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2005 dodge ram 2500 steering help

sweetk30

sweetk30

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i know its a dodge. but lots of use have them for tow rigs.

a friend of mine has a 2005 or so ram 4x4 with cummins. he had the bad steering from the factory replaced at the dealer with there replacement setup. all was fine for almost a year/40k miles.

the other night he was backing in the garage and it didnt move right. he got out and looked and the left outer tie rod had snapped off the stud right at the knuckle. leaving the nut and tapered part of the stud in the knuckle .

he dosnt off road it or have huge tires on it. now the problem is the dealer is the only place for replacement parts . and you have to order a whole new kit for 500 bucks again as thay dont offer a tie rod seperatly.

do any of you happen to know of somthing that would work to help save him 500 bucks or a aftermarket bolt on kit thats beefy like we run when we do crossover and high steer. ?

thanks guys . :waytogo: :popcorn:
 
Hey, I just so happen to know this guy... and I heard it was an 06' instead of an 05'. I also happen to have pics finally loaded of the issue, see below. Thanks for always looking out for me Brett!

IMG00192-20101210-2241.jpg


IMG00191-20101210-2241.jpg


IMG00193-20101210-2244.jpg
 
Also, I know it isn't a GM... but these components are beefy! The tie rod itself is close to 3" diameter solid bar. I wish I had a cool story to go with the carnage, but I was literally just backing into the garage and SNAP!

Any help would be appreciated!!
 
I think I would try a couple of wrecking yards and see if you could come up with something used, otherwise sounds like he'll be forking over the cash to the dealer.
 
Hey, sounds like I'm in good company then!

Sooo, here's the short version of a long headache...

At the beginning of last year, the "adjusting coupler" on the steering linkage was stripped on my 06' Cummins. I went to the dealer to get it fixed (still under warranty), and they only offered an upgrade to the entire steering set-up (in other words they don't sell replacement parts). I guess they realized there were quite a few problems with the stock linkage so in late 08' early 09' they upgraded the Ram 2500 and 3500 front steering linkage to a much beefier set-up. They replaced my 06' steering system with this latest and greatest system and it has worked flawlessly for the past 40,000 miles... until now.

Here's where the problem lies... when I try to get the outer tie rod (or any part for that matter) for this newer system, the only option I've found on any aftermarket website or even at the Dodge dealership is to buy the entire steering set-up again.

I just can't believe that in order to replace a simple tie rod; I have to buy the entire system again!
 
rjfguitar said:
I think I would try a couple of wrecking yards and see if you could come up with something used, otherwise sounds like he'll be forking over the cash to the dealer.
Click to expand...

I would love to do this... we just don't find late 08 - 10' trucks in the scrap yard around here. I've been searching online for used as well...

I'd just much rather spend the cash on my k30 project as compared to my DD towrig! For example... a locker for my d60 looks a lot better to me than a damn tie rod!!!!!! (sorry for the whining...)
 
I feel ya man. These parts people know how to bend a guy over a barrel when they know they can get away with it.

I am not suprised that nothing is available used. I doubt I'd find anything either. That same dealer that installed the later steering system for you won't warranty the parts themselves? There should be a warranty that came with the new parts, regardless of the truck's warranty.

That is one of the drawbacks of having a new rig, the dealer sometimes is the only option for parts. But look at it another way, with an old rig a lot of the times parts AREN'T available at all anymore.

On a side note, this thread makes me want to go put stock wheels and tires back on my '06 Cummins. But, more than likely your deal is an odd fluke.
 
Bummer, but the only option is the new linkage. Your pictures may be valuable to Chrysler as I feel that's a safety issue. Have you contacted them yet... local dealer.

I have learned ( through friends experience) don't mess with the dodge front ends.
He added a coil spring spacer to the front end and the steering adjuster snapped on the highway going 80 after a normal bump in the road.

Seriously I would show those pics to dodge
 
Just noticed you had an 06' as well... honestly love the truck, well I love the Cummins and to be honest the 48RE isn't half as bad as the rap it gets. However, the only upgrades I've done to it is a leveling kit, homemade BHAF set-up, and 5" magnaflow exhaust. Not sure if you're on other forums... but I really like www.cumminsforum.com (this has been posted up there as well).

I've put ~40k on my truck since the upgrade to the steering... they told me 12 mos / 12,000 miles for the new parts, so no dice on getting them to foot the bill.

