Caster problem Durango 99
From : peter
Q: due to collision damage right front lower ball joint has been pushed back about 3cm 1 inch torsion bar is also warped a little bit. as a result my rf caster is now negative lf is ok. it looks like lbj is mounted solid to the frame and cannot be pushed back without some heavy machinery - please correct me if im wrong - but i could move ubj backwards to correct the caster problem. will this have any unwanted side-effects any other ideas around here you could get a laser alignment frame shop to pull it back for about $700. have you called around its not as expensive as you might think. ted .
Replies:
From : maxpower
on fri 11 nov 2005 011935 -0500 roy roy@home.net wrote welcome home. roy as opposed to home is where the fox hole is glad you made it back so we have ya to mess with bro.. likewise bro. clebrated took the bride to the range and put a few hundred rounds through the ar. roy mac please remove splinters before emailing .
From : Annonymous
i had an old cadillac that did the same thing except the cold had nothing to do with it. i think the cold is just a coincidence on the fuel line inside the gas tank there was a filter almost like a sock over the end of the fuel line. as vehicles get older dirt rust or whatever accumulates in the gas tank. what happened with me was the filter was partially clogged and would periodically suck up enough crap that was in the gas tank to make the car seem like it ran out of gas. sometimes it would run for a week and sometimes it would die in a couple of minutes. its not hard to replace just make sure you run most of the gas out of the tank before beginning. i own a 1994 dodge van with the 318 automatic trans. when i bout it this summer it ran great come winter though it just started to quit just like somebody turned the key off but it would usually start right back up and go just fine for a while then would quit again. replaced just about everything my hanes chiltons manual and a few friends reccomended but still to no avail. have lived with it that way for a while but now it is starting not to start at all after it quits. any help or advice would be greatly appreciated thank you stephen .
From : maxpower
just put in a hiddentank like under a tool box or something. put in a hidden switch and keep normal fuel in the truck tank and home fuel in the hidden tank. put some of your own die in it and call it your bio diesel or other home maded fuel. your entitled to something like 600 gallons of home made per year without issue.. this way the main tank is not contaminated. if they find the aux tank their is some plasable denial. since your aux tank will be used mainly around town. do some research on dyes and make sure that the color you select might have some...uv to it..and...let me know us in the southern states dont have home oil..so we have to work on making our own bio... .
From : maxpower
ok i might be tasting my foot here but on my 95 dakota the rf is 1 closer to rear than the left front. i remember back in 98 a tire shop tried to get me to let them repair this dangerous situation. after a little research i found that this was factory. i went to dealer and got a copy of the dimension sheet. clearly shows rf 1 off set from lf. -- ----------------------------------------- billy k 95 ram 2500 c 4x4 95 dakota sport 05 jeep x 85 dodge van 70 merc montego caster is the foward and backward tilt of the wheel even if you could move the balljoint backwards you will still have a caster problem. one wheel would be in front of the other and if you can picture that you would see that the vehicle would be trying to go into a circle. the vehicle would then be tracking glenn beasley chrysler tech my bad thats a 4x2 specs with the 5.2 litre .
From : scott dorsey
ok i might be tasting my foot here but on my 95 dakota the rf is 1 closer to rear than the left front. i remember back in 98 a tire shop tried to get me to let them repair this dangerous situation. after a little research i found that this was factory. i went to dealer and got a copy of the dimension sheet. clearly shows rf 1 off set from lf. -- ----------------------------------------- billy k 95 ram 2500 c 4x4 95 dakota sport 05 jeep x 85 dodge van 70 merc montego caster is the foward and backward tilt of the wheel even if you could move the balljoint backwards you will still have a caster problem. one wheel would be in front of the other and if you can picture that you would see that the vehicle would be trying to go into a circle. the vehicle would then be tracking glenn beasley chrysler tech not so billy. now some alignment shops will change the caster out of specs on one side more then the other to compensate for a pull due to the crown in the road but technically theres only .50 degree plus or minus for tolerances which could be 1.0 degree difference caster specs for the 98 dakato are on a 4x4 wheel base 111.9 2.99 123.9 3.09 130.9 3.13 with a 0.50 degree + - glenn beasley chrysler tech .
From : comboverfish
ok i might be tasting my foot here but on my 95 dakota the rf is 1 closer to rear than the left front. i remember back in 98 a tire shop tried to get me to let them repair this dangerous situation. after a little research i found that this was factory. i went to dealer and got a copy of the dimension sheet. clearly shows rf 1 off set from lf. -- ----------------------------------------- billy k 95 ram 2500 c 4x4 95 dakota sport 05 jeep x 85 dodge van 70 merc montego caster is the foward and backward tilt of the wheel even if you could move the balljoint backwards you will still have a caster problem. one wheel would be in front of the other and if you can picture that you would see that the vehicle would be trying to go into a circle. the vehicle would then be tracking glenn beasley chrysler tech not so billy. now some alignment shops will change the caster out of specs on one side more then the other to compensate for a pull due to the crown in the road but technically theres only .50 degree plus or minus for tolerances which could be 1.0 degree difference caster specs for the 98 dakato are on a 4x4 wheel base 111.9 2.99 123.9 3.09 130.9 3.13 with a 0.50 degree + - glenn beasley chrysler tech .
