Double check your u-joints in the front by raising the front end and have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth slowly while you spin the tire(s). They can feel tight but still be dry and binding.

Next take the front tires and rotate them with the back see if that changes anything.

 

Will do!

What about the cam's? I think merc225hp is talking about the caster cam's on the control arms. So I went out and they are in fact not the same. How do you adjust them without screwing up the caster? Should the caster be the same on both sides?

 

Alignment specs are posted on a few boards, and some of the recommendations are different than what the factory specifies. Of course, these were put up by an alignment tech, with years of experience as well.

Only way to set it correctly is on a machine. Someone took a shortcut when doing the alignment on your truck, and, instead of doing it the "right way", used the cam instead. This introduces a "twist" on the axle, and can have really strange effects on things like handling, and tire wear. EVERYTHING I have read says the cams need to be set EXACTLY the same, and any other adjustment is done with the ball joints. Trouble is, doing it that way is time consuming, and tedious. A mechanic that is paid by the job, and not by the time involved.... (flat rate....) just wants to get the specs right, not necessarily set the way the factory dictates.

Finding a shop that will do it the "Right Way"..... is difficult, at best.

 

Those are for caster you know right? Bring it to an alignment shop. We lost the links for some tech info on the alignment, but, IIRC, the caster wants to be as close to 4 as possible on both sides.

 

Yes I was talking about the cam bolts on the lower control arms, HeyYou and Zman are right, Find a good shop. Both bolts should be the same, I lay odds that this is your hop.

 

I think this is specs that everyone is talking about....

1994-and-up Dodge 1500 4X4 pickups have a tendency to drift to the right. Aftermarket offset joints are available for this application that provide 1/2 to 2 degrees of caster/camber correction.
From On the 1994-and-newer Dodge Ram two-wheel drive trucks (except the 3500 Cab Chassis), camber/caster corrections are made using the slotted pivot bar on the upper control arms. On the 4WD trucks, camber is preset at the factory. On the Dana 60 axle, the ball joints have a zero degree steel bushing, but on the Dana 44 axles there is no bushing. Though Dodge says no camber adjustment is available on either the Dana 44 or Dana 60 front axles, there are aftermarket offset bushings for the Dana 60 axle and offset ball joints for the Dana 44 axle. Caster adjustments are provided, though, by a cam at the front of the lower suspension arm.
From Brent - ASE Certified, Gold Certified Chrysler tech.
(This tidbit has been posted to numerous mail lists and message boards)

Specifications (my personal settings for every Ram I align):
Setting Left Wheel Right Wheel
Caster 3.2° 3.5°
Camber -0.10° -0.10°
Cross Caster -0.3°
Cross Camber 0.0°
Toe Standard specs, (maybe a little out if you tow a lot, they will pull in as the front end lifts up).
Discussion:

In a previous posting, people were complaining about a shimmy in their Ram 4x4 after striking bumps in the road. I suggested that the front end alignment has either too little or too much caster, thus causing a caster shimmy. He did not like my response and changed his concern from a "shimmy" to a "bounce" (big difference), and insisted it was the shocks. Maybe it is, I haven't driven it. He also said the alignment "checked out". Here's the problem: Alignment programs (and service manuals I believe), give a wide acceptable range for front caster on the 4x4 Rams. I believe the range is 2 degrees to 5 degrees (if that's not correct, it's pretty close). The problem occurs when the alignment tech (independent or dealer) tells you that the measurements "checked out fine", just because they were in this broad range of acceptance.

Caster readings that fall on either end of the scale are subject to caster shimmy, even though they are "acceptable". I had to align some 30 trucks and attend a 9 hour "Dodge Ram Chassis Dynamics Diagnostics" training session (fancy name, ehh?), before finding out that 3 degrees to 4 degrees is the optimal caster setting for 4x4 Rams that eliminates caster shimmy.

Above are the specifications I set Ram trucks to. First I want to give a little more info on correct Ram alignments so you can see if you had a job well done, The eccentrics on the lower control arms ARE NOT for individual wheel caster adjustments (even though our alignment machine says they are). The eccentric sleeves in the upper ball joints are for adjusting individual camber and total cross caster (difference in caster between two front wheels). This is why replacement eccentrics are positionable in eight different ways.

Once camber and cross caster are attained with the eccentrics, the lower control arm eccentrics are then used to swing the caster readings into specifications. The two eccentrics must be swung in the SAME direction in EQUAL amounts. If they are not, it will create a setback condition (one front wheel further forward than the other). FYI - Comparing between the two front wheels, caster will cause a pull to the smaller value and camber will cause a pull to the larger value. A truck set up with caster pulling in one direction and camber pulling in the other direction, can lead to a wandering truck; even though it is "in specifications"!!!!!!

