KeithA
Junior Member
So I bought a 2004 Ram 2500 SLT 5.7 4WD a couple weeks ago and it has a bunch of problems but none major. I got a really good deal on it so I figured if I had to dump some money into it, I was fine with that. It has 104k miles on it and I believe that it sat for a while before I bought and it has a bunch of rust in the undercarriage. Nothing that would sacrifice the integrity of the body or frame but it does have a fair amount of flaky surface rust.
Here is the problem. When I am at highway speed and I jog the steering to the right or left, I feel like the front end sways to catch up to the momentum of the truck turning and it gives me the feeling of being on a boat because it kind of slowly sways back an forth until it straightens out after a second or so. I also feel this at slower speeds but it is way more pronounced at highway speed.
My initial thought was that it was an easy fix and obviously the shocks were absolutely shot because that is the feeling it gave me. After replacing the shocks and seeing that the previous shocks were in relatively decent shape the problem still persists. The coil springs are rusted but appear to be fine and the leaf springs in back are very rusty on the surface but once again no cracks can be seen. I feel like it has to be a suspension issue but I have no idea what else it could be.
The problem is very difficult to explain unless you are riding in the truck with me but everyone that I show it too feels the problem but is unsure of what it could be. A lot of the bushings in the steering system are split but this doesn't feel like steering should be the culprit.
Just wondering if anyone on Earth knows what I'm talking about or has had a similar problem.
Here is the problem. When I am at highway speed and I jog the steering to the right or left, I feel like the front end sways to catch up to the momentum of the truck turning and it gives me the feeling of being on a boat because it kind of slowly sways back an forth until it straightens out after a second or so. I also feel this at slower speeds but it is way more pronounced at highway speed.
My initial thought was that it was an easy fix and obviously the shocks were absolutely shot because that is the feeling it gave me. After replacing the shocks and seeing that the previous shocks were in relatively decent shape the problem still persists. The coil springs are rusted but appear to be fine and the leaf springs in back are very rusty on the surface but once again no cracks can be seen. I feel like it has to be a suspension issue but I have no idea what else it could be.
The problem is very difficult to explain unless you are riding in the truck with me but everyone that I show it too feels the problem but is unsure of what it could be. A lot of the bushings in the steering system are split but this doesn't feel like steering should be the culprit.
Just wondering if anyone on Earth knows what I'm talking about or has had a similar problem.
