Tire squall

I posted a while back about a problem with my 2013 Ram 1500. It's has a 4 or 6 inch RCX lift. 35-12.50x20s. As stated last time the TPMS wanted 40 pound in each tire which made it ride rough and the worst part when going into a turn the front tires would squall like they are scooting. Several members here recommended to lower the pressure in the tires and I did and I thought it fixed it. I only drive it on the weekends. I went yesterday and the tires squalled and pushed in every turn. I came down a hill on the approach to a bridge and you know how there is always a dip right where the bridge and the road meet? Well the front end scooted about a foot to the right at 60 mph. I stopped at the tire shop and had them check everything and adjust the alignment. They couldn't find any obvious problems and said it was out of line pretty bad. I thought there is the problem. Wrong. Done it all the way home. Went to town today and done it in every turn. Went through a long dip like a roller coaster dip that's down and straight back up and in the very bottom of the dip when the truck squatted a little bit, both front tires were screaming. I'm at my wit's end here. Tires are wearing even, drives down the interstate like a car. Just stay off the the dips and the turns. Hard to do when you live in the mountains. Any more help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

it's called bumpsteer, and any 4 link front end can do it.

I just got done fighting it in my jeep.

The lift throws the alignment out, and if you don't get it fixed, it will cause problems. The tires squalling makes me think your lift did not correctly address the alignment problem.

I've had several lifted trucks, and I have NEVER had tires that squall when driving normal...slow maneuvers like parking, yes, but not during driving.

Sounds like your toe is off, and the tires aren't tracking properly, which gives the squall, and the bumpsteer could be several things...bad ball joints, bad tie rod ends, bad track bar, bad track bar connection, worn out bushings on the control arms and/or axle side of things, incorrect alignment, etc.

if the front end is scooting over on bumps like you say, then the track bar you have is too short for the lift and is unsafe to drive like that.

You need to get it to a competent alignment shop and make them align it correctly, and tell you what needs to be changed to be able to do so.

I did this on my jeep, and it is literally 1 finger driveable now even over bumps & such.

TRCM nailed it. the key here is to find a competent shop.

Ok thanks. I asked them to check everything and they said they did. He told me if it's not right to bring it back. Charged 75 bucks to do the alignment which isn't a problem if it's fixed but I can't tell no different. He said it was out of alignment pretty bad. They said all the ball joints and tie rods we're good. I'm going to call them tomorrow. Hate dealing with shops. They seem to know everything and then change this, charge that and try it. Go through about 5 different things before getting it right. I've had lifted vehicles all my life and never had one this scary to drive. I even owned a 1970 CJ5 with 36s and a 77 Chevy with 44s on it never give me this kind've trouble.

Reach out to rough country and see if they have a recommended an aftermarket track bar or have a recommended alignment spec- who did the lift? Maybe have a competent lift shop go over the lift.

I sent Rough Country an Email this morning. Waiting on a reply. What are you calling the track bar on this 1500. The front is an IFS and has rack and pinion steering. I measured toe in and out and it is measuring equal. I seen on my undercoating where they loosened the tie road up and adjusted the toe on one side. I'm going to jack it up and check the ball joints again. I can't believe they would have done an alignment if there was an issue with ball joints but you never know anymore.ive had alignments at other shops and they always let me know of a bad ball joint or tie rod that I didn't know was bad. Thanks for the replies. This is my first Dodge and I love the truck and love the lift and tires but hate driving it on crooked roads. Lol

Grtrnd1 said:

I sent Rough Country an Email this morning. Waiting on a reply. What are you calling the track bar on this 1500. The front is an IFS and has rack and pinion steering. I measured toe in and out and it is measuring equal. I seen on my undercoating where they loosened the tie road up and adjusted the toe on one side. I'm going to jack it up and check the ball joints again. I can't believe they would have done an alignment if there was an issue with ball joints but you never know anymore.ive had alignments at other shops and they always let me know of a bad ball joint or tie rod that I didn't know was bad. Thanks for the replies. This is my first Dodge and I love the truck and love the lift and tires but hate driving it on crooked roads. Lol

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OK, showing my age here, but negate what I said about the trackbar. I was going off memory and the older dodge I had (97 era) that used a 4 link front suspension. The newer ones don't.

The info about tie rod ends & ball joints is still true, but I am not sure why your front end is jumping sideways like it is.. That action is consistent with a track bar that is too short, but you don't have one.

The tire squalling is still consistent with incorrect toe & caster, and some shops won't adjust these things, even tho they can be.

On my jeep, to adjust caster, you have to install shims behind the lower control arm bracket shoe, and 95% of the shops out there will just tell you it isn't adjustable because they don't want to deal with doing it right.

Your best bet, is find a good shop that specializes in 4wd alignments, and see what they have to say.

and 75 for a good alignment is a heck of a deal.

Sometimes, an alignment after a lift requires different specs....I know on my 97 dually, I had specs that worked great I had them set it to, but were NOT the same as stock specs.

Thank you. I did specifically ask the shop if they know how to properly align this truck with the lift cause it's different after lifted and they either assured me or blew smoke up my ****. Here's something to ponder. I just took the front wheels off and visually checked everything for wear or movement and couldn't find anything. I just swapped the front tires to opposite sides and put 40 pound back in them to shut the TPMS up. I took it for a 15 mile spin and no tire squall. What the heck? As far as bump steer, I wasn't able to hit a pothole in a turn, so I'm not sure about it. I'm sure it didn't go away but the tire squall for some reason stopped. Scratching my head here lol