Used to love my Ram...now...I dunno..

[ajs3]

That's a good point. I know when I did the first OC on my new to me 2019 1500 w/ hemi, I experienced what you said. I kind of wrapped that area with a rag and tried holding a zip-lock back over the filter once I cracked it loose. Still got used motor oil on the E-bits of the steering I believe.

Used oil *shouldn't* be bad for the metal/metal contacts. The plastic and soft bits? You may be on to something...

And the break clean and other solvents that are sprayed all over everything to clean the waste oil off the underside of the truck...........

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[Wes Veness]

please delete

 

[Wes Veness]

However, I still own nothing but American iron, by choice, so I'll deal with it.

Toyota has many US car factories.... ditto KIA/Huyndai, Honda.... and the list grows. While American cars continue to be built in Mexico/Canada, and here.
I was looking at the countries of origin for all the parts in a FORD 5R55W transmission overhaul kit.... there were 8 or more as I recall... one, of course being the US. Really?[/QUOTE]

Easy on Canada there man... We believe in quality made products up here as well. Every company that does takes short cuts is the companies choice not where it is made.

 

[rule18]

Having worked in or with various engineering disciplines over the years, engineers will engineer the hell out of a component. That's what they do. When it gets passed down to procurement / bean counters is when it gets watered down to the junk we see daily.

Yep, that's called Value Engineering... Happens in every industry and the owners/end users are the ones that get screwed.

 

[Docwagon1776]

I wasn't waxing nostalgic. Go forward 50 years and see what becomes of these cars. El Cheapo plastic that rots and disintegrates leaves a very small amount of car behind. ****** electronics that they obsolete so you CAN'T keep the car after the manufacturer stops supporting the vehicles, ad nauseum.

Yup, more complex machines require more complex fixes. If there's interest in keeping a car alive, parts will remain available or someone can fab it up (just like in Cuba). You can rebuild pretty much any Corvette on the planet with a checkbook and a catalog/internet connection. You could start with a radiator cap and assemble an entire car around it if you so choose, even the "crappy" C3's. Of course the trade off for that complexity is unheard of amounts of power, reliability, and economy. Yes, oddball cars with oddball brain boxes that nobody wants to offer because the demand isn't there, well, you'll need to be creative.

I dunno....my grandfather was the original owner of a 1950 mercury, 256 flathead, 3 on the tree with overdrive. When he died 10 years ago I drove the car 30 miles to my house. 275,000 miles and some change on it with just routine maintenance.
If something is made well and it's taken care of, it will last. Just sayin'

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There's always outliers and exceptions. 200k+ now is expected, not exceptional.

 

[patmanz28]

if it is not warranty i fix everything myself.

 

[ajs3]

Yup, more complex machines require more complex fixes. If there's interest in keeping a car alive, parts will remain available or someone can fab it up (just like in Cuba). You can rebuild pretty much any Corvette on the planet with a checkbook and a catalog/internet connection. You could start with a radiator cap and assemble an entire car around it if you so choose, even the "crappy" C3's. Of course the trade off for that complexity is unheard of amounts of power, reliability, and economy. Yes, oddball cars with oddball brain boxes that nobody wants to offer because the demand isn't there, well, you'll need to be creative.



There's always outliers and exceptions. 200k+ now is expected, not exceptional.

We expect 200K because when you pay 65-90k for a truck you damn well expect to get AT LEAST 200k miles out of it with normal maintenance. We relate cost with build quality, unfortunately the manufacturers don't. Profits over pride in their products.

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[10 Break]

I have many customers with far in excess of 200.000 on their odometers and their cars are reliable enough to make cross country trips.

My 2007, 1500, 4.7 crossed 200,000 on the way from Ohio to Florida last December. I've got another trip down there planned this Fall.

 

[Sherman Bird]

My 2007, 1500, 4.7 crossed 200,000 on the way from Ohio to Florida last December. I've got another trip down there planned this Fall.

The 4.7L is based on the old Mercedes V-8 from the 60's and is a solid and good engine with weaknesses. The 4.7 CAN'T TAKE BEING OVERHEATED!!!!!! I shout that in CAPS because it is critical to keep the cooling system up to *****. This includes flushing every 2-3 years with a new MOPAR thermostat and pressure cap.... this is non-negotiable! Use ONLY distilled water along with your coolant every time!

