Alignment after front end recall

[olyelr]

Brought my truck in for an alignment at the dealer after I had Thuren 3" lift springs installed. They aligned and then did the weld without telling me that they couldn't get the front to align to factory spec. I went to a well-known speed and truck shop to have radius arm drop brackets installed and they said breaking the weld would be no big deal and no extra charge. Got the drop brackets installed and the front end aligned to spec, gave me the truck back and said drive it for awhile, see if you like the front end alignment and when yer ready, bring it back and they would weld the drag link back up for free.

So essentially, because I was already spending money on the front end it wasn't a big deal.

Sounds like you have access to a good shop

 

[Dusty]

When I put my level kit on about 8 months ago (prior to the recall) I noticed the drag link nuts were not particularly tight. I tightened them real good after the alignment and check them periodically and they are holding fine.

I can see the weld as a temp safety fix. Don't want it causing an accident. My beef is, so far I've heard nothing about this being "temporary"? People are being told this "is" the fix which is pure BS and why I haven't let them touch my truck. If they told me it was temporary and they will be replacing the drag link when parts are available that would be a different story,

.

Actually, there is a non-weld, but very limited approach to this issue. There is a new design approach that includes a track bar (pn#-CSZHV061AA), adjustment sleeve, and jam nuts, with the addition of a sleeve clamp. However, this problem affects just under 800,000 current 2500-3500s and parts sourcing issues prevent adequate supply in the short term. Because of that the new design track bar and hardware cannot be ordered. This problem is under recall 19V-021. Available new parts are being used on the assembly line to finish out the DD, DF, DJ & D2 builds.

The welding of the Adjustment Sleeve Jam Nuts is just a MIG tack weld that can easily be ground off for future adjustment. The two techs that I talked to say they have not had any complaints after the recall was performed and have not seen any post-recall trucks return for re-alignment.

Best regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Silver Billet Laramie, Quad Cab, 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 18 inch wheels, now at 016998 miles

 

[crazy jerry]

Has anyone had the alignment on their 2015 2500 cummins truck done since the dealer "fixed" the front end by welding the nut on the link arm?

the draglink , where the nuts are located, has nothing to do with aligment itself. its merely a bar that connect the steering box arm to the axle knuckle/tie rod end. so the the dealer would have no reason to check the alignment before welding the nuts, assuming the alignment was good prior to welding. the whole welding process would only be a matter of seconds and shouldnt affect any front end adjustments what so ever

 

[olyelr]

the draglink , where the nuts are located, has nothing to do with aligment itself. its merely a bar that connect the steering box arm to the axle knuckle/tie rod end. so the the dealer would have no reason to check the alignment before welding the nuts, assuming the alignment was good prior to welding. the whole welding process would only be a matter of seconds and shouldnt affect any front end adjustments what so ever

Well the fact that you have to adjust it to get the steering wheel straight after an alignment, at least to me, means they kind of have something to do with each other.

 

[crazy jerry]

classify the draglink however you want but at the end of the day, its a bar that connects the steering box to tie rod end. adjust the sleeve up or down until cows come home and neither caster, camber or toe are affected.

again to the op, or anyone else in his shoes. if the aligment and steering wheel are fine before the welding, a dealer would have no reason to do a aligment before or after welding since none of the components that affect aligment are altered. to weld each nut is about 5seconds at most. the rubber boots of the draglink joints arent even affected

 

[olyelr]

classify the draglink however you want but at the end of the day, its a bar that connects the steering box to tie rod end. adjust the sleeve up or down until cows come home and neither caster, camber or toe are affected.

again to the op, or anyone else in his shoes. if the aligment and steering wheel are fine before the welding, a dealer would have no reason to do a aligment before or after welding since none of the components that affect aligment are altered. to weld each nut is about 5seconds at most. the rubber boots of the draglink joints arent even affected

I get what you are saying, Im well aware of the components and what they do. I think we are all agreeing with you on this.

What we are talking about is WHEN the truck needs an alignment, who the hell is supposed to straighten the wheel when it is essentially welded into position? Do most alignment shops just simple grind welds away for free? Do they weld it up again when they are done? Or will they look at it and tell you to go pound sand because some hack welded your steering together?

