Does Your Ram Have The Infamous Steering Wheel 'clunk / Rattle' ? Fix Found....

i have a 99 extended cab 4 wheel drive,it was a one owner when i got it a year ago,the old guy took really good care of the truck,it only had 100,010 on it,but shortly after i got it it started making a poping or clunking sound and i can feel it in the steering wheel,i twisted the spring on the colum up by the firewall after i read some of the post on here and it didnt clunk or pop like it had been,the steering is not as tight as i would like it to be,i have checked all the front end parts and everything is tight with the exception of a little play in the steering box,i'd love to get rid of that noise! i thought it was the slip joint in the center of the steering shaft out under the hood, because it only did it when i hit the brakes hard or shot the gas to it hard taking off,now it's doing it sometimes when i go around curves,so how much for the bushing? and how much of a pain are they to change? Thanks Larry

well i just read all the post again so never mind the price thing,im gonna have to order one of the bushings and get rid of that noise

Originally Posted by 2RT125

i have a 99 extended cab 4 wheel drive..... it it started making a poping or clunking sound and i can feel it in the steering wheel,i twisted the spring on the colum up by the firewall after i read some of the post on here and it didnt clunk or pop like it had been,the steering is not as tight as i would like it to be,i have checked all the front end parts and everything is tight with the exception of a little play in the steering box,i'd love to get rid of that noise! i thought it was the slip joint in the center of the steering shaft out under the hood, because it only did it when i hit the brakes hard or shot the gas to it hard taking off,now it's doing it sometimes when i go around curves,so how much for the bushing? and how much of a pain are they to change? Thanks Larry

well i just read all the post again so never mind the price thing,im gonna have to order one of the bushings and get rid of that noise

Hi Larry:

From the sounds of your symptoms you describe, your column is the source of the problem.

Our Rock Solid Ram Truck Steering Kit fixes the problem for good.

It's only the lower column bushing (hidden up inside) that goes bad. Dodge wants $ 900 for an entire column -wow !

When only 1 particular part is bad.....crazy.

Anyhow, that spring that encircles the terminal end of the column shaft (just above the upper U-Joint on the intermediate sliding shaft), is pushing up on the OEM bushing, trying to keep it tight.

After some miles & years, it loosens up, the bushing wears out & then the inner steering shaft starts to OVAL inside the outer column tube, thus you gain play plus usually the clunking or rattling noise.

Our kit is just $ 60 and has the bushing, retainer, tool & complete color illustrated instructions that show step by step how to install.

About 1-2 hours time req'd, not too hard.

I always say, if you do your own brake job, you can do this.

Frequently, guys have done every OTHER upgrade they can & find their noise gets worse - no wonder because every thing we upgrade then puts pressure on the 'weak' area, right ?

Anyhow, I hope this is of help to you.

You can email questions off of the site if you need to, or just place the order if you already know you need this fix.

My goal is just to help fellow Ram Owners keep things running well -

"If you're a 2nd Gen Dodge Ram Truck owner, pretty soon you'll be an expert Dodge Truck Mechanic...." or so it seems to me !

Can't we all relate ?

Thanks,

David B.
www.RockSolidRamTruckSteering.com

how do you get the auto cup off that the buchin replaces

You mean the little retainer that keeps the end of the spring on the shaft ? Try cutting it with a small cutting wheel like on a dremel tool (black & decker makes a cheap one, too).

You can also cut laterally across the spring several pieces, then hit them with a hammer & chisel or screwdriver, then the rest falls off.

Ok ?

Thanks !

David B.
www.RockSolidRamTruckSteering.com
email & order link here

no.. the cup. thats what you call it in the instructions... it is the cup that the bushin replaces... its gold in color

Originally Posted by Mean__Green

no.. the cup. thats what you call it in the instructions... it is the cup that the bushin replaces... its gold in color

Since it's been a few days, you may already have the gold cup removed. If not, it just pulls out with a little persuasion. I gently pried behind it with a big screwdriver and simultaneously pulled on the cup itself with a pair of pliers. It slowly pulled out but wasn't terribly difficult.

Just some initial observations, replacing this bushing without pulling the column is not too bad if you can work in cramped spaces. On my '99 automatic 2WD I just:
1. Removed the 13mm bolt from the u-joint directly beneath the brake power booster and closest to the firewall.
2. Slid the u-joint off of the steering shaft.
3. Placed a small hose clamp on the steering shaft as insurance in case the spring sprung.
4. Cut the spring retainer with a hacksaw (a little difficult due to the limited space available for getting a full stroke).
5. Mangled the spring retainer with Vise Grips and screwdrivers.
6. Scratch the highly tempered spring thinking I was cutting the retainer.
7. Further mangled the spring retainer.
8. Bled profusely after smacking my hands around quite nicely.
9. Manuevered and pulled the spring over the mangled spring retainer (after which the spring retainer just fell off ).
10. Greased the internal diameter of the new bushing.
11. Slid the new bushing on without effort. This spooks me since the instructions make it sound as though it should be pretty snug. The entire bushing also slid in so that it was flush with outside of the shifting arm. The instructions show the lip on the new bushing sticking out.
12. Hammered the new retainer on using the PVC tool.
13. Reinstalled the u-joint.
14. Cursed when I realized my battery was dead and I didn't get to test drive.

