How to Do Your Steering Right! | Fixing My Cummins Dodge Ram Steering Forever 

I just rebuilt my entire front end on a 2004 2500 using CJC. I used mopar T steering upgrade, Carli track bar, Carli control arms thuren 2” coils and tuned fox shocks, fox steering stabilizer, EMF ball joints, new borgeson steering box and shaft. Truck is decent in the twisties, but I’m sawing back and forth on the freeway. I’ve been to multiple alignments in the 350 miles the truck has been built. All say I’m good. The third shop though, who I researched and found with hundreds of 5-star yelp reviews, said something and it has me wondering. They said that new ball joints can be stiff and keep the wheels from wanting to self center. This causes me to constantly correct and feels like the front end is wandering. It’s not fun to drive on the freeway. I’m at a loss about what to look at next…the rear leaf bushings are good too. Tomorrow I plan to pull the zerks on the ball joints to see if I applied too much grease. I followed the EMF instructions though, and the knuckle turned freely…

@@jeremyhowell2332 What’s your tire and rim setup, size, pressures, etc? Are all four tires the same? Are your tire’s directional? What speed are you noticed the wandering, including road condition (concrete or asphalt) and is it wandering one or both directions? Does it wander under breaking vs acceleration or coasting? 07:00ish he talks about pre loading… Make sure every component is installed correctly, torqued and used plenty of grease (jd corn head AN102562), crack open the box if need be. Maybe the "thrust line" and centerline are too far apart?… especially with a solid rear axle with leafs given all you’ve done to the front. *Worst case after double, triple checking everything including ailment is to identify your frame is squared away, literally. I know the feeling, it’s like the truck isn’t connected to the tire’s or the road, like driving 65-70 on glass. There’s quite a few options, including factory warranties on your new part’s. Sometimes you have to adjust all parts so it all works together perfectly. Or sometimes it’s just a track bar issue… best of luck and I suspect the front end complexity doesn’t match up with the rear setup.

@@2K9s thanks for taking the time to reply. I adjusted the Carli track bar to the exact center to center measurement Carli and CJC off-road recommended. The tire/wheel setup is all brand new as well. They are 18” Methods and 35x12.50 Nitto ridge grapplers. As far as the frame, it’s factory mint. No rust, no dents, immaculate, zero accidents. The steering box manufacturer (borgeson) suggests I recheck to make sure the box is centered in it’s travel. I’m doing that this evening.

@@jeremyhowell2332 No problem! Hopefully you had some luck?

@@jeremyhowell2332 How’s everything going with your truck and the wandering issue? Were you able to remedy the problem and if so, how? Thanks

My Carly ball joints were on back order from CjC for over 2 months. Canceled them an went with EMF’s an cjc got them to me in 2 days. Got $300 dollars back an they are amazing

@@luckyGdogg Might've dodged a bullet. I've got EMF on my truck and going to have carli ball joints installed next week.

I would do the emf ball joints. They are rebuildable without passing the cups out of the axle

Oh it goes WAY further than I’ll ever take this truck!

Absolutely the 6 bolt box and upgraded steering shaft is a must!! I have radius arms and love it

Appreciate the support, and you are not crazy on the Toyo MT pull. Actually a ton of tires have a solid pull one way or the other. Super common!

Ideally you should look for a truck that was owned by an older man with low mileage who never towed. I repeat never ever buy a truck from a young kid that does questionable stupid mods. And never buy a truck from a Mexican , their goal is to screw you over with sub par trucks and then disappear off the face of the earth

Glad it was helpful!

I’ll likely do a similar one all about 2nd gens since there’s some major differences!

Me too been really good and I commute 300 miles everyday

Sadly it’s not cheap to do right, but once you have it all knocked out you’ll be so stoked!

@@JustDiesels especially now. I looked at prices for some of these parts and prices have gone up $2-300 in the last year or two. 😬

Yep, it’s rough!

