1-TON STEERING UPGRADE FOR DODGE RAM

By chuckhines

This system uses an “Inverted T” style setup that replaces the original “Inverted Y” style setup. The advantages of this setup are added strength, durability, and additionally a lifetime warranty on the tie rod ends. The tie rod ends that are required are from a ‘80s style ¾-ton or 1-ton GM truck, Suburban, or Blazer. Included below is a list of all the required components to complete this project.

Total Price For Parts: $246.52 (including tax and S&H)

***Note: I ordered extra DOM tubing, just in case. You actually only need about 7’6”.

View of installed steering system (yes, I know it still needs a little more paint, and a new grease boot for the pitman arm)…

Preliminary Steps

***Step One***
Crawl under the truck, and take a good look at what you are working with. Familiarize yourself with how the steering system work (or doesn’t work), and this will ease the project along.

***Step Two***
With the wheels pointing directly ahead, measure all important points. Find the distance between the steering knuckles (tie rod length), the distance between the pitman arm and passenger side steering knuckle (drag link length). Make sure to record these lengths for future reference.

**Step Three***
Place the truck on jack stands. Be sure to place the stands in such a manner as to provide adequate support, but also somewhere that isn’t in the way. Under the lower link mounts on both sides of the front axle worked well for me.

***Step Four***
Remove all the old steering linkage. For this you will need a pitman arm puller, dead blow hammer, and some wrenches and sockets. If you don’t have a pitman arm puller, they are available for rent at AutoZone for a $20 refundable fee.

Tie-Rod Instructions

***Step Five***
Figure out how much tubing will be needed for the tie rod. I used a piece that was about 4’1” long. This is where the measurements you took before will come in handy. Remember, you won’t need the tube to be as long as the total distance. Keep in mind that the weld in adapters both protrude approximately 1”, and also that the tie rod ends themselves should be threaded in about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way to allow for plenty of adjustment once installed.

Front view of finished driver side setup…

***Step Six***
Once the tubing is cut to length, weld in your adapters. The driver’s side of the tie rod should have a right hand threaded adapter, and the passenger’s side should have a left hand threaded adapter. The driver’s side should use the ES2233L tie rod end, a LTA7818 weld in adapter, and a LJ7818 jam nut. The passenger’s side should use the ES2234R tie rod end (the one with the hole for attaching the drag link), a RTA7818 weld in adapter, and a RJ7818 jam nut. Before installing the passenger’s side tie rod end, it will need to be reamed first though.

Overhead view (front of truck to the right) of finished passenger’s side setup and weld in adapters…

***Step Seven***
Ream the passenger side tie rod end. When looking at the tie rod end from the side, the threads should be on the right, and the grease fitting should be pointing down. With the tie rod end in this position, ream the hole in the shaft with your seven degree reamer. Have the ES2026R tie rod end (passenger’s side drag link end) in hand to assure you don’t ream the hole too far. The ES2026R tie rod end needs to engage far enough to thread on the nut and insert the cotter pin, but must be a tight fit to prevent wear and damage.

Front view of passenger’s side setup…

***Step Eight***
Ream the steering knuckles. From the bottom of the steering knuckle, insert the reamer. Start to ream the knuckles. Check the clearance often with the corresponding tie rod end. Once you see that the tie rod end fits tightly in the knuckle, and the nut will thread down far enough to insert the cotter, you are done. It may be necessary to slightly grind on the top side of the knuckle with an open wheel grinder to remove any casting marks, and to ensure that the top side surface is flat. This will help to ensure that the nut can totally engage onto the flat surface and that it will not wear off any casting marks and become sloppy over time.

