I have a 98 Ram 4x4 2500 quad cab long bed. I recently replaced all the tie rods, ball joints, shocks, steering shaft, and tires(285/75/16). I had it aligned and still had this wandering problem. I then replaced the track bar, it helped a little but I still have a wander problem.

If I am going straight down the road and have my hand positioned on the steering wheel at 12 o' clock, I constantly have to move from 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock to keep it going straight. Any idea what I'm missing here?

Could it be the steering box worn out? Should I have had it realigned after the install of the track bar?

I bought this thing a couple months back and the previous owner obviously never took care of it. It shows about 270K on the mileage and judging on the condition of the front end when I bought it it leads me to beleive that it could very well be a bad steering box. I have not tried to adjust the box, I heard that is a possibility, not sure on how to do it correctly. Any advice would be appeciated.

 

Do you still have slop in your steering? If so, box is pretty high on the list of suspects. (and a fairly standard problem....) You can try and adjust the box a bit. There is a DIY in the faq section, and a bit more involved procedure in the factory service manaul. (which is also available in the faq section.)

Some folks familiar with the dodge trucks also recommend running around 3* of caster up front as well, to increase the tendency for the steering to want to self-center. (being self centered is good for steering, bad for people.....)

Welcome to DF.

 

is there play when you move the steering wheel from 11 to 1 or does it respond when you move it? It definitely could be the steering box, and getting it re aligned wouldnt be a bad thing...

 

With the truck parked and not running I can see that it appears to respond when turning from 11-1 not alot but I do see some movement though.

 

Thanks for you help, I will look at the faq section.