guy and even I have trouble getting the thing to steer when it's like this. It's EXTREMELY dangerous, and can EASILY lead to an accident.

It should be noted that the grease on the joints (in the pictures) was added by me in order to try to resolve the issue without going to the shop. It worked, but not well. The mechanics in my local shop are pretty good so maybe I'll speak to them about manually adding a few grease tips when they (again) replace this connecting rod.

If anyone else is having this problem, SOUND OFF!



NOTE: If you ARE having this problem I found that a quick application of any kind of spray lube (release-all, WD40, etc.) directly on the TWO joints will return the steering to normal. This, however, is a VERY short-term solution and is suguested ONLY to be used in an emergency (or to get your truck in for repairs).

 

i think i remember reading in the owners manual about using a spray lube on that area like you mention...i looked for grease fittings myself because i thought there may be some, but there isnt. my steering works fine but has a very light squeek when i turn the steering wheel a little bit...ill try some of wd-40 on it as a precutionary thing i guess.

 

My '96 has the same setup, but hasn't had any problems. No grease fitting on mine either.
Guess I just lucked out?

 

It may also be climate conditions. One of the techs up here (Canada) refered to the most likely cause being our very wet springs where the sand/salt on the roads can easily be sprayed up by the tires and wear away the grease.

 

Damn it's dirty in there, man!! I would totally freak out if my engine compartment was that dirty!

-Sorry, just a meaningless observation.

 

Yea, it was a meaningless observation. It's called sand/salt from winter driving. Next time try to contribute to the conversation instead of wasting bandwidth.

 

I contributed about as much as you did with your comment. And I wasn' t talking about the rust....

 

LOL, thats not even dirty!

 

Well, now that Chris is on my blocked list I can continue with RELEVANT conversation...

I went down to the dealership this morning for a scheduled appointment to check out the steering. As usual the guys were all helpful, they even remembered us changing out the same part 2 years ago. I was all set to leave my truck there and get a ride home when I asked the guy if they even had the part in stock. After leaving the room for about 10 minutes he returned with a strange look on his face. Apparently the part is backordered.

THERE ARE 41 OF THE DAM THINGS ON BACKORDER!!!

Lets consider something here. The mechanic informed me, prior to checking if they had one in stock, that all shops keep at least one of these parts on hand at all times. Which logically means before 41 of them were backordered, at least 41 of them were replaced!!! If that isn't enough to stand up and scream DEFECTIVE then I don't know what is!

So instead of leaving my truck there for 3 weeks until the part is estimated (yea right) to be available, and which is also impossible since the truck is my only form of transportation, I get to drive around until the part comes in. I'm gonna need to get a few more cans of WD40....

 

Geeez! I was just playing with the guy! Why'd he have to do that?