Overhead view (front of truck to the right) of finished passenger’s side knuckle after reaming from bottom and grinding top…

***Step Nine***
Once the steering knuckles and passenger’s side ES2234R tie rod end are reamed, you may thread the tie rod into the tie rod. The entire assembly should have a reamed passenger’s side ES2234R tie rod end, a RJ7818 jam nut, a RTA7818 weld in adapter, the correct length tubing, a LTA7818 weld in adapter, a LJ7818 jam nut, and a driver’s side ES2233L tie rod end. These components should already be welded, and threaded in, and are now ready for assembly. My total assembled length of the tie rod including the adapters, with the tie rod ends threaded in about halfway each was right around 5’1” from end to end. ***Step Ten***
Adjust the total length of the tie rod assembly to be close to the length of the parts you removed. This will give you a ballpark length to make aligning the front end a bit easier. Now you can install the tie rod assembly onto the truck. You should see that you can move the wheels freely from side-to-side, and that assembly should not bind, nor should it contact any other parts on the truck. You may notice that the tie rod tubing may contact the differential cover at or near full stop on the steering. This can be prevented by slightly adjusting the steering stops on the inside of the steering knuckles.

Draglink Instructions

***Step Eleven***
Remove the pitman arm if you haven’t already. You will need a pitman arm puller as mentioned earlier. Once the pitman arm is removed, place it in a vice for reaming. You will want to ream the pitman arm from the bottom as well. Have the corresponding tie rod end on hand and check the clearance often when reaming. Again, you will want this to fit tightly and to be able to insert the cotter pin into the castle nut as well.

Front view of centered pitman arm (follow steps below to ensure steering box is centered too)…

***Step Twelve***
Install the pitman arm back onto the truck. After the pitman arm is back on the truck, center the steering box. This can be accomplished by starting the truck, and rotating the steering wheel. Start with the steering wheel and full lock in either direction. Start turning the wheel in the opposite direction, without moving your hand’s position on the wheel. While you are turning the wheel, count how many rotations the steering wheel makes. You may want to do this several times to be sure. After you’ve determined how may rotations the steering wheel makes from lock position to lock position (my truck was three rotations, but I do have an aftermarket steering box), move the wheel back to either lock position. Once at the lock position, turn the wheel half the number of rotations as your total (ie. if you had a total of 3 rotations from lock to lock, rotate the wheel 1-1/2 times). Once you’ve done this, your steering box (and hopefully the steering wheel) will be centered. You may now turn off the truck.

***Step Thirteen***
Measure the distance from the pitman arm to the hole you reamed in the passenger’s side tie rod end. Remember that you need to subtract the added length from the tie rod ends and weld in adapters again, to get the correct length for your drag link’s tubing. I used a 2’0” piece of tubing for the drag link. Once you have the correct length, cut your tubing to length.

***Step Fourteen***
Once your tubing is cut to length, weld in your threaded adapters. The pitman arm end uses the ES2027L tie rod end, a LTA7818 weld in adapter, and a LJ7818 jam nut. The passenger’s side of the drag link uses the ES2026R tie rod end, a RTA7818 weld in adapter, and a RJ7818 jam nut. Once this is welded up and assembled, it can be installed. After installation, you may need to adjust the lengths of the threaded tie rod ends to center your steering wheel perfectly. My total assembled length of the drag link including the adapters, with the tie rod ends threaded in about halfway each was right around 3’4” from end to end.

***Step Fifteen***
Once both the tie rod and drag links are installed and adjusted properly, tighten the jam nuts to prevent movement and loss of adjustment. You may want to grease the tie rod ends and double check the nuts and bolts at this point. Now, you may again start the truck, and move the steering wheel from full lock position to full lock position. It would be very helpful to have someone under the truck to check for interference and slop at this point as well. If any problems are found, take the proper measures to insure that they are taken care of before road testing the vehicle.

Overhead view (front of truck would be to the right) of tilted steering stabilizer mount…

***Step Sixteen***
Once the steering linkage is all installed and adjusted, you can reinstall your steering stabilizer. It may be necessary to do some grinding on your steering stabilizer mount to prevent contact when installed. After the steering stabilizer is installed and found to be free of contact, you may put the wheels back on, double check all nuts, bolts, and grease fittings, and road test the vehicle. It is recommended that you get a proper alignment done on your truck to prevent poor tire wear and dangerous handling conditions. It is also recommended that you recheck all fasteners and grease fittings periodically to prevent wear or failure.