hey guys , been driving my truck for about 3 months now after my tranny swap and it drives really good. really love the way the transmission snaps into gear with the shift kit.

anyway I've noticed something and I'm not sure if it normal for these older trucks but my 01 creaks sometimes when I turn the wheel. no the its not the front end or tie rods or anything , I feel the creak and hear it if the radio is off in the truck. it sounds like its coming from the steering column or right behind the steering wheel. trust me I rolled down the windows and tested it and I even had my guy check my front end stuff.

its very intermittent and doesn't do it all the time. I chalked it up to it being cold but most days here have been pretty mild. my steering wheel is stiff on start up until I turn it once then it handles fine.

no slop in the steering but the alignment is a little off. nothing too bad, doesn't veer off. truck handles surprisingly well considering how much the tread is worn on the front tires. haven't gotten new ones yet because it hasn't snowed here this winter so I've been spoiled in not needing 4wd.

I checked the PS fluid and it looks fine but maybe it just hasn't been changed in awhile. I'm gonna change all my fluids when In the next 1k miles because the oil looked really good and clean as did the coolant when I bought the truck.

my belt squeaks until the engine warms up a little but other than that I can't think of any clues.

surely my steering column isn't going out , right guys ? I just replaced the tranny

any idears ?

 

The PS issue is related to the belt squeaking. They means the belt is slipping and it's probably because of the tensioner. Look into the rock solid ram column fix, it's a bushing in the column.