foxtrot

Mine broke the other day, I heard a loud pop and then my steering wheel would not line up I went to look and the steering box is all wobbly. The plate that the box mounts to that is then bolted to the frame broke in two.

Any one else have this happen ?

DLittle

It's a common problem on the 4x4 trucks. You can order a new bracket/plate from your local Dodge dealer still. I think they are about $20

foxtrot

$20 From the dealer ? Wow thats a deal.

Trebor

Dodge engineering changed the steering box design and went from a heavy cast steel mounting plate to a cheap piece of stamped steel. The newer design which we have also horizontally loads the weakest center part of the frame channel instead of loading it vertically like the old ones. Check your frame mounting points to see if the bolt also busted itself out of the frame.

simplysmn

If you have a good size lift I would say go to crossover steering You will kick yourself for not doing it sooner and plus you loose the draglink n plate

PapeCAT

And if you don't have a lift I recommend you switch to the original style 4x4 mount that uses a reverse rotation steering box and heavy cast iron mount. This is the same type of steering you see on Class 8 Trucks...

There was one reason dodge went away from the reverse rotation box setup - cost! It was cheaper for them to use the same 2wd style Saginaw boxes on all of their trucks.

But that is a good deal on a new plate for 20 dollars.. I know of a certain rancho cordova dodge dismantler that was asking 300 bones for one of these and I scoffed. His response was "well they break all of the time".

If you run anything larger than stock wheels/tires, the steering setup on the 4x4 trucks will just not hold up. You will encounter this problem again unless you make a change. I have that setup stock on my '72 W200 Diesel Crew, and I have gathered all the parts to do the same conversion on my 1993 as well. Additionally, there is a bracket you can find on some rare ramchargers that braces the inside of the frame rail with the forward cross member... This was merely a patch though. It was developed because Dodge was finding that the trucks with large tires would flex the frames so much the rivets would work loose between the front cross member and frame rail and your steering would become very loose.

foxtrot

I guess I got luckey then. Mine lasted for well over 400,000 miles

Philip

Dodge part # 52037876

I keep a spare hanging on the wall at all times.

james1

This old thread provides more detail on the aftermarket brace.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...steering+plate

PapeCAT

cool. I understand Dodge Connection is reproducing these for the aftermarket, however, they were engineered by Terry Elders aka "Mysteryman" while he was working at Chrysler to solve this steering gear/frame damage issue.

dngurney

does anyone know what years were reverse rotation or which ramchargers?

DNRCustoms

Here is a cross over setup that I did using a reverse rotaion box.. It has worked great for the past 5 yrs.. I wanted to do it on my 92 but couldnt clear the spring even with drop hangers.. Need like 4" lift springs and drop hangers.

Here is a pic when I mocked it up on my 92.. It was real close, once the drag link went on, there wasnt much room for movement without rubbage!!

These are shots of a working setup on my wheelin truck

schamran

I made a set of drop hangers similar to yours there, and after running them (as a daily driver) for a few months I noticed that they had gotten scary loose. Even after tightening the bolts the hangers would still flex if I was parked and turning the wheel back and forth. I welded a piece of 2" square tubing between them and it's all gone. Just a suggestion, not trying to knock your work or anything.

UCTJ

Thank you! I noticed tonight that my steering wheel was way off.. more so than usual and I crawled underneath rotated my steering shaft and saw the box moving then saw the break. Ordered one up for $14 bucks with overnight it was only $37 bucks.

Thought I'd bump this thread up for the next person.

Here is where I got mine.

http://dodgetruckparts.net/oem-dodge-parts.html

93-12Smoke

I saved mine when I did my crossover steering. It was not very old. Maybe a year and a half.