Noticed the old girl pulling pretty regularly to the right and the steering has been getting ever looser as well. Had an alignment shop take a look and low and behold I have some pretty tired old ends on various parts. My question really centers around what specifically do I need to be ordering.
The guy quickly jotted down a cheat sheet for me on what he saw was needed:
- 2 outer tie rods
- 1 ____ rod (goes between steering arm and pitman arm, claimed everyone has a different name for this thing)
- Steering damper
- Power steering gear box (it's been leaking for awhile)
I was poking around on cruiserparts.net and saw a few things that seem to me to be the right thing, but I need some of you to check my thinking on this all.
They have what they call a relay rod which I'm guessing is the mystery rod I mention above. It comes with EITHER one side or the other, but not both. They do sell the ends separately. Additionally there's a kit that comes with both tie rod ends and both relay rod ends, but no relay rod and no tie rods themselves. Then there's tie rods with left end and tie rods with right end. There's also steering dampers and rebuilt gear boxes. SO....
My guess is to buy:
- Relay rod WITH left end
- Relay rod right end only
- Tie rod with right end
- Tie rod with left end
- Steering damper
- Power steering gear box
Questions:
- Does all this sound legit?
- Should I need to replace the tie rods and or relay rod themselves or JUST the ends (the kit with all four ends would be far cheaper)?
- I was thinking of upgrading to an Ironman steering damper. Is this recommended? Others preferred? The truck is lifted with 33" tires and carries a lot of extra weight so I'm totally open to the idea that I may need to beef up the steering, I'm just clueless. Does anyone recommend aftermarket parts from another site?
Additionally, one last question:
I know I posted this question before, but I'll be damned if I can't find it in my history. When turning, hard, if I disengage the clutch I hear a lot of loud "thunk"ing coming from somewhere up front. Clunk clunk clunk clunk...it doesn't seem to happen when the wheels are under power. I seem to remember someone firing off an immediate answer as to what this was. Help?
Any and all help/opinions are very much appreciated. I need to tighten up this beast quickly. She's getting a bit scary to drive on the highway.
The guy quickly jotted down a cheat sheet for me on what he saw was needed:
- 2 outer tie rods
- 1 ____ rod (goes between steering arm and pitman arm, claimed everyone has a different name for this thing)
- Steering damper
- Power steering gear box (it's been leaking for awhile)
I was poking around on cruiserparts.net and saw a few things that seem to me to be the right thing, but I need some of you to check my thinking on this all.
They have what they call a relay rod which I'm guessing is the mystery rod I mention above. It comes with EITHER one side or the other, but not both. They do sell the ends separately. Additionally there's a kit that comes with both tie rod ends and both relay rod ends, but no relay rod and no tie rods themselves. Then there's tie rods with left end and tie rods with right end. There's also steering dampers and rebuilt gear boxes. SO....
My guess is to buy:
- Relay rod WITH left end
- Relay rod right end only
- Tie rod with right end
- Tie rod with left end
- Steering damper
- Power steering gear box
Questions:
- Does all this sound legit?
- Should I need to replace the tie rods and or relay rod themselves or JUST the ends (the kit with all four ends would be far cheaper)?
- I was thinking of upgrading to an Ironman steering damper. Is this recommended? Others preferred? The truck is lifted with 33" tires and carries a lot of extra weight so I'm totally open to the idea that I may need to beef up the steering, I'm just clueless. Does anyone recommend aftermarket parts from another site?
Additionally, one last question:
I know I posted this question before, but I'll be damned if I can't find it in my history. When turning, hard, if I disengage the clutch I hear a lot of loud "thunk"ing coming from somewhere up front. Clunk clunk clunk clunk...it doesn't seem to happen when the wheels are under power. I seem to remember someone firing off an immediate answer as to what this was. Help?
Any and all help/opinions are very much appreciated. I need to tighten up this beast quickly. She's getting a bit scary to drive on the highway.
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