Ram suspension problem

[richclover]

2018 Ram 2500 Tradesman, Cummins. Towed the camper to Mesquite, NV, and noticed a persistent steering pull to the right. I blamed it on the slope of I-15 and, maybe, the crosswind working on the camper.

But, driving home without the camper the same thing happened.

Off to the local Big O tire shop. Alignment was very close to correct and after adjustment, the truck still pulled right. Wheels rotated front to back, then left front to right front... No change. Brakes checked, no dragging brake.

But wait... I noticed the truck looked to be not level sitting in the garage. The right front wheel well measured about 2” lower than the left. Right rear is about 1 1/2” lower than the left.

Measurements confirmed by the local dealer today. No reason found yet. Confirmed no broken springs, coil all around. Shocks are okay. Ball joints okay.

10,000 miles on the truck...

Has anyone heard of a similar problem?

[FishOnOne]

richclover wrote:
2018 Ram 2500 Tradesman, Cummins. Towed the camper to Mesquite, NV, and noticed a persistent steering pull to the right. I blamed it on the slope of I-15 and, maybe, the crosswind working on the camper.

But, driving home without the camper the same thing happened.

Off to the local Big O tire shop. Alignment was very close to correct and after adjustment, the truck still pulled right. Wheels rotated front to back, then left front to right front... No change. Brakes checked, no dragging brake.

But wait... I noticed the truck looked to be not level sitting in the garage. The right front wheel well measured about 2” lower than the left. Right rear is about 1 1/2” lower than the left.

Measurements confirmed by the local dealer today. No reason found yet. Confirmed no broken springs, coil all around. Shocks are okay. Ball joints okay.

10,000 miles on the truck...

Has anyone heard of a similar problem?

You may want to check for any loose bolts on the rear suspension as they have been known to come loose.

[blofgren]

Grit dog wrote:
^ Never seen that as part of any vehicles warranty coverage.
One could reasonably argue that alignment was off from the get go on a new vehicle and have a good chance of getting it covered, but doubt it's an official thing.

And not really applicable to the OPs situation, unless the steering pull started right after the dealer did the goober fix on the drag link adjuster.
In which case I'd been back to the dealer first.

On that note, this whole weld the nutz thing is a debacle and has smelled funny since it came out. Just, historically, have NEVER seen a tie rod or drag link adjuster loosen itself up on its own. My WAG is there were some left loose during production. Jose and Enrique fell asleep on the assembly line a few times from too many Tequilas at lunch break. And since no one has video evidence of them sleeping on the job, the cause is unknow and therefore, out of an abundance of caution, has become a recall.
If it is a concern I can think of at least 3 different, easy, ways off the top of my head to rectify it without breaking out the Lincoln and the 7018 rod. All of which are less invasive, more easily reversible and not as knee-jerk as "Welder up!"
But this would put just a leetle beet of responsibility on the vehicle owner to have an IQ over room temperature which open up the company to liability from the masses that are working in sweater weather IQ regions!

I totally agree; it is a BS fix that I refuse to get done to my truck. My dealer has called me half a dozen times to bring the truck in and I tell them to forget it until they come up with a proper fix. I have checked the nuts several times and they have been tight as tight can be so I’m not at all worried about it.

[NJRVer]

Grit dog wrote:
^ Never seen that as part of any vehicles warranty coverage.
One could reasonably argue that alignment was off from the get go on a new vehicle and have a good chance of getting it covered, but doubt it's an official thing.

And not really applicable to the OPs situation, unless the steering pull started right after the dealer did the goober fix on the drag link adjuster.
In which case I'd been back to the dealer first.

On that note, this whole weld the nutz thing is a debacle and has smelled funny since it came out. Just, historically, have NEVER seen a tie rod or drag link adjuster loosen itself up on its own. My WAG is there were some left loose during production. Jose and Enrique fell asleep on the assembly line a few times from too many Tequilas at lunch break. And since no one has video evidence of them sleeping on the job, the cause is unknow and therefore, out of an abundance of caution, has become a recall.
If it is a concern I can think of at least 3 different, easy, ways off the top of my head to rectify it without breaking out the Lincoln and the 7018 rod. All of which are less invasive, more easily reversible and not as knee-jerk as "Welder up!"
But this would put just a leetle beet of responsibility on the vehicle owner to have an IQ over room temperature which open up the company to liability from the masses that are working in sweater weather IQ regions!

