I am running 65 PSI upfront and 80 PSI in the back with the trailer connected.

There does not seem to be any movement in the trac bar at all. Of course I don't know what it is doing when going down the road.

I have heard that the 2nd gen to 3rd gen trac bar kits aren't worth the money because the 3rd gen bars are almost as bad as the 2nd gen ones.

I am going to take it to my buddies shop this weekend and put it up on his rack and go over it with a fine tooth comb. Hope I don't get pulled over for a DUI.

 

Part 2:

I found part of the problem. The pitman arm nut was loose. I was able to spin it around with my fingers. The only thing keeping it on was the bearing from the PSC Steering bracket.

The truck still wants to veer off to eitherside of the roadevery now and then. It is like there is an invisble rut in the road and the truck tries to follow it off to the side. When I correct it, it is almost impossible not to over correct it and the truck wobbles (not the death wobble) back and forth a couple of times and straightens its self out.

I am taking the truck over to a buddys shop this weekend to have him check the trac bar and ball joints up on a rack. There is no indication that either of these parts are worn when the truck is sitting on the ground and you move the steering wheel back and forth.

 

No disrespect, but I would argue that statement. The gen II track bars are very weak. The ballstud setup is the weak link. The gen III track bar eliminates the ballstud setup, completely. It has bushings at each end. I have a three inch lift and that track bar is rock solid. I have moved the track bar mounting hole on the axle to accomodate the lift. Again, that bar is solid.


Justswitching to any kind of trac bar with bushing ends it a major improvement over the factory track bar. You can install an adjustable bar that can adapt to any situation. Lift kit, lowering, alignments, etc.


If you have larger tires, it will annihilate that ballstud. You need two people to troubleshoot steering issues. Put on guy in the seat and the other does the inspecting.

Again, no disrespect, but if the track bar is bad, you would not necessarily be able to move it with your own hand. You turn the steering wheel with the truck running. Before the wheels turn, any slop in the steering linkage will be visible.
Jack the truck up and watch the suspension excursion. Place the jack under the frame and let the suspension drop. Now inspect again. Watch that track bar at the frame end. See if it gives too much.

I'm not being wise but I have done so much to my Ram's steering that I can tell ya it's tougher than you think to diagnose...lol. I can only tell ya what I know is true on my Ram.

Here's a few other things to look at. I know some Rams had camber/caster issues. I think part of the problem is the axle could use more caster. I will try to find the article.

Bad track bar can put a lot of stress on the control arm bolts. Enough where slop will appear. The forward, bottom bolts on the control arms are for setting caster. If they are worn, the truck will wander.

Loose pitman arm. We both have the same steering stabilizer. I also found that the nut had worked loose.Use a crow bar to hold the pitman arm in place and put about 150 ft/lbs to that nut. Problem solved...lol.


Bigger tires make parts wear faster. Especially the wheel hubs. I haven't read if anyone said to check your bearing/hub assemblies. Just a thought.

The usual stuff, tie rod, ends, drag link, and especially the adjusting collars for alignment. They will strip and have bukoo slop.


Ok, all of this is just my opinion, nothing else.

Good luck with your ride.

 

I replaced the trac bar today with a MOOG and it helped about 20%. The last place I took the truck to said that they replaced the trac bar with a MOOG and it was not! I'd take it back, but they are out of business.

There are still issues. I think a front end alignment is in order after changing the trac bar because now the steering wheel is cocked over about 30 degrees to the right and it pulls to the right. Good thing I bought a life time alignment! I am still going to take it to the shop saturday and put it on the rack. My buddy owns a tansmission shop and we will check everything you descirbed. If we don't replace anything else, then I'll stop at the alignment shop next.BTW I have stock sized tires.

I'd say the biggest problem I have had with this truck is the steering. I'll spend a lot of time getting it right and it will be fine for about a year, then bam! something else goes bad and there is slop in the steering.

 

Give them hub/bearing assemblies a good lookin at.

And as far as the steering wheel being off center, that is a simple adjustment. One trick that I learned to help the mechanic along, take some carboard boxes that are broken down, throw them under thetruck right below both adjusting collars. Now soak both collars down with PB Blaster, Wd-40, etc. It will drip onto the cardboard. You can even lay a few paper towels down as well. If you have an air hose, throw a wet towel over the collars and blast them witha garden hose first, dry them off with air, and then soak them down. Works every time.



Now when the mechanic goes to align the truck, it's smooth sailing cause the area is partially lubed .


Keep us advised. These guys always love a happy ending.


Good luck with your ride.

 

control arm bushings... put some polyurethane ones in and it'll lock down the front axle really nicely. had this problem with my jeep grand cherokee which has the same front axle setup. swapped in the new bushings and I thought my front end was new. tracked really well. when I got my 2nd gen ram it was one of the 1st mods I did. the tracbar is also a piece of junk.. get a thurenfab one or a bracket to use the 3rd gen 3/4 ton bar.

also, I thought I saw it mentioned up above... but add as much caster to the alignment as you can... throw out the specs and just add as much as you can. this will also help. between the two you should have the truck feeling like new again...

 

Hows the tire wear? Sounds like the tires are toe'd out. You can check this yourself if you got some white out, a pen, a friend, and a tape measure.

 

Finnal outcome:

1) Pitman Arm nut loose.
2) New Moog Trac Bar.
3) New steering stabilizer damper.
4) Adjust steering gear box.
5) Front End alignment.

Now drives at about 90%, enough to make me quit thinking about trading it in on an International 4100. The ball joints, bearings and hubs all checked out OK while on the rack today. All of the steering linkage is tight. The gear box has way too much play and will more than likely not last thru the summer. I'll start saving my money for steering gear #5. At least it will be a heavy duty one from PSC or some place like that. I've had it with the el-cheapo rebuilt saginaws I get with the lifetime warranty. I haven't had one yet that lasted a full year. #3 lasted only 10 days.

 

did you take my suggestion on the caster? also, consider the control arm bushings... when I did mine on my Jeep & Ram (2000), it made the front end feel like new...

 

If he's chewing up gearboxes I would figure that more caster would be even harder on the gearbox since it makes it harder to turn.