The Hydro assist has a very specific purpose though in that it relieves pressure from the box when it comes to muscling around big tires at low speeds. I personally would only run that on an off road toy though as I’m not fond of the highway feel with hydro. It’s a personal preference, but I think it’s a bit too twitchy. Other people swear by it!

3rd gen really the way to go. Especially if you have the g56 or nv5600 transmission.

One thing at a time! Congratulations on the new truck.

Click that link in the top pinned comment! It’s got everything you need in one kit! Mopar steering, Carli ball joints, Carli track bar, and Carli high/low stabilizers!

Make sure u use copper anti seize on the threads in salty winter areas, synergy can still seize up in states that use alot if salt or brine

I’d do a new OEM Mopar big big (same box but not re-man) just like I did on my last truck!

@@JustDiesels Thanks for the reply!

That’s because I went with a full Carli sway bar when I did the Dominator system! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IfaBgmNtKNA.html When it comes to sway bars, both Carli and Thuren will dramatically improve ride, and I can’t say you’ll notice a difference behind the wheel. The Carli sway bar does offer better build quality, better frame brackets, better joints and better end links, so I chose that route. Thuren is a great bang for the buck though if you want the solid ride improvement for the least amount of money.

100% haha.

Actually yes! Same principal on how they work! Slightly different mounting brackets, but that’s it!

@@JustDiesels fantastic thank you!

@cjcoffroad just did a two part video series on that. Check it out!

Yep! Synergy has terrible stabilizer compatibility. I’ve since switched to Apex because the Mopar steering wasn’t robust enough

@@JustDiesels Thanks. I am really enjoying all the videos! To clarify, I am using the truck mainly for personal use, towing a horse trailer. Might do some very mild off-roading, only enough to reach some good fly fishing spots! The APEX is quite a bit pricier, especially in Canadian dollars. Is the MOPAR kit a "good" upgrade?

40-70 is neutral. I recommend starting from there, and then adding additional pressure to one or the other if needed to correct for a tire pull. You can experiment with it though if you have easy access to dry nitrogen!

It has a different purpose. Hydro is great for pushing big tires around at low speed where tons of force is necessary so that the box isn’t doing the work. It does make for a twitchy highway driving experience though, so I’ll never do it on any of my trucks as they aren’t dedicated off road rigs. The Carli High low is a better do it all stabilizer setup for people driving their trucks like normal trucks!

@@JustDiesels got it, thanks for sharing your opinion. My stock gearbox is worn out and needs replacing, and the PSC gearbox and Ram only cost $275 more than the Carli High/Low kit, so that’s what I’m deciding between.

I’ll do custom lighting again, but can’t decide on the cab lights!

Got too many projects going on at once! It’s coming though. Just wanted to catch the third gen up to the current state!

Toe should be .05 degrees, caster should be 3-4 even on both sides, and then camber isn’t adjustable on a solid axle truck.

@@JustDiesels thanks

What are your full alignment specs? Camber isn’t adjustable on these trucks, so you likely have too much toe in.

I have a whole video on diagnosing steering issues! Super easy stuff to fix

I’d start with ripping off that BD track bar. They make a ton of great stuff but their track bar is not up to par. Tell your alignment guy to do 1/16” of toe angle, and then 3-4 degrees of caster. Should help!

These are 5” backspace 17x8.5 wheels wrapped in a 35/12.5/17 tire on stock suspension. 👍

It works just fine for stock to 6" lift. I used it on a stock height truck in this video.

@@JustDiesels in my case per the Cali website it will not work on a stock height truck.

Hydro assist is amazing, have had it for a couple years. All PSC…

I’d say redhead or PSC for 2nd gen boxes!

Put a big third gen box in. PSC used to sell a kit that was a new box, the spacers needed to clear the 2nd gen frame, and new longer bolts, and a new pitman arm. The difference in size on the sector shaft / bearing is crazy and it completely changed the feel and power of my steering. Those redhead / Bluetop boxes are just expensive remans for a steering box that was undersized for a second gen diesel from the get go.