It wasn't a bad project. I look forward to actually getting to drive it and see how it handles.

Originally Posted by Mean__Green

no.. the cup. thats what you call it in the instructions... it is the cup that the bushin replaces... its gold in color

Yeah, what Pancho said (great write up, by the way): Using pliers & a flat screwdriver, it pulls out & down slowly.

Sorry if the instructions were vague on that exact point. We can revise them per your observation --- I'll check just now.

From there, follow the rest of the instructions.

You can skip the part Pancho Villa did about bloodying the hands - (that's optional, you know).

But we all know that if you haven't shed at least one drop of blood on your Dodge, it's not really yours yet !

Any test drive reports please chime in.......

Take Care,

David B.
www.RockSolidRamTruckSteering.com

I have a 2001 with the automatic transmission and 318. At about 15,000 miles Dodge had to replace the column and my sister had to have hers replaced in both her trucks. But I would be interested in what you have. All these new and late models(from 70 on up) can use alot of help)haha

Originally Posted by johnnyreb

I have a 2001 with the automatic transmission and 318. At about 15,000 miles Dodge had to replace the column and my sister had to have hers replaced in both her trucks. But I would be interested in what you have. All these new and late models(from 70 on up) can use alot of help)haha

Hi Johnnyreb:

You can read the thread starting at the beginning to help flesh out the concept.

Basically, in our 2nd gen Ram truck Steering columns, the lower end bushing / bearing assembly, is hidden up inside the column terminal end, just on the other side of the firewall.

It goes bad by wearing out, the clearances enlarge, thus we get clunking, rattling or popping noises - plus usually increased steering play.

Our kit tightens all this up - the noise goes away and the steering play is reduced up to 80 %, increasing steering response.

If you use the steering wheel to pull yourself into your seat, you'll note it will feel much firmer when doing so.

A description is also found on out site where we offer the kit, www.RockSolidRamTruckSteering.com

Dodge gets $ 900 for a new column, which they say is 'non-serviceable', which is crazy when only a small part has gone bad.

You can post a question here, or email it to us directly off of our site if you prefer.

In any case, hope this is of help to you !

David B.
www.RockSolidRamTruckSteering.com

David B. I,ll be ordering one of these shortly. I have replaced the front in on my truck with 88,000 miles. Which should have lasted alot longer. I checked on Borgesen and they wanted a out -rageous price for a couple of bolts and a piece of rubber. I can make the same thing for less the a dollar(new high grade bolts and mine belt rubber). I have a 1971 Dodge pick-up that I like alot better then my 2001. I wished I had it on the road. Don,t have to worry about scratching it. And the women memories-haha

Ramvanman, after reading this thread and some guys saying thier bushings backed out, has anyone installed a couple of short screws through the tube to keep the bushing from backing out? Also what about drilling a lubrication hole in the bushing to give the steering shaft some lithium grease every so often?

Those are good questions, for sure.

Now we include a 'one way' retainer washer that prevents any chance of the bushing backing out.

That wouldn't preclude a person from putting a small 'set screw' self drilling screw thru the lower edge of their column - just be careful to make it a 'shorty' - but it's not really necessary.

In the instructions we recommend folks to test the tightness of the fit when installing - it is a bit of a tapered fit, which is helpful as the truck column dimensions, vary a few thousandths from one to another, either in the column tube, or the inner steering shaft itself.

Also, the Nylon Delrin is self-lubricating, so the additional lube efforts aren't truly needed. The grease/ lube we suggest you put on the ID of the bushing is just to help things 'seat in', at the start.

Hope this is of help to you & others.

David B.
www.RockSolidRamTruckSteering.com

Just ordered one. Hopefully the job goes off without a hitch, unlike all my fixes lol

Originally Posted by 360ram14

Just ordered one. Hopefully the job goes off without a hitch, unlike all my fixes lol

Post back how it goes! I bought mine awhile back but havent got time to put it in yet...

Will do, just drive down to GA and we can do em together haha

Originally Posted by 360ram14

Will do, just drive down to GA and we can do em together haha

Ill have to fill up a couple hundred times haha

Haha think of it as install fee

Same prob here as well. The clunk makes it feel like it's going to fall apart. 99 V-10, 180,000 Kms.

question?? will this FIX compromise the crumple zone engineered into the steering column? if in the future, after the bearing spring retainer is replaced with a jammed and pinned nylon bushing, will the steering wheel in a head on collission crush my chest?

Originally Posted by spun360

question?? will this FIX compromise the crumple zone engineered into the steering column? if in the future, after the bearing spring retainer is replaced with a jammed and pinned nylon bushing, will the steering wheel in a head on collission crush my chest?

Good question x2