so i am getting my 2001 ram 1500 ready for winter, i took it in for new tires and and they told me i need new ball joints before they could align it, so i replaced all 4 ball joints and passenger side inner tie rod end. took it back and they aligned it at pep boys. all along even before my new tires and alignment the truck would drift around on the road. so i replaced the gear box and adjusted it according to the diy. yet i still have the drifiting and there is still an 1" of play in my steering wheel. so to summarized, i replaced and adjusted gearbox replaced all ball joints and inner tie rod. front end is solid i have my dad turn the wheel and i see no slop in anything. though i do see the steering shaft move before the steering arm off the bottom of the box. does anyone have any ideas. is it my steering stabalizer shock????

 

its not the stabilizer shock. that does little to nothing.

you likely have play in the steering column shaft. is a 2 piece slip thingy with a slip joint, and there's also a u-joint. if money is no object, then replace it all with a borgenson shaft. somebody makes a new bushing. give me a minute to find it.

http://www.rocksolidramtrucksteering.com/

http://stores.channeladvisor.com/Sum...ems/BRG-000950
http://www.klmstore.com/borgesonstee...ge2and4wd.aspx

 

theres no play in the joints of the shaft. i inspected it while we turned the wheel. what i am trying to say is the top half of the steering box turns before the lower half starts too

 

theres a joint in the middle of the shaft under the rubber boot thats where my 2 inches of play was. If there really that play in your box even after adjusting the allen screw on the box then you steering box is worn out....

 

try to continue tightening the allen screw. it should just keep reducing the play in the wheel. unless its completely shot, but you said it was new... zman went through several new boxes before he got a good one. the bad ones were...dorman? and the good one was .... fenco?

 

its funny the manual states that its a fine adjustment that shouldnt be made while in the truck but on a bench? (did mine in it truck).... Also you can only go so far and then any further will not help but will destroy the gearing fast so pay attention on how many turns in you go. You should know when you've gone too far when the wheel doesnt want to return to center and it has a sort of slight lumpy feel and its slightly harder to turn...

 

It could just be a sloppy box. What brand did you get?

 

Does anyone know if you still need the bushing that Rock Solid Ram sells IF you buy the Borgenson shaft?

Thanks

 

Hey there BSF 215:

I realize this thread is a bit old, but maybe you're still "reading the mail" hereabouts - or others are coming upon this thread, as I saw on the trackback.

Thought I'd try to answer your hanging question, to the best of my ability.

It's not really a matter of one making the other unnecessary, because they do different things.

The intermediate shaft, whether Borgeson (or OEM) shaft connects the column end to the steering box. The two halves must slide to make up for cab / frame flex & transmit the rotating motion faithfully from column to box.

The steering column must rotate true to correctly transmit steering wheel movement to the intermediate shaft & down the line. What few of us suspect is the column might have an internal weakness, a bad bearing that allows the inner shaft to 'oval' or wobble, when it should rotate true.

If you've got an inch of play on either side of center, despite having all parts adjusted & checked, then the lower bearing is probably getting loose / worn out.

When it gets worn enough, it will start to clunk or rattle, most of the time - early on you just get increasing play.

Our bushing & rebuild procedure fix this for good.

So, you may need both products, or one or the other, even neither if it's another component like track bar / control arm, etc.

The Borgeson is a fine product, and if your steering shaft is worn out, could provide you with a performance increase.

If your stock shaft is not worn out, it probably won't be a big noticeable difference.

Primary wear points would be 1) sliding joint or 2) upper or lower U-Joints - check your shaft for wear at these points.

But these are different parts of a complete system - all the parts have to be within 'spec', or the weak part will compromise the whole systems function.

We offer the kit discussed here, the Rock Solid Ram Truck Steering kit.

It fixes (forever) the trouble-prone lower column bearing.

It's up inside the lower column end (outer column tube on manual trucks, rotating 'shifter tube' on auto trucks) hidden, with only a 'tension spring' visible, to push up & keep tension on the bearing.

Over time & miles, the spring loses tension, allowing the lower column bearing to 'wobble', causing steering play.

Our kit provides a lifetime, wear resistant precise Delrin bushing that precisely locates the inner steering shaft, plus complete instructions showing how to to disassembly & re-assembly.

I'll see if I can post the YouTube that explains it.

If I can't figure out how to post it, it's here:

www.RockSolidRamTruckSteering.com

Hope this was of help to you in deciding what the problem is !

Best Regards, David / RamSteeringFix Guy