 

[Sandbox]

So, I took my truck in a few weeks ago for an oil change and tire rotation. When I called to schedule the appt., the lady told me that there was a recall. I said, "yes, I know about the draglink issue and I DO NOT want it done".

A few days later I show up for my appt. The girl checking me in says nothing about the recall. Somewhere about an hour and a half, I start thinking, man this is taking longer than usual? A few minutes later my truck shows up outside the showroom. Then it dawns on me! I go outside and check and sure enough, they did the recall. To say that I was upset with the service department is an understatement and I won't get into the colorful verbiage I had for the Service Manager. However, What I was told was;
1. They performed an alignment on it before they welded it.
2. The dealer (any dealer for that matter) will grind off the weld when doing an alignment. (Not sure how that works if they don't have an alignment shop)
3. This is the fix! This isn't a temporary solution pending a permanent solution.

At he end of the day, it doesn't effect me too much. I am just pissed that they did it without my consent.

 

[GsRAM]

So, I took my truck in a few weeks ago for an oil change and tire rotation. When I called to schedule the appt., the lady told me that there was a recall. I said, "yes, I know about the draglink issue and I DO NOT want it done".

A few days later I show up for my appt. The girl checking me in says nothing about the recall. Somewhere about an hour and a half, I start thinking, man this is taking longer than usual? A few minutes later my truck shows up outside the showroom. Then it dawns on me! I go outside and check and sure enough, they did the recall. To say that I was upset with the service department is an understatement and I won't get into the colorful verbiage I had for the Service Manager. However, What I was told was;
1. They performed an alignment on it before they welded it.
2. The dealer (any dealer for that matter) will grind off the weld when doing an alignment. (Not sure how that works if they don't have an alignment shop)
3. This is the fix! This isn't a temporary solution pending a permanent solution.

At he end of the day, it doesn't effect me too much. I am just pissed that they did it without my consent.

Oh my gosh I'd be livid! That's utter BS it was done after you told them not to! What a joke! Ram Cares I hope your still following this thread! I also hope you've communicated to corporate how upset we are over this crap Bush "fix"

When is the revised drag link coming out? I don't use a dealer for alignments...so what do we do when a real alignment shop won't touch our trucks because a steering component was welded on?

I dont care what your rationale is or how small amount of heat is applied. You dont weld steering components, period.

 

[smurfs_of_war]

So, I took my truck in a few weeks ago for an oil change and tire rotation. When I called to schedule the appt., the lady told me that there was a recall. I said, "yes, I know about the draglink issue and I DO NOT want it done".

A few days later I show up for my appt. The girl checking me in says nothing about the recall. Somewhere about an hour and a half, I start thinking, man this is taking longer than usual? A few minutes later my truck shows up outside the showroom. Then it dawns on me! I go outside and check and sure enough, they did the recall. To say that I was upset with the service department is an understatement and I won't get into the colorful verbiage I had for the Service Manager. However, What I was told was;
1. They performed an alignment on it before they welded it.
2. The dealer (any dealer for that matter) will grind off the weld when doing an alignment. (Not sure how that works if they don't have an alignment shop)
3. This is the fix! This isn't a temporary solution pending a permanent solution.

At he end of the day, it doesn't effect me too much. I am just pissed that they did it without my consent.

So what I am reading is I may as well just go ahead and order better components myself?

If this is a permanent fix, then that's pretty ghetto. I wouldn't do this on our 30 year old farm trucks that look like **** and are beat half to death all season.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[JMod45]

I bought a 2014 last month. When I was climbing around underneath looking for the grease fitting on the front driveshaft, I noticed the nuts were welded. My first thought was why the hell would anyone do something that dumb, even took pictures of it. After some online research, I realized there is a recall, and this is the "fix". Didn't realize the recall went back to 2014. On my truck, it doesn't look like just a tack weld either. They ran a bead down the whole flat side of the nut. Grinding that down at any point isn't going to be a quick job. Definitely not pleased that a point designed for adjustment is welded together.

I plan on replacing it with an aftermarket at some point in the future, but at least for the moment, everything is lined up correctly.


Here is a picture of the welds. It was a quick shot for reference at the time.