Drag Link Recall ... Video

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GsRAM

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Just signed up for the forum to post here. I got the recall notification last week and had the "fix" done yesterday on my 2017 with 11k miles on it. I take my ram to the dealer for all service and they are pretty decent so I let them do it. Everything was tight so only the welds were done, draglink was not replaced. I dont expect to pay more for an alignment if it's needed in the future.

View attachment 162013


Wow well there you go. Proof that this is an unbelievable joke! Wow. I have no words and yes going forward you will be paying more for alignment or you won't get a proper alignment done because the tech is too lazy to disconnect the tie rod ends and fool with them to get toe and steer ahead correct. Or you'll have a steering wheel that's not perfectly centered, the way mine has to be.

All the adjustment you had in your drag link is now gone. It might as well be a solid bar now because that's what in essence you now have.

That will never be done to my truck
 

22hemi13

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Just signed up for the forum to post here. I got the recall notification last week and had the "fix" done yesterday on my 2017 with 11k miles on it. I take my ram to the dealer for all service and they are pretty decent so I let them do it. Everything was tight so only the welds were done, draglink was not replaced. I dont expect to pay more for an alignment if it's needed in the future.

View attachment 162013
OMG:emotions122: that’s the most GM style fix I’ve seen yet lol.
 

olyelr

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So if the issue is that the nuts are loose enough that they can back themselves off (even when torqued to spec), once both nuts are tack welded to the drag link, will the WHOLE THING now be able to move also?

No, if they are tight it shouldn't move at all. Basically like lock nuts at that point.
 

olyelr

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Just signed up for the forum to post here. I got the recall notification last week and had the "fix" done yesterday on my 2017 with 11k miles on it. I take my ram to the dealer for all service and they are pretty decent so I let them do it. Everything was tight so only the welds were done, draglink was not replaced. I dont expect to pay more for an alignment if it's needed in the future.

View attachment 162013

My gosh, they put a bead on there like they are welding a joint in the frame... a small tack weld on each nut would be plenty. And a lot easier to remove with a quick zip of a grinder when it comes time to adjust it. Have fun trying to straighten the steering wheel after an alignment!
 

Tach_tech

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My gosh, they put a bead on there like they are welding a joint in the frame... a small tack weld on each nut would be plenty. And a lot easier to remove with a quick zip of a grinder when it comes time to adjust it. Have fun trying to straighten the steering wheel after an alignment!

The recall actually specifies the weld to be that long.
 

MileHighPair

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I just dropped mine off at the dealer and was told "we are going to weld the nuts and in the future it will cost about double for an alignment". Well Sh%*$%^t. I was so shocked I just left in a huff, but now I think maybe I should call and cancel. The truck is one month old and I love it, but this blows.
 

MileHighPair

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OK, I went ahead and had them do it. Here's why: the only potential problem seems to me like a slightly offset steering wheel in the future. The toe of the front wheels can still be adjusted on the tie rod between the two wheels. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Here is a picture of what they did. It looks like a weld about the length of one side of the sleeve, and then some sort of rubber cement over the weld. It still seems like a chicken-**** way to fix a $40K truck, but I'm hoping I won't have to ever think about this again!
20190408_134449.jpg
 

lpfm1990

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Not gonna have that recall done, I’ll check mine and put a paint marker line on the rod threads, nut, and hex shaft, and check them often, and when ever under it put a wrench on it, and toss a set of wrench’s under my seat. This is a ******** fix!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

olyelr

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OK, I went ahead and had them do it. Here's why: the only potential problem seems to me like a slightly offset steering wheel in the future. The toe of the front wheels can still be adjusted on the tie rod between the two wheels. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Here is a picture of what they did. It looks like a weld about the length of one side of the sleeve, and then some sort of rubber cement over the weld. It still seems like a chicken-**** way to fix a $40K truck, but I'm hoping I won't have to ever think about this again!
View attachment 162172

You are correct, the toe is adjusted through the tie-rod, not the drag link that they welded. So some day when you have an alignment done and they change the toe, your steering wheel will not be straight unless you have the welds ground off and the drag link adjusted.
 

MileHighPair

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You are correct, the toe is adjusted through the tie-rod, not the drag link that they welded. So some day when you have an alignment done and they change the toe, your steering wheel will not be straight unless you have the welds ground off and the drag link adjusted.
Yea, I can live with that. It might annoy me a bit, but I'd rather not have to check these constantly for the life of the truck. Thanks for the confirmation!
 

Encon

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Took my 2015 in yesterday to have the recall done. They gave it back to me today and said that had to order parts for the drag link. Both the nuts where tight when I brought it in. I am glad they did not weld it. I can wait for the parts.
 

22hemi13

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I have never seen so many recalls on a truck .
Good. It means they don’t stop looking and fixing. I have zero issues with recalls. Well.... maybe this dumb fix but not the recall itself.
 

jaflowers

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Took my 2015 in yesterday to have the recall done. They gave it back to me today and said that had to order parts for the drag link. Both the nuts where tight when I brought it in. I am glad they did not weld it. I can wait for the parts.
What parts?? My understanding is they tighten it all up and then weld.
 

ReefRaider

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Had my 2914 2500 in Friday. Was told they don't have the parts to do my truck yet. Service rep said they only weld the 17&18.

What ever. Mine are tight so
 

ripping r

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I checked mine today. they where tight. but i got them tighter. I was surprised that the threads are the same. on other trucks with a close set up. they have right and left threads. this could be the problem.
 

GsRAM

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Had my 2914 2500 in Friday. Was told they don't have the parts to do my truck yet. Service rep said they only weld the 17&18.

What ever. Mine are tight so

See that is total BS! My truck is less than 3 yes old and under 10,000 miles and just because it's a 17 they weld and not do the job right and replace the drag link? To me that says "well you've only got a few years of warranty left and then we dont care" BS!!! That does **** me off!
 

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