Drag link weld

[Snoode]

I know there have been plenty of postings regarding the drag ling recall and weld fix. I have a 2018 2500 my jam nuts are tight check them regularly, recently before a 3000 mi round trip i put thread lock on the threads behind the nuts and marked them.
My question is for those who didnt have the weld done and reasons they didnt
Thanks

 

[MADDOG]

I didn't weld mine because I may need to adjust it later. I did what you did...red LocTite and I tightened them down.

 

[U&A]

In all honesty, I haven’t done mine yet because keep forgetting [emoji1787]

and.....I absolutely HATE the dealers around me. I wouldn’t trust them to change the water in my toilet let alone my oil.

So im naturally hesitate to let one of their worthless “techs” Get their grubby, carless hands on my truck again to weld something on it.

Man i can just keep going and going and going with this dealer rant[emoji35][emoji35]



Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[Jimmy07]

I know there have been plenty of postings regarding the drag ling recall and weld fix. I have a 2018 2500 my jam nuts are tight check them regularly, recently before a 3000 mi round trip i put thread lock on the threads behind the nuts and marked them.
My question is for those who didnt have the weld done and reasons they didnt
Thanks

If you’re not going to have them welded, no sense in putting loctite on the jam nuts, since that has nothing to do with the problem.

 

[dhay13]

I checked mine right after i got it and they were marked. I look under it every once in ahile to check the marks. Haven't moved.

 

[22hemi13]

No welding for mine. I made sure tight and used a sharpie and made a line to visually see if anything moves. That was when recall came out and nothing has moved. I didn't weld because I use truck off-road and it gets alignment 2 times a year.

 

[Ribtipram]

I think where jimmy is going is that the threads are pulling out of the center section. Very good Possibility

 

[Jimmy07]

I think where jimmy is going is that the threads are pulling out of the center section. Very good Possibility

This is EXACTLY what’s happening. The threads could be out of spec on the inside of the adjuster sleeve, and the draglink end could pull right through the threads. The nuts are fine, and them coming loose is not the problem.

 

[22hemi13]

This is EXACTLY what’s happening. The threads could be out of spec on the inside of the adjuster sleeve, and the draglink end could pull right through the threads. The nuts are fine, and them coming loose is not the problem.

Not so sure. They tq the jamb nuts. If they don’t tq right they weld. If it was pulling out of the sleeve weld, locktite, proper tq nothing would fix it. If it was just pulling out of the sleeve everybody would need welded and checking tq would have zero affect on it.

 

[22hemi13]

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2019/RCRIT-19V021-8391.pdf

 

[22hemi13]

And if nobody wants to click link lol

 

[Jimmy07]

Not so sure. They tq the jamb nuts. If they don’t tq right they weld. If it was pulling out of the sleeve weld, locktite, proper tq nothing would fix it. If it was just pulling out of the sleeve everybody would need welded and checking tq would have zero affect on it.

Procedure is to mark the jam nuts across the sleeve (not use the original marks), then torque to ONLY 15ft lbs. Once clicked, if the nuts rotated at all, the sleeve threads are to be measured along with the threads it rode on. The smallest inner diameter is subtracted from the smallest outer diameter. If the result is less than spec (worn threads), the draglink is replaced. If the result is spec or greater (good threads), reassemble, torque to spec, and weld. The reason for welding is because the sleeve threads could still potentially go bad. By welding the jam nuts to the sleeve, you are effectively bridging across the sleeve, taking it’s thread tensile strength out of the equation, and transferring to the jam nuts tensile strength, which have known good threading and mimics that of the sleeve.
If I can find a link to the actual repair procedure, I’ll post it. Once you read what is required to be checked, it’ll be easier to understand why welding works, and loctite doesn’t.

 

[Jimmy07]

And if nobody wants to click link lol

View attachment 177919

I see you have it. Now, scroll down and post the actual tech procedure so everyone can see.

 

[22hemi13]

I see you have it. Now, scroll down and post the actual tech procedure so everyone can see.

You can’t click lol

 

[22hemi13]

Anyways. Still a bunch to do about a non really big issue lol.

 

[Jimmy07]

You can’t click lol

View attachment 177920

I missed your link above. I KNOW what the repair procedure is. That’s why I understand what the issue is.

 

[22hemi13]

I missed your link above. I KNOW what the repair procedure is. That’s why I understand what the issue is.

I would love to see a mech at a dealer do all the actual steps. They can’t rotate tires correctly. I’m curious if they just tq and either weld or Replace? Do you work at a shop?

 

[Jimmy07]

I would love to see a mech at a dealer do all the actual steps. They can’t rotate tires correctly. I’m curious if they just tq and either weld or Replace? Do you work at a shop?

Nope. I’m a carpenter/millwright, so I know a little bit about nuts and bolts and thread contact.

 

[426power]

I had to grind the weld off today to have my truck aligned. I called the dealership to see if they should be welded and who would pay for that. He told me there is a fix coming in the near future in the way of a new part. He did make an appointment to re-weld mine at no cost to me.

 

[Jimmy07]

I had to grind the weld off today to have my truck aligned. I called the dealership to see if they should be welded and who would pay for that. He told me there is a fix coming in the near future in the way of a new part. He did make an appointment to re-weld mine at no cost to me.

This is another one repeated over and over again...”now I can’t get an alignment”. You can get an alignment, no problem, but, I know people are meaning to say “now I can’t adjust my steering wheel if it is out of center”. You CAN adjust the steering wheel with the welds. And they don’t need to be ground off, either. Think about it...