My '98 is a bit spooky going over rough roads too. Part of my issue is worn shocks. I have new heavy duty Bilstein's on order that hopefully come in tomorrow. The steering gear box also has some slop in it, so that allows the truck to wander slightly when hitting a bump (especially while turning). In general, solid front axle trucks just do NOT steer or ride as well as IFS trucks. But, IFS has plenty of flaws as well. Real trucks have solid front axles IMHO....

 

what does your front end mechanic say ? if its still feels loose, he should be able to give you an exact cause.

you've got ball joints on the other side. all the tie rod ends. stabilizer bushings, upper and lower arm bushings, shocks, steering box, bearings, axle u-joints, etc.

i'd guess the ball joints on the other side...

 

I had a thread on here a while ago on a "clicking" noise when turning, most said to check my Axel U joint's, i did and just recently got both replaced noise is gone (Thank You) and really took away theat side to side (shimmy) i was experiencing. I still do have the "loose" feeling in the front end but im pretty sure that's in the steering box.

 

I tightened up the adjustment screw on the steering box today and it worked great. In my case, all ball joints were tight, and there was only about 1/8" of movement in the trac bar (frame side). I had about 3-4" of steering slop. After adjustment, I only have about 1". There are lots of individual points that can be causing your slop, so you need to pin point which one(s) are faulty. I could tell my gear box was my issue becuase 3-4" of rocking the steering wheel is what it took before the wheels started to wiggle (or for the pitman arm coming off the gear box to move much). If this is your issue, make sure not to over tighten. I've read that others experienced "hard spots." I didn't experience hard spots. It was more or less just fussy and not wanting to turn and wanting to resist any movement I gave it, mainly at higher speeds. At lower speeds it felt ok. I backed off about 1/3 of a turn of the adjustment screw and now it's good. In total, I turned the adjustment screw abut 1 1/2 turns tighter (after loosening about 1/3 turn).

P.S. I installed 4 new Bilstein heavy duty shocks today, and that also helped quite a bit, especially while turning and going over a bumpy road. The truck is much more predictable now.

 

I tigthened the stearing box on mine about a month ago. It was actually the shocks giving me the problem. Installed new Monroe Sensatracs yesterday and drives a lot smoother now.

 

that's what she said

 

Lol

 

99 ram 1500 2wd 5.9l laramie 4dr extended cab.i replaced upper and lower ball joints both sides and pitman arm.then took it and got it aligned<-(dont know if thats spelled right).it does drive alot better than before replacing all that but it still feels loose and seems to pull a little.there's no play in the steering wheel tho.does clank a little when hitting potholes and bumps.can some one give advice besides junking it,trying to give her new life.thank you

 

How does it feel 'loose'? Not really understanding there.