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Ram 2500 Steering

TuckerK5

TuckerK5

Adrift
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For the last 15 years my DD has been a Ram 2500 Cummins. One of the things I loved about these trucks has always been how responsive the steering was and how well they handled for a HD truck.

Early this year my neighbor was begging me to price my truck to him so I did and he took it.
I went and ordered a new ‘21 model and waited 15 weeks until it came in.

Now I really like a lot of the new features and I’m not really a stereo fanatic but that Harmon Kardon is in a league of its own.

Now to the disappointment.
It drives like a ‘78 Ford with a worn out twin I-beam suspension.

Just empty driving is bad enough but hook my 32’ enclosed bumper trailer to it and anything over 70 mph is scary as hell. Fish tailing is constant.
 
obijuank5 said:
They have low caster numbers to make it feel softer or something. Crank some caster back in that ho and get some resistance back to the wheel.
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I think whatever it is has to do with the lane assist feature. I think if it were tight the lane assist would be super aggressive.
The dealership wanted to put a new steering box on it but I didn’t think that would fix it so I didn’t let them. Also I was afraid they would tear up more than they fixed.
I drove my coworker’s ‘18 model to run an errand last week and it made me hate mine all over again.
I’ll get someone to look at the caster.
Thanks for the advice.
 
You can do a couple things to do this- there should be adjustable eccentrics on the arms and they should be able to roll the arms back to help. The other option would be to get some radius arm drop brackets, but on a stock height truck that may be too much and might affect it adversely.

We had a 21 2500 come in the shop when I still worked there and it drove meh. Same kinda thing you're talking about. Put a 3 inch Carli setup and that all went away.... not saying that is the solution, but I know their arms and drop brackets add caster like @obijuank5 is saying. Is it twitchy?
 
It is not twitchy except when the lane assist kicks in which I don’t mind.
It’s just super lazy.
If I pull out from a stop sign and turn left an older truck takes about 90 degrees of steering wheel turn.
This trucks takes about 200 degrees.
I’m going to take it to a front end shop and see if they can use what information you guys gave me to make it better.
 
Your truck has variab assist steering most likely would need vin to verify for sure,what your feeling won’t be changed by adding more caster into it and you may develop a shudder from adding caster due to it changing your driveline angle.
we have had several issues with the new gear boxes. A couple of trucks it took two or three before we got a good one and everything is on back order it seems Now.
 
fastazz81 said:
Your truck has variab assist steering most likely would need vin to verify for sure,what your feeling won’t be changed by adding more caster into it and you may develop a shudder from adding caster due to it changing your driveline angle.
we have had several issues with the new gear boxes. A couple of trucks it took two or three before we got a good one and everything is on back order it seems Now.
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I asked the dealership and they wouldn’t tell me but is the gearbox the same part number as an ‘18 model or is it different?
 
Reason for asking about the part number is I’m thinking about just going to the NAPA store and buying one for an ‘18 model.
 
TuckerK5 said:
Reason for asking about the part number is I’m thinking about just going to the NAPA store and buying one for an ‘18 model.
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Sorry to be that guy, but you spent that much money on a new truck, won't let the dealer put a new box on it and make the factory pay for the problem, and are considering a reman parts store box , out of pocket. I fail to see the logic, sorry.
 
6872xtc said:
Sorry to be that guy, but you spent that much money on a new truck, won't let the dealer put a new box on it and make the factory pay for the problem, and are considering a reman parts store box , out of pocket. I fail to see the logic, sorry.
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By all means. Please make me answer this question.
Past experiences for 20 years cause me to not trust dealership service departments 1. To know what they are doing. 2. To not f it up worse than it is.
All of the local Ram dealerships take the lead on my distrust.
There is a local shop close to my house that is top notch.
I’d rather pay to have it fixed right one time than have something (especially in the steering area) screwed up.
I don’t know about other parts of the country where all of you live but dealership repairs are notoriously terrible around here.
One of many examples.
My 2011 was leaking washer fluid.
Made an appointment to have the tank replaced.
Drove an hour to the dealership where I purchased it, sat in the lobby for a couple of hours, drove an hour back to work, missed the whole day at work, hit the washer fluid button and the fluid ran out on the ground.
Upon inspection they had taken the pump out, turned it 180 degrees in the tank and wrapped duct tape around it and told me it was fixed.
I have dozens of these stories but who wants to spend that much time reading all of it.
 
The whole “truck that cost that much” is the reason I won’t let them work on it.
 
If it is a Chrysler or Polaris product in North Alabama you should really account for not having any warranty at the time of purchase.
Our local GMC dealership is top notch and I’ve actually taken Ram trucks there in the past for small repairs.
 
TuckerK5 said:
If it is a Chrysler or Polaris product in North Alabama you should really account for not having any warranty at the time of purchase.
Our local GMC dealership is top notch and I’ve actually taken Ram trucks there in the past for small repairs.
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Ahh, I understand. My standard "giving you some grief " answer would be to buy a GM. However, I have no personal experience with any of the new trucks, just CUV models that we have gotten for the wife. They have been great, and my local GM dealerships have been pretty good, but that doesn't translate to anything to help you.

Thanks for giving me your perspective.
 
The gear box is different , due to the adaptive steering which your truck is equipped with , it basically has a electric motor on it by where the input shaft goes in , I’m sure with a different intermediate steering shaft you coil get creative,and make the older version bolt up but it will piss off the rest of the truck.sucks that you don’t have a dealer there you can trust .
 
I’m gonna guess that electric motor (and the program that controls it) is the culprit for the whole problem.
Also that the electric motor is what makes the lane assist work.
 
It’s a big part of it , and yes it gives the assist at slower speeds .they may come out with a software update at some point but they usually only do that if there aware of the problem. Which takes owners to either take vehicle in for repair and the dealership starts a case with the tech line , and or customer calls 1800 number and contacts Chrysler. Wish I had a better answer for you.
 
fastazz81 said:
It’s a big part of it , and yes it gives the assist at slower speeds .they may come out with a software update at some point but they usually only do that if there aware of the problem. Which takes owners to either take vehicle in for repair and the dealership starts a case with the tech line , and or customer calls 1800 number and contacts Chrysler. Wish I had a better answer for you.
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The problem with that is that I am particularly fond of the extremely tight steering on the older models that actually took some getting used to in the beginning.
When the folks at the dealership drove it they were like “well it may seem a little lazy, not really sure” and I’m like holy shit! This thing is a damn death trap on a narrow wet road. I’m almost scared to drive it in the rain.
 
fastazz81 said:
It’s a big part of it , and yes it gives the assist at slower speeds .they may come out with a software update at some point but they usually only do that if there aware of the problem. Which takes owners to either take vehicle in for repair and the dealership starts a case with the tech line , and or customer calls 1800 number and contacts Chrysler. Wish I had a better answer for you.
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I just remembered. I didn’t complain very thoroughly on the customer satisfaction survey.

Edit: I “did” complain very thoroughly on the customer satisfaction survey.
 
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