I was surprised when he told me.
If I was a manufacturer I wouldn't warrant the alignment except when driving right off the lot. After that, could be anything that knocks it out.

[goducks10]

Grit dog wrote:
^ Never seen that as part of any vehicles warranty coverage.
One could reasonably argue that alignment was off from the get go on a new vehicle and have a good chance of getting it covered, but doubt it's an official thing.

And not really applicable to the OPs situation, unless the steering pull started right after the dealer did the goober fix on the drag link adjuster.
In which case I'd been back to the dealer first.

On that note, this whole weld the nutz thing is a debacle and has smelled funny since it came out. Just, historically, have NEVER seen a tie rod or drag link adjuster loosen itself up on its own. My WAG is there were some left loose during production. Jose and Enrique fell asleep on the assembly line a few times from too many Tequilas at lunch break. And since no one has video evidence of them sleeping on the job, the cause is unknow and therefore, out of an abundance of caution, has become a recall.
If it is a concern I can think of at least 3 different, easy, ways off the top of my head to rectify it without breaking out the Lincoln and the 7018 rod. All of which are less invasive, more easily reversible and not as knee-jerk as "Welder up!"
But this would put just a leetle beet of responsibility on the vehicle owner to have an IQ over room temperature which open up the company to liability from the masses that are working in sweater weather IQ regions!

I was told when I had mine welded that it was welded because the adjuster tube portion of the adjustment parts could possibly crack.
I still wonder why Ram went away from the 2012 style drag link. It was super easy to do any adjustments.

[Grit_dog]

^ Never seen that as part of any vehicles warranty coverage.
One could reasonably argue that alignment was off from the get go on a new vehicle and have a good chance of getting it covered, but doubt it's an official thing.

And not really applicable to the OPs situation, unless the steering pull started right after the dealer did the goober fix on the drag link adjuster.
In which case I'd been back to the dealer first.

On that note, this whole weld the nutz thing is a debacle and has smelled funny since it came out. Just, historically, have NEVER seen a tie rod or drag link adjuster loosen itself up on its own. My WAG is there were some left loose during production. Jose and Enrique fell asleep on the assembly line a few times from too many Tequilas at lunch break. And since no one has video evidence of them sleeping on the job, the cause is unknow and therefore, out of an abundance of caution, has become a recall.
If it is a concern I can think of at least 3 different, easy, ways off the top of my head to rectify it without breaking out the Lincoln and the 7018 rod. All of which are less invasive, more easily reversible and not as knee-jerk as "Welder up!"
But this would put just a leetle beet of responsibility on the vehicle owner to have an IQ over room temperature which open up the company to liability from the masses that are working in sweater weather IQ regions!

[NJRVer]

richclover wrote:

Grit dog wrote:

noteven wrote:
Keep in mind dealers are working from specs developed by the OEM and don’t get paid for warranty work unless OEM procedures are followed.

Good info in this thread.

Keep in mind, unless there’s more to the story, the OP took his twisted truck in to the dealer and left with no resolution. It ain’t rocket surgery!
And it appeared the OP was expecting a bill, not warranty.

Right, no resolution and, in fact, worse. The alignment adjustment the dealer added left me with the steering wheel off center. Easily fixed by cutting a weld on the draglink jam nut, making the adjustment and welding again. Which the 3rd tire shop did as part of the fix.

The dealer spent significant time looking for the problem, including putting the truck on their alignment rack. I’m thinking alignment is not covered by warranty on a 10,000 mile truck so I might get a bill for that. Their non-productive “investigation” I will argue against paying for.

Update on Monday.

Meanwhile I put some I-80 miles on the truck this morning. Happy to say that it’s driving 99.9% better. Thanks to Plains Tires, Bear River Drive, Evanston, WY.