Correct. CJC off road also sells clamps for Apex steering.

I’ll find out, but I expect highway mileage to improve significantly with the 37s and tuning since I was winding the truck out so badly before. With the stock wheels and tires it was doing almost 2500 RPM at 70!

@@JustDiesels yeah I saw, that's nuts! Let us know! I'm excited to hear.

Actually yeah, the 3rd gen mega 1500s use the 2500 style suspension, so this would apply directly to your truck.

A 13 3500 is actually the same as all the 14+ trucks. You have a MUCH better steering setup! All the same info applies with the exception of the linkage itself. If you need a replacement, do the 19+ OEM parts. There’s also a new brand called Apex that is making steering for these trucks. Curious to see how their stuff compares!

These trucks do not have adjustable camber which is likely what you’re referring to. Never ever do offset balljoints! Do you know what your camber spec is? These trucks come from the factory with some positive camber, but negative means your axle housing is bent!

Just factory! Going to upgrade to these soon: www.cjcoffroad.com/collections/ram-lighting-kits/products/cjc-off-road-2003-2009-dodge-ram-fog-light-led-brackets

17” Trail Ready wheels with 35/12.5/17 Nitto Ridge Grapplers.

Yes! That’s exactly what my 2nd gen is going to get when the time comes. It’s either them or Dynatrac for the 2nd gen ball joint market!

@@JustDiesels Sweet, if you trust them then I do. I don't know what is different about the 2000-2002 trucks but Dynatrac doesn't appear to make anything for those years either.

I did that and a whole lot more a few weeks later! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IfaBgmNtKNA.html

It’s in good shape to start with, but it’s coated with Adam’s polishes undercarriage spray.

When I did the box on my old truck I went through two defective ones and then the third was solid. It happens! You just have to be careful to really isolate the source of your play.

@@JustDiesels WOW! 2 defective boxes from the dealership, that would be about my luck. I spoke with a mechanic from the dealership this morning, he looked it over and thought the steering box was ok and said that they have to have a little play in them to keep them from binding. That being said I don't remember the truck having play in it when it was new. He did ask about the steering stabilizer and when was the last time I had serviced it. When you got the 3rd box did it have any play at all like the mechanic was talking about or was it good and tight? Also in your experience would the steering stabilizer take the remaining play out of the system. I haven't had mine serviced in a while and it may be time to upgrade to a duel stabilizer system like you have. Thanks for all your help, it's appreciated. I have a solar yellow 2005.5 with the G56 in it that I bought brand new in 2006 with 183k on it that I've done a slew of upgrades to.

It’s going on my truck this week! This video was filmed before this was an option.

@@JustDiesels so when is the video I’m getting started I n mine this weekend I’m hoping.

Nope! But Synergy makes a great kit specific to early and late 2nd gens! www.cjcoffroad.com/collections/dodge-steering-upgrades-and-components

Nope, but the Synergy HD 2nd gen steering will!

I explained it in the stabilizer portion of this video, but the ATS doesn’t pre-load the drag link, and the ATS is not adjustable for tire pull. This setup solves both of those issues and as a result offers a better overall steering feel.

@@JustDiesels I currently have the updated T-style steering, Carli Torsion Sway Bar, Carli Control Arms, Carli Ball Joints, Carli Track Bar, Carli Low Munt Steering Stabilizer, King Front and Rear shocks. I installed all in 2014/2015. I'm pulling off all the Carli Parts and rebuilding the bushings/joints/wear parts and sending the ball joints in. In the meantime I bought some Synergy Ball Joints to try out. During this I'm swapping to the Synergy drag link/tie-rod setup, and adding a Borgeson Steering shaft, Redhead Box, and Synergy Steering Box Brace... So my setup will be really similar to your other Gen 3. Would you recommend switching to the Carli dual setup using the Synergy steering? Great quality content BTW...

Nope! Synergy only works with a low mount position stabilizer in the factory location.

From a dealer parts site