If the eccentrics on the lower control arms of your truck are not pointing the same direction, the alignment was done incorrectly and the axle was "twisted" or "forced" into position to attain the acceptable values (seen them from the factory this way, go figure). A correct alignment will set the truck up with a slight negative cross caster (truck has slight pull to left) to compensate for right hand road crown. Camber will be equal side to side slightly on the negative side. This will help maintain acceptable camber when hauling heavy loads, as the truck tends to lift in the front when towing. Camber will then fall slightly positive when towing.

Just because the alignment shop says "it's in specifications", that does not mean it is set up for proper performance and handling!!!!!!!!!

 

I got off my *** and opened the up the Service Manual. Once I figured out what it was talking about (took a while) I went out and did some measuring.

Pass Front = 26 3/4"
Drivers Front = 26 1/4"

Pass Rear = 24 1/4"
Drivers Rear = 23 7/8"

Wheel Base 138.7, GVWR 8800, 4X4

As you can see the height on the front is 1/2 inch taller on the passenger side then the drivers front. It equals to the Drivers side being shorter than the passenger rear. The cam's for the Caster are in different positions and that ='s different height measurements even with any relaxing springs or what not.

Now the cam the shop put in was for the camber adjustment on the upper Drivers front Ball Joint. This was to get proper camber, not caster.

If you do that math either way as per the Service Manual I have a negative value of - 2 5/8" on the Drivers side and I have a negative value of - 2 1/2" on the Passenger side. If you leave it the same as it sits now the average between the 2 is within an 1/8".

I Subtracted the front measurement from the rear measurement and used the average between the right and left side which is close enough to come to a conclusion of 2 1/2" (caster correlation valve). So I looked at the OEM chart and came up with 4.99°. So I pulled my last print out on my alignment and guess what, it sits at 4.7°. However, with an incorrect adjustment on the caster cam's from the get go this could explain the issue.

If both sides could be even to start with (same height on both fronts) then adjust both sides in unison to bring up the 4.99° corrected caster (per Service Manual) I think it could possibly fix the issue (at least on the caster). Your saying it should be closer to 3-4?

It does wander and is light in the steering as well as pulls right some times on flat ground. It all makes sense being negative (if my calculations are correct). So off to an alignment shop after Christmas (I have a lifetime at Firestone) and see if they can fix it.

If someone knows where to find that corrected table correction it would be greatly appreciated! I do have the last alignment print out if needed?

This link is dead: http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/specs/00_steer_specs.html

 

Remember that mt truck is a 1999 2500 4X4 DANA 60 Front and DANA 70 Rear.

Front Left
Caster 4.7°
Camber 0.0°
Toe 0.06°
SIA 9.0°
Included Angle 9.0°

Front Right
Caster 4.7°
Camber 0.3°
Toe 0.04°
SIA 8.8°
Included Angle 9.1°


Front
Cross Caster 0.0°
Cross Camber -0.3°
Total Toe 0.10°


Rear Left
Camber -0.5°
Toe 0.37°

Rear Right
Camber 0.1°
Toe -0.28°

 

The link works for me.
It's the same thing that is in my previous post anyway.
thread bump

 

SOB......It was jacked the other day!

Anyway updates!


Took it over to a different Firestone and had em through it up on the lift. Found out that indeed the rear end is out of square. It has shifted 1/2 inch's one side than the other. So I was looking and the blocks themselves are shifted slightly different then each other. What has happened is the truck is dog shifted so the original tech didn't say anything, and decided to do extra work by placing a bushing cam in the upper ball joint on the drivers side to get the front end to move over far enough to take up the slack of the failed rear end......What a freakin dumb ***!

So I told them to drop the caster (which both were on at 4.7°) but both lower control arm cams were at different settings. Anyway, I wanted them to drop it to 3.5° or close to it to at least get the caster more positive to lower the under-steering issue. This would also help the wandering for now.

So I'm standing out there looking at it and he breaks the cam bolt on the drivers side! So now I'm stuck 30 miles form home so he walks next door to a shop and pulls a old bolt that will work for now. He has to grind a flat spot on it so the cam will operate and he can at least get me home for the night. So here I am waiting for the new cam bolt to come in and I get to spend another few hours over there.....Ug

This brings me to a new question, I need to replace the blocks so I will post a new thread.

"Moral of the story": Measure the rear end to determine if it's square before telling people how to do their job......LMAO.....