FYI, I was told by Ram mechanic that you are entitled to one free alignment as long as your mileage is below, 11,000. I did not have to pay for mine when I took it to the dealer because my mileage was under 11,000.
Of course they didn't do it right so I wouldn't have paid for it anyway.

[richclover]

noteven wrote:
Keep in mind dealers are working from specs developed by the OEM and don’t get paid for warranty work unless OEM procedures are followed.

Good info in this thread.

Right, my “presentation” of the Thuren info to the dealer service advisor was met with low interest.

The guys at Plains Tires were extremely interested and asked for a copy. And were more than happy to align my twisted truck as I requested. They are now my “go to” tire shop for my trucks, UTV and camper.

Good info... that’s why I’m here and hope this helps someone else.

[richclover]

Grit dog wrote:

noteven wrote:
Keep in mind dealers are working from specs developed by the OEM and don’t get paid for warranty work unless OEM procedures are followed.

Good info in this thread.

Keep in mind, unless there’s more to the story, the OP took his twisted truck in to the dealer and left with no resolution. It ain’t rocket surgery!
And it appeared the OP was expecting a bill, not warranty.

Right, no resolution and, in fact, worse. The alignment adjustment the dealer added left me with the steering wheel off center. Easily fixed by cutting a weld on the draglink jam nut, making the adjustment and welding again. Which the 3rd tire shop did as part of the fix.

The dealer spent significant time looking for the problem, including putting the truck on their alignment rack. I’m thinking alignment is not covered by warranty on a 10,000 mile truck so I might get a bill for that. Their non-productive “investigation” I will argue against paying for.

Update on Monday.

Meanwhile I put some I-80 miles on the truck this morning. Happy to say that it’s driving 99.9% better. Thanks to Plains Tires, Bear River Drive, Evanston, WY.

[Grit_dog]

noteven wrote:
Keep in mind dealers are working from specs developed by the OEM and don’t get paid for warranty work unless OEM procedures are followed.

Good info in this thread.

Keep in mind, unless there’s more to the story, the OP took his twisted truck in to the dealer and left with no resolution. It ain’t rocket surgery!
And it appeared the OP was expecting a bill, not warranty.

[Grit_dog]

Jennifer Koper wrote:
I am confused on as on below issue. Can anyone of you please help me on that.
Why Dodge Ram air suspensions fail? Thanks for your sincere cooperation.

Can we spray the forum with TrollAway?

[noteven]

Keep in mind dealers are working from specs developed by the OEM and don’t get paid for warranty work unless OEM procedures are followed.

Good info in this thread.

[Jennifer_Koper]

I am confused on as on below issue. Can anyone of you please help me on that.
Why Dodge Ram air suspensions fail? Thanks for your sincere cooperation.

[Grit_dog]

^ Glad you got it figured out and yes this again proves my skepticism surrounding "mechanics" of any flavor (dealer, tire shop, wherever).
So they attempted to adjust the caster (initially), which was the right call as it was excessive, but didn't do it right and twisted the truck up.
Maybe this experience will help others with blind faith in "dealer service" that has been posted in a recent thread of mine.
As always, buyer beware. Not just with vehicle service either.
It is hard to accept how something that is obviously wrong to even the untrained eye can be passed off as " Duhh, I don't know, I didn't do that, have nice day...."

[richclover]

I sure hope it’s fixed! More driving today.

The Thuren info was particularly helpful and I left a copy of the .pdf spec sheet with Plains Tire, the last of 3 shops to work on the truck and finally get it right.

I was very surprised that the dealership alignment guys didn’t spot the mis-matched cams. Well, no, not really...

Perhaps another Dodge/Ram owner might benefit from my experience.

Thanks, All, for the suggestions!

[richclover]

NJRVer wrote:
Should have added in my post the Thuren alignment was done at an independent shop.
Dealer would only align to what Ram says the alignment should be, which of course is no good.

Right! The dealer actually made the situation worse, then, not finding anything definitive, sent me away.