I have a 2000 Ram 5.9 4x4 that I got last year, and the previous owner did nothing to take care of it at all. The first time I drove it the truck would wonder all over the road.

I took it in last week and had the front end inspected and they replaced the track bar, shocks front and rear, front sway bar bushings, front brakes and calipers, front axle u-joints, front drive shaft u-joint.

The shop also inspected the ball joints and tie rod ends and they said they were still tight ?. The truck has 168000 miles on it. Can they still be good with so many miles on them ?.

The truck feels a lot tighter going down the road now, but it still wonders side to side a little going down the road, but no were as bad as it was before.

What im noticing now it play in the steering box, and I think that's were the rest of the problem is at (I think). Ive read on other forums that the steering box on these trucks tend to get loose or go bad. Is this a common problem on these trucks with a lot of miles on them ?.

Im looking for thoughts and opinions on the steering box and anything else that should be checked or rechecked.

Thanks

 

Yes, play in the steering boxes of these trucks is very common at your mileage level. Best steering box replacement options are Borgeson or RedHead. Also, check the steering shaft where it comes out of the firewall for slop, along with the intermediate shaft joints.

 

Guaranteed that your steering box is junk.

Get a Borgeson or Redhead

They're a little pricey compared to your part store "reman" where they just replace seals but they actually fix the problem

 

It's also possible your tires are contributing to it. Wider, more aggressive tires tend to wander more than highway treads.

 

I know its not the rims and tires, there the stock rims and stock tire size.

I will probably go with a little larger tire in the future, but right now im trying to get all the problems fixed that the truck had when I got it.

 

Alright...

But stupid question: had an alignment done?

If your toe is slightly out, it can cause road wander.

 

When I had the front end work done a little over a week ago, they also did an alignment at the same time.

 

I checked out the Borgeson and the Redhead steering boxes, and im going to go with the Redhead steering box. It will be a couple of months before I can afford do it, but that's next on the list.

 

Good choice, mine works great(redhead). On a side note, mind if I fix the spelling of your thread title? It will help anyone doing a search on this topic.

 

in the meantime you can tighten ur steering box up some and see if you like it better, it will fix some of the play. look up how to do it in the service manual, but make sure you only tighten it a 1/4-1/2 turn at a time, to much and you will lock up the box.