 

[Sherman Bird]

Toyota has many US car factories.... ditto KIA/Huyndai, Honda.... and the list grows. While American cars continue to be built in Mexico/Canada, and here.
I was looking at the countries of origin for all the parts in a FORD 5R55W transmission overhaul kit.... there were 8 or more as I recall... one, of course being the US. Really?

Easy on Canada there man... We believe in quality made products up here as well. Every company that does takes short cuts is the companies choice not where it is made.[/QUOTE]

I'm not slamming Canada OR Mexico..... my point has to do with jobs HERE! Not THERE! As long as cars are made, I'll have a job.
When I was a young up and coming fella in my mid 20's, I bought my first new house in a starter neighborhood that was almost exclusively Yuppie populated. These were all Bachelor degreed ****heads who had their Gingham check, button down shirts, penny loafers, drove Volvos, had 1.3 children, and delivered turds in cellophane packaging because, after all, their **** don't stink. To a man, they all worked for different oil companies in different disciplines, while pursuing their master's degrees. They were all snobby control freaks who had certain ideas about living in a neighborhood.

I did NOT fit in.... especially when I commenced to restore my 64 Bel-Air in my driveway. They harassed and hounded me for several years....tried to make my life miserable. Then...... Reaganomics hit and the oil boom imploded in August, 1983. These folks ALL lost their jobs and went through foreclosures, vehicle repos, divorces..... and were soon gone God knows where.

Through the years, I've seen politics cause many woes down here on the ground. I do not blame your country or any other.... their citizens seek what you and I seek, It's the filthy politics which cause strife! Peace!

 

[Marshall]

I'd scrap the idea of spending that much on the front end, at that point you can get a king pin solid axle and never have another issue. 3500 out the door...

It would be like having a 2500 front end on a 1500.

What the hell does a solid axle have to do with a steering rack? too much beer?
I would wonder why the operator would keep driving down the road with a steering issue with out at least looking to see if a tire fell off.

 

[Burla]

What the hell does a solid axle have to do with a steering rack? too much beer?
I would wonder why the operator would keep driving down the road with a steering issue with out at least looking to see if a tire fell off.

We need a point flying over your head smiley.

The guy is up to $2800 and counting on fixing a 1500 steering, the SAS quote I got from a local shop was 3500 to set a king pin in there, I am assuming that meant the kingpin would actually steer or I would likely be a tad disappointing. When it all done and he is out 2800 and counting, he will still have that weeny 1500 front end, while someone that put a king pin in their front end will have that front end outlast any truck.

 

[PoMansRam]

We need a point flying over your head smiley.

The guy is up to $2800 and counting on fixing a 1500 steering, the SAS quote I got from a local shop was 3500 to set a king pin in there, I am assuming that meant the kingpin would actually steer or I would likely be a tad disappointing. When it all done and he is out 2800 and counting, he will still have that weeny 1500 front end, while someone that put a king pin in their front end will have that front end outlast any truck.

Did that $3500 include retrofitting the 1500 with hydraulic power steering? Then there's some major differences with 4x4 components, steering column differences, etc. Seems like a very big job, but I don't know all the ins and outs of it.

 

[Sherman Bird]

Did that $3500 include retrofitting the 1500 with hydraulic power steering? Then there's some major differences with 4x4 components, steering column differences, etc. Seems like a very big job, but I don't know all the ins and outs of it.

I see no problem spending 12 grand retrofitting straight axle king pin set ups in lieu of the cheesy aluminum electronic steering!

 

[Dondo]

Wow, just checked this thread again. Lots more comments than I expected. I seems like everyone is respecting each other’s opinions and I certainly appreciate the comments pointed my direction. I do feel like I should probably clarify a couple things though. Not correcting, nor counter punching anything, just some detail I’ve left out for “Cliffs Notes” version of the issue.

On doing the work myself, I probably could have done at least the physical swap out of the steering rack. Of course I couldn’t do the alignment or the PCM steering module flash. Also, when I say I like restoring old Jeeps, most of those are in drivable states . I’ll spend a couple months in the evenings draining fluids, replacing gaskets, pull the head off to have it rebuilt somewhere, maybe a new fuel pump, some light fab work for seats, rollbars, etc. I’ve never swapped an engine or anything that in depth. I suppose the difference is that is stuff I WANT to do, not necessarily stuff I HAVE to do to my daily driver. Turning wrenches is a hobby for me. I bought a new truck so I wouldn’t have to do stuff like that.

