OR Mega Cab

I went out to sight in a rifle yesterday and the road was not as dry as it looked. Just when I was not liking the looks of things and was stopping the front end slid down into a set of ruts in the road. I put the truck into 4x4 mode and could barely move. Tried rocking back and forth and could only go about 2'. This truck takes so long to deliver the power to to the wheels that the truck was basically rolling back into the hole I was trying to get out of, then the turbo would finally spool and I would get some power. Anyhow, I called for help, dad went to get his 70's Ford with a winch and was BARELY able to pull me out. BY the time he go there with the winch the truck was sitting on its axles. I finally figured out if I power braked the truck and let it build up to about 1700-1800 rpm then let the break off I could get a little wheel speed and help climb out of the hole.

When I hit the pavement I was throwing mud all over the place as the wheels & tires cleaned themselves off. But when I hit about 70 mph the truck would darn near vibrate off the road. I had to back off and drive at about 55. I the past when I have been covered in mud, the tires and wheels would clean off rather quickly, I have NEVER experienced this kind of vibration. Then when I get to town and turn onto a side street the steering would not straighten back out automatically like normal and I darn near went into the ditch, it felt like driving an old 1950's type truck. I definitely was not expecting that.

I will be going out and cleaning all the mud off in a little while then take a test drive to see about vibration. But the steering has me concerned. I am worried that something got bent when it was sitting on its axles and we drug it backward with the winch.

Any ides or suggestions (beyond DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!!)

scottsjeeprolet

Check your wheels for those new Mud wheel weights, this is a common problem when running in the mud. As for the steering are you still in 4x4? Maybe during all the excitement you forgot to put it back in 2x4.

OR Mega Cab

Good idea. But, it wasn't grabbing the road like when turning on asphalt in 4x4 it just didn't want to straighten out.
Thanks

expressfish

just the mud in the rims............I had the same thing happen to me down at the lease also. I ended up pulling the front drivers wheel and found mud caked all over, I had gone to the car wash and did the best I could but still found mud in my rotor vents and other little places. sucks.

gonzo16

Mud in the rims, definately. I work in construction and always have that problem. It's best to spray it off at the car wash before it drys or you will have to chip it off with a screw driver.

OR Mega Cab

Crawled under the truck to take a look and I crushed the bottom of the steering damper. Called the dealership, part is $156, looks easy to install myself. What after market brands should I look at for a heavy duty upgrade?

Thanks

gonzo16

Bilstien is the brand I like and they have a life time warrant. I use the 9100 series.

scottsjeeprolet

Ya anywhere but the Stealr ship will be a better choice for something like that. There are tons of after market dampeners available.

tauberson

http://www.doetsch-shocks.com/2.asp $33-$56
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EDR

I feel your pain. I had just gotten my truck and still had the stock Michelins on it when we went up to our hunting camp in Western Colorado last November. I had one set of chains and I put them on the back end - figuring they would help the most with the limited slip rear end.

Knowing that I would probably have problems, we had my Dad's Dodge 2500 chained up out front, my truck in the middle, and a buddies chained up S10 Blazer behind us. I ended up getting it buried as well, but luckily it was just a muddy mess that we were able to yank me out of using a jerk strap.

We did find and remove a 2' x 16" diameter log under the front bumper before we started to yank me out, and it kinked my lower rubber valence, but other than that I got out okay.

I spent $10 at a local car wash attempting to get as much mud off it before heading home, and I washed it again after getting home to get more of the mud off. I still find mud stuck here and there under the truck while working on it.

Since I know I'll be doing this again, I plan to buy the Dodge fender liners (?) for the rear wheels before heading out this summer.

EDR

OR Mega Cab

Yeah, whats up with a $40k truck not coming with rear fender liners.

mitternocht

Man, that is rough!! I found out pretty quick that these trucks are so heavy in the front end that they’ll sink in a hurry. Actually they are heavy all over, lol.

One thing I’ve started doing is to put the truck in 4-wheel drive long before it is needed. This way if things get squirrelly in a hurry you might have a better chance of avoiding a situation. But you know hindsight is always 20/20.

I threw a Rancho stabilizer on my truck. I think it was like $45 or so and is a smidge better than stock. I’m sure there are better units out there than the Rancho, however I wouldn’t pay $156 for the OEM unit. You might need a small puller to get the old one off however; even so it won’t take you more than 20 min to put a new one on. A tap with a hammer might get the old one off, but I had a puller so I didn't bother with the hammer.

OH! Next time see if you can get some more mud on the truck before taking pictures. Even if you have to throw some mud on it, it will make for better pix.

mitternocht

Yea those stock Michelins need to go.

Hey did you guys get any wheel hop in your situations? I go the hop real bad. I just threw on a set of the Tuff County bars, however I haven't has a chance to try them out yet. JCW has 'em too. I hear latter bars work real well, like the ones at Glacier, however they are salty.

4x4not

These trucks get HORRIBLE wheel hop. If the rear tires spin even a tiny bit the truck will start bucking. I plan on doing some ladder bars in the near future.

expressfish

ditto above, when I got stuck the axle started hopping and I jsut stopped---sounded terrible..........then had my buddy give me a little yank with a tow strap to get me moving