This is what it looked like when it was originally was installed:
Cummins_Front_Work004.jpg


Cummins_Front_Work001.jpg
 
I have the exact same factory replacement on my 07 3500. Just as the warranty was set to expire, I realized the boots on the tie-rod ends were spewing grease when I serviced the truck. I took it in, and they replaced the whole front end on warranty. Which sounded fine, until now.....:doah:

I would agree with Bobby that this sounds like a one-off problem, as other guys I know have the same bolt-in part and are running without any issues, although I'll admit none of them have 40k miles on their parts as of yet. Heck, I only have 2k miles on mine....:crazy:

I'd be taking pics and sending them to your dealer ASAP. I can honestly say that if this happened to me, my dealer would make it right. Hopefully you have a similar relationship with your boys.

But to answer Brett's question, nope, I have NO IDEA how you'd go about finding aftermarket parts, other than getting them fabbed up at a machine shop.

Sorry, back to the Lounge. All this tech is hurting my brainz.......
 
Thanks for all the input guys, it'll make the big pill I'm going to have to swallow a little easier. As far as showing the dealer the carnage... I brought the part in to make sure I got the right replacement, that worked out well! Dealers around here are scum... sorry if I just insulted anyone.... personal opinion. It is annoying going through this much of a headache with a truck that originally cost $42K
 
When they replaced the linkage under the service bulletin, they should have also replaced the pitman arm with 68039930AA... not that it affects this situation. The arm that goes with the new (08.5+) linkage mounts the draglink end from the bottom side of the pitman arm with the nut on top, it also has some angle to it so the joint itself is not operating at an angle at ride height. While this will help keep that one particular joint alive longer, I pulled measurements with either arm, and the geometry is actually better running with the old style pitman arm (like you have.)

The only reason that I bring this up is that if you point out to the dealer that they skipped this step and your linkage failed, they may want to cover their tracks and give you some new parts. Or not, but it's worth bringing to their attention.

As far as cost, you should be able to get the linkage 52122362AF through the dealer for less than $400 after tax, but for some reason, mine also charged me a $75 core.
 
manchildau65 said:
Just noticed you had an 06' as well... honestly love the truck, well I love the Cummins and to be honest the 48RE isn't half as bad as the rap it gets. However, the only upgrades I've done to it is a leveling kit, homemade BHAF set-up, and 5" magnaflow exhaust. Not sure if you're on other forums... but I really like www.cumminsforum.com (this has been posted up there as well).
Click to expand...

I love my '06! and my '01 for that matter. Both have been great workhorses.

I am running a Bully Dog PMT with the crazy larry tune, RF intake, and stock exhaust and trans at the moment.

As for the steering, it's got to be a fluke deal. Lots of guys running around with big tires and lifts without the same issue. I have a 6" lift with 33x15.50 and nothing in the steering has broken so far.:doah:

007.JPG
 
Blazinaire said:
When they replaced the linkage under the service bulletin, they should have also replaced the pitman arm with 68039930AA... not that it affects this situation. The arm that goes with the new (08.5+) linkage mounts the draglink end from the bottom side of the pitman arm with the nut on top, it also has some angle to it so the joint itself is not operating at an angle at ride height. While this will help keep that one particular joint alive longer, I pulled measurements with either arm, and the geometry is actually better running with the old style pitman arm (like you have.)

The only reason that I bring this up is that if you point out to the dealer that they skipped this step and your linkage failed, they may want to cover their tracks and give you some new parts. Or not, but it's worth bringing to their attention.

As far as cost, you should be able to get the linkage 52122362AF through the dealer for less than $400 after tax, but for some reason, mine also charged me a $75 core.
Click to expand...

better look at the pics again. its got the new arm on it. no rust on the arm and the pitman shaft has some surface rust on it.

cheepest place i have found the setup for sale. http://www.puredieselpower.com/cata....html?osCsid=2f2d604ec5fc52384395f117eed80906
 
Great looking truck! I think we may have gotten this situation finally squared away. Once again, all the credit needs to be given to the brotherhood (in particular Brett) for helping align the dealer with the actual situation... it appears they couldn't get their hands around the fact that even though my truck is an 06' it has the newest steering system. In the end, the part is ordered and will be here tomorrow for $106 out the door. Once I verify it is the correct one, I will post up some part numbers for future reference. Thanks again!
 
sweetk30 said:
better look at the pics again. its got the new arm on it. no rust on the arm and the pitman shaft has some surface rust on it.
Click to expand...


I stand corrected, I did see that the arm had been replaced, but I swore that the new one mounted the draglink upside down on the pitman arm. I guess I was thinking of the aftermarket arms that look the same with the taper on the other side like the superlift, tuff country, skyjacker arms.
 
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