From : news
i wish it was that simple. looks like the bracket that holds lower control arm to frame is bent and its not replaceable. everything is replaceable. sometimes the whole car is replaceable. worse comes to worst this is a job for a torch. --scott -- cest un nagra. cest suisse et tres tres precis. .
From : peter
peter wrote you need to fix what is bent. the lower ball joint is pressed into the lower control arm. if the arm is bent you need to replace it. if not you will wear your tires out. if the torsion bar is bent replace it. i wish it was that simple. looks like the bracket that holds lower control arm to frame is bent and its not replaceable. peter sure it is. after i got my dirt track race car i realized you can rebuild anything if you can weld or know someone who can weld. theres nothing i cant bend up on the track or cut up with my sawzall that my welder buddy cant rebuild better. it all comes down to $ - how much are you willing to spend and this sounds like a job for a frame shop or a fab shop to make sure its done right and square. ray .
From : billy
stop trying to fix your car yourself you seam to have no aptitude for it. jam is this a joke i had the exact same problem with my 93 dakota about 5 years ago. i was about to replace the fan myself just like copperhead. i posted on here and luckily someone posted the solution. believe you/me i have the aptitude. .
From : ted mittelstaedt
your setback may be out of spec by doing what you propose a full alignmnet prior to a frame pull will reveal where exactly you are in reference to set back and sai all important indicators or proper tracking and geometry. this is not really a dyer type repair. due to collision damage right front lower ball joint has been pushed back about 3cm 1 inch torsion bar is also warped a little bit. as a result my rf caster is now negative lf is ok. it looks like lbj is mounted solid to the frame and cannot be pushed back without some heavy machinery - please correct me if im wrong - but i could move ubj backwards to correct the caster problem. will this have any unwanted side-effects any other ideas caster is the foward and backward tilt of the wheel even if you could move the balljoint backwards you will still have a caster problem. one wheel would be in front of the other and if you can picture that you would see that the vehicle would be trying to go into a circle. the vehicle would then be tracking by moving ubj backwards im tilting the wheel backwards... am i not anyway one wheel in front of other has crossed my mind. for some reason right wheelbase distance between front and rear wheels is 1cm longer than left. so if i effectively move rf wheel 3cm backwards by adjusting ubj position my base difference will be 2cm. not ideal but may be acceptable i will definitely call around for some frame alignment - thanks to the other poster for suggestion! i thought it is close to impossible to pull such a heavy frame into alignment. peter ----== posted via feeds.com - unlimited-unrestricted-secure usenet ==---- http//www.feeds.com the #1 group service in the world! 120000+ groups ----= east and west-coast server farms - total privacy via encryption =---- .
From : shep
copperhead wrote i have become really confused over this problem. the heater blower in my 93 dakota quit this past weekend. just before it quit i smelled burning plastic/rubber in the cab. i figured the fan just burned up. so i replaced the fan. didnt fix the problem. checked the fuse...fuse was fine...replaced anyway. replaced the blower switch in the dash....still didnt fix the problem any ideas what to do next stop trying to fix your car yourself you seam to have no aptitude for it. jam .
From : peter
did you do it yourself or what did the dealer charge you i have done it twice in 197000 miles -- ----------------------------------------- billy k 95 ram 2500 c 4x4 95 dakota sport 05 jeep x 85 dodge van 70 merc montego and he will be right if you have him do the work. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving how many people having this problem with their 3.9l engines mines a 99 and it blew the heads off the rusty bolts at 88000kms. the dealer here thinks i am going to pay him $1000 to fix this. .
From : maxpower
due to collision damage right front lower ball joint has been pushed back about 3cm 1 inch torsion bar is also warped a little bit. as a result my rf caster is now negative lf is ok. it looks like lbj is mounted solid to the frame and cannot be pushed back without some heavy machinery - please correct me if im wrong - but i could move ubj backwards to correct the caster problem. will this have any unwanted side-effects any other ideas caster is the foward and backward tilt of the wheel even if you could move the balljoint backwards you will still have a caster problem. one wheel would be in front of the other and if you can picture that you would see that the vehicle would be trying to go into a circle. the vehicle would then be tracking by moving ubj backwards im tilting the wheel backwards... am i not anyway one wheel in front of other has crossed my mind. for some reason right wheelbase distance between front and rear wheels is 1cm longer than left. so if i effectively move rf wheel 3cm backwards by adjusting ubj position my base difference will be 2cm. not ideal but may be acceptable i will definitely call around for some frame alignment - thanks to the other poster for suggestion! i thought it is close to impossible to pull such a heavy frame into alignment. peter .