RAM 1500: Steering wander from worn steering box, track bar and ball joints (2nd gen BR/BE Ram 1500)

Second generation Rams are known for vague, wandering steering. The factory steering box casting flexes and wears so the sector shaft develops play, and on 4x4 trucks with the solid front axle the track bar top joint, tie rod ends and ball joints wear early, which can lead to a violent front-end shake after hitting a bump. Aftermarket steering box braces, adjustable track bars and remanufactured steering boxes are sold specifically to cure this. Worn joints fail WOF and, left long enough, a failed ball joint or tie rod end can cause loss of steering. Several 1998 Ram recalls exist (for example hood latch 01V040, clockspring 01V153, ABS connector 04V185) but none replaced ball joints; the 04V596 ball joint recall covered Dakota and Durango, not the Ram 1500.

• Truck wanders and needs constant small steering corrections on the motorway
• Free play at the steering wheel before the wheels respond
• Clunk from the front over bumps or when turning
• Violent front shake after hitting a bump at speed (4x4)
• Uneven or feathered front tyre wear

With the engine running and the truck stationary, have a helper rock the steering wheel a few centimetres each way while you watch the steering box and track bar through the wheel arch and from the front with a phone torch; the wheels should move straight away and nothing should knock. Look at the front tyres for uneven or feathered wear on the edges. On the test drive, check how much steering correction is needed to hold a straight line at 80 to 100 km/h and listen for clunks over speed humps. Ask for the last WOF sheet and whether ball joints, tie rods, track bar or the steering box have been replaced. If a workshop inspection is possible: raise the front on a hoist and check ball joints, tie rod ends, drag link, track bar joints and steering box sector shaft play with a pry bar.

Parts involved: Ball joint.

$400 to $3,500 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

• “Have the ball joints, tie rod ends or track bar been replaced, and when?”
• “Has the steering box been replaced or braced?”
• “Did it pass its last WOF without front-end advisories?”

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

• Hard Working Trucks: Borgeson Dodge Box cures steering issues with older Ram pickups (1994-2002 steering box casting distorts, causing wander)
• Spohn Performance: Steering Box Stabilizer Brace, 1994-2002 Dodge Ram 1500/2500/3500 (excess sector shaft play causes wander and wobble)
• 8020 Automotive: The 5 Most Common Dodge 5.9 Magnum Engine Problems (weak front end: ball joints, tie rods, U-joints on Ram trucks)
• NHTSA recall 04V596 (upper ball joints, 2000-2003 Dakota and Durango only) and CarComplaints.com 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 recall list