I have an 02 2500 CTD 4x4 with no lift and I just replace my track bar with a DT Pro Fab unit. The install was quite a bit easier that I expected, by the way. Anyhow, the steering is alot more responsive now and I had the front end centered and aligned and they couldn't find any other worn parts(surprising, I know). It still wants to kinda "walk" around...not wander because when the wheel is straight, the truck drives straight. It drives like there is too much toe-out...aggressive. When I turn the wheel, the truck swings pretty quick in that direction. I remember someone talking about adding caster... do you think this will help? Can I add it myself with the cam-bolts or do I have to take it somewhere? Thanks alot!!

 

you will have to take it to a shop and get them to do that.

 

crap.

 

I'd disagree. You can easily change the caster yourself. I'd have trouble changing my own oil (not really) but I do the caster adjustments myself. All you need is two 15/16 inch wrenches. Back off the nut on the lower control arm. Then turn the bolt/cam. There are lines on the axle that allow you to index it to the same on each side. General rule of thumb is if you rotate the cam to the front, it pushes the axle forward and it will reduce the steering feel. This helps a lot if your truck wanders a lot. Rotate it to the rear for more white knuckle action.
You can adjust each side differently to account for pulling one way or another also. However, don't use it too much. Try to find the problem elsewhere first. It's good for adjusting slightly for rotational forces of certain tires and for the steering dampener. Some offset a little to help deal with how the road crown will run you off the road.

Once you've adjusted it, retorque the bolts to 145 ft. lbs. There is no correct setting. It's all about what feels good to you.

 

If you do a lot of highway driving (aminly in the right lane) add one more degree of caster to the passenger side then the driver side. This will take care of the road crown (that slight pull to the right due to the slope of the road).

 

Thanks all! Crawled under and the driver cam is rolled all the way to the rear while the pass cam is 1/2 from all the way to the front. I guess I'll be going to the shop tomorrow...

 

Talked to the shop and they asked that I install 1/2 deg offset adjustable ball joints to get the steering in spec. This seems like a reputable place...they walked me thru the whole alignment process and seems pretty logical. I still don't understand why it needs these ball joints now when the truck was fine at one point. Anyone ran into this scenerio? Anyone have offset balljoints?

 

Alright, got the offset ball joints in and drove it home...still has steering wander. Took it back and they suggested replacing the steering box. Figured this was going to have to be done even before I had the ball joints done.
Just replaced the steering box myself (pretty simple), took it back and had them line it up again...still wanders a bit. It's not as bad as when I started but there is movement in the steering wheel like the toe-out is too much...aggressive like there are grooves in the road, and the wheel doesn't want to return to center when it gets to within about 10* of center. I would live with it but it is pretty bad and dangerous in tight places with an 18 wheeler next toya!

So let's recap: DT Pro-Fab Track bar, Steering box, 1/2* offset balljoints, all new tie-rods and steering linkage, new tires at 45psi(285/75R16 BFG AT), new steering damper, Pitman arm nut is tight,...the shop says everything in the front is tight; toe is perfect.

Can I adjust the steering box to put more pressure on the system to return to center? The shop doesn't think this will help. They admit there is a problem with the steering but are also at thier wit's end.

Any help?

 

The box does not return the steering to center, caster does. I would add a little more caster and see if that solves the problem. Also check the toe.

 

When you talk about adding caster, you mean rotating the cams so that the axle is pushed forward, correct?

And am I to understand that this helps with the death wobble issue as well?