Second, there was a comment made about why did I continue to drive it once the steering started making its own decisions as to what direction we should go. After the initial steering swerve, which I thought was just my inattentiveness (I mean really, how often does a vehicle decide to turn itself?). After the second more serious swerve, I did pull over and did a walk around to make sure something obvious didn’t happen. Once I didn’t see anything, I nursed it the couple of blocks back to the house. To address the issue of driving it to the dealer, I do have access to a car trailer, however it was my tow rig that was having the problems. I probably could have found someone to pull the truck to the dealer, but instead chose to drive it late evening, with minimal traffic to the dealer while my wife followed behind. Was that the safest way to do it? Probably not. It was a known risk however and since there really was nothing actually broken and hanging off the truck, I took it as an acceptable risk.

Finally, for the comment regarding checking the connection to the power assist motor.. yeah, maybe I should have done that. To be honest, it never occurred to me to unplug it and plug it back in. Does anyone think that might have been on the FCA steering troubleshooting guide that the dealer would have checked? Testing voltage and resistance through the plugs and to the motor before they decided to replace the entire unit?

Again, thanks everyone for the replies. Been driving the truck since Tuesday and it’s been going the directions I point it.


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[michaelm_ski]

Brother ! That happens with ALL car and truck MANUFACTURERS , Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not so much . I have owned mainly all Chryslers since I first started driving in 1977 and had horrible luck with a Ford I drove two blocks and had an electrical fire , Chevy I had transmission support rust out and trans fell on street in busy traffic lol but for me Chrysler / Dodge products have been the most reliable and best ride for me .

 

[OnSale]

Man I am SO happy that when I bought my certified pre-owned Ram 1500, I opted for the extended warranty. Cost me $3,300 but I’ve had my truck for 3yrs and never once paid for an oil change, I’ve had (rough estimate) $6k-$8k in repairs on it (fully covered $0 out of pocket cost to me) and I am STILL under warranty on an 8, almost 9yr old truck. Everything is covered except windows, tires and brakes.


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[MoPowered]

The horror story you described about how the steering went ******* makes me wonder why you didn't have it towed to obtain the repairs. Also, Did you get any quotes from a good private garage?

I would be extremely disappointed in the dealer that they would consider an aftermarket part, and how dare them do that without your express consent. NONE of my GM or FORD dealers where I worked would have done that due to liability issues. My trust would have totally evaporated. That said, you SHOULD seek a shop you can trust.

If you have had such good luck in the bigger picture for many years and so many vehicles in the FCA family, don't let one bad event define your future brand buying plans.

I feel your anger my friend and I would definitely not use the Dealership for any future repairs. Liability issues are long and deep when it comes to OEM parts and repairs and that’s the only reason the agreed to cover the cost difference after they obviously got caught with their pant’s down. I had to replace the front factory u-joints on my 12 Power Wagon and my aftermarket warrant wanted to use Moog (good part) replacements. I opt d for the OEM sealed units and paid the 60.00 dollar difference for any later warranty work.

 

[NH RAM]

I'm surprised to hear of the issue. My 2016 1500 had the electric power steering and I really like the feel of the steering. My truck had a Fisher HT plow on it since day 1, I put a 2" front lift on and 34" E-Rated tires and worked the truck. It didn't complain while plowing, having a spreader thrown in the bed with 1/2 yard of salt in that, or while towing at max capacity. I traded it in at 72k miles because I wanted a bigger truck and bigger plow for my purposes. Have faith; if not in your truck, then in the fact that there will always be problems with vehicles, and at least you're dancing with the devil you know.

 

[Bobw4email]

Man I am SO happy that when I bought my certified pre-owned Ram 1500, I opted for the extended warranty. Cost me $3,300 but I’ve had my truck for 3yrs and never once paid for an oil change, I’ve had (rough estimate) $6k-$8k in repairs on it (fully covered $0 out of pocket cost to me) and I am STILL under warranty on an 8, almost 9yr old truck. Everything is covered except windows, tires and brakes.


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Really!? Dang, I have been kicking around purchasing one, but was thinking seeing as it is 'Certified pre-owned' most of the major stuff would be covered.