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04 Hemi Limited bump steer issue

11K views 18 replies 4 participants last post by  onephat66 
#1 ·
Hello everyone. I'm new here to the forums, but not new to Durangos. I just bought our 3rd Durango about a month ago and love it other than one thing........ When driving over bumps, either at highway speeds or through town I get bad bump steer or a wobble when hitting bumps. I notice it mostly when both front tires don't hit the same bump at the same time. Now the truck has almost new Bridgestone Duelers on it which I've heard some say are a great tire and have fixed this problem for them. I just installed new Bilstein shocks on the front and had an alignment. I also had the tires rebalanced as well. Both shops said the front end looks good and tight. Alignment shop did comment that the left tie rod end seemed to have just a tiny bit of play and that's it and wasn't even concerned about it. I don't want to just throw parts at it but i just took my wife and kids on a 9 hour trip to visit family up north and it was pretty rough and somewhat stressful. I'd like to make the 9 hour trip home less stressed. Any ideas or known fixes for this? Truck has Eibach springs on the rear with front torsion bars turned down inch and a half, but it rode like this prior to all this. Thought I'd include this bit of info anyway. Truck is also 2wd. Thanks for any help. Jim:mad:
 
#4 ·
Welcome Brother.

I have a 2wd 2003 has the exact same issue. I haven't attempted to correct yet i assumed it was my tire and wheel combination so sorry don't have an answer for you.

But will be watching to see if anyone else does.
Thanks Hawaiirig. I have an '02 as well, but does pretty well. It's a 4wd of course, but I just rebuilt the entire frontend and replaced all 4 shocks, so it has no choice but to "ride nice!" Hopefully someone soon chimes in on this. I'm a Navy Aviation Structural Mechanic, so there aren't many car things that stump me, but without throwing parts and money at this problem it could prove difficult. There are so many things that technically could cause this issue, but I'm hoping to see what the most common fixes are that I haven't addressed yet. I know with the family in the truck and a cargo topper and cargo hitch on and loaded down I could use a better shock in the rear as the rear has the same feeling like the front does (the washboard feeling). When I get back off vacation I'm going to order a set of shocks for the rear, but I really want the Rancho 9000's for the rear, but do not believe they are available. I want an adjustable for the rear for the traveling reason. Jim
 
#5 ·
My 2000 R/T had that same rumble board feeling. It turned out to be worn tie rod ends. I would jack it up and check the tie rod ends and ball joints just to make sure. Might even check the stabilizer bar end links.
Just had another thought... are all your lug nuts tight? Just throwing out ideas... Hope this helps.
 
#6 ·
I was thinking possibly the tie rods as well. When I had the front end aligned, the mechanic thought the left inner or outer (he didn't know which one), seemed to have a little play because he noticed a pop coming from the left side when turning the wheel. I'm going to jack the front end up this weekend and to some checking to see if and where I can find any play. I already made the trip back home from my vacation, but the truck rode better this half of the trip. It isn't taking harsh bumps (like bad R/R tracks) very well, but I noticed that my rear shocks are needing replaced, as well as bottoming out since I lowered it. I put new Eibach springs on the rear, but was told that the stock length shock on the rear would work just find. I found that to be untrue, so now I need either shorter shocks, or a set of shock extenders/relocators. I'd rather have the extender/relocators so I can just order stock shocks for it. Anyone know of a Rancho 9000 shock that will work EFFECTIVELY on the rear of a GenII Durango? The lug nuts were checked fairly recently, but since you mentioned it Tymont I'm gonna check again. My sway bar end links looked pretty good when I put the new front shocks on it. I'm still open for ideas, but I'll post back my findings with the tie rod ends and I think the rear shock issue is causing some of the "wash-board" feeling as well.
 
#7 ·
It's been my experience that generaly a poping noise from the front end when turning the wheel is a ball joint failing.
Wish I could offer advice on the Rancho 9000's but I've never used them.
 
#8 ·
Welcome from El Paso, TX!!!!

I have to agree with Tymont... That's tire rods that is causing that.
 
#11 ·
Welcome from El Paso, TX!!!!

I have to agree with Tymont... That's tire rods that is causing that.
Hey Rec 26, did you mean tie rod ends or the ball joints? Tymont said ball joints, but you said you agreed with him and mentioned tie rods. I do agree with Tymont that NORMALLY a popping is a ball joint, but could surely be a tie rod end as well, as movement is similar on both, just on a smaller scale for the tie rod ends.
 
#10 ·
Well I've been back from vacation for a few weeks and haven't had a chance to do much on the Durango. I know for sure either the rear shocks are bottoming out now that I lowered the rear 2.5 inches (I do know the shocks are shot) or the bump stops are still a little bit too long, even though I cut them the recommended amount by Eibach. I discovered there were two different steering racks for the '04 Durangos and you have to know which one you have to get the correct tie rod ends. One of the steering racks does not have replaceable inner tie rods, I'm sure that's the one I have. Still interested in any feedback anyone may have. I'm really thinking about checking the body mounts as well since it seems you can feel the front floor boards shake a little when hitting bumps and kinda has that "body is going to rattle off the frame" feel. Anyone had this experience? Thanks again for any input!!
 
#12 ·
Ok, not much feedback lately. Maybe this'll "respark" this post. I just got my truck back yesterday from a very reputable shop here in town that does a lot of suspension work. Something I didn't notice and feel like an idiot for is that the front suspension is sitting directly on the bump stops. Now why would a person think that if you ONLY lower the front 1 3/8" that it would sit on the bump stops?!!!! What were you thinking Dodge to give so little room from the factory on the bump stops?!!! So I guess there wasn't much room to start with, so now I have to either cut them (they aren't that long to begin with) or cut the cup the stops fit into and try something else. This still does not explain why I had this problem prior to lowering the front end though. The shop did notice the rear shocks were shot, which is what I told them when I dropped it off. They also mentioned that the aftermarket wheels (on the truck when I bought it) have what they feel is too much negative offset, putting unwanted lack of control on the front suspension. They also said the wheels might be too heavy for the suspension since they are 20" cast aluminum (they are pretty heavy). The front suspension however, is in great condition. No ball joints/bushings needing replaced. The weight of the wheels I do agree with. The extra "unsprung weight" isn't good for or helping the front suspension. I had already looked into replacing the wheels. The offset I'm not too sure about. I do know that somewhere around '06-07 you could start getting 20" wheels factory on a Durango, so I don't see any reason why I couldn't put them on an '04 without any issues. Anyone have factory 20's that could measure the offset? Anyone have an '04/05 that has lowered and/or put 20's on? I really don't want to blow a bunch of money to find out these things still aren't the culprit. Any ideas or help is greatly appreciated.
 
#16 ·
I'm not sure heavier wheels would cause a popping noise. They could definately cause premature wearing of parts, but not actually be making th noise.
Is the noise perhaps coming from the rack and pinion steering?
 
#17 ·
No real sure Tymont with the noise. I've personally never heard it, but one of the suspension guys I took it to said he heard a "small" pop. Everyone that has looked at it though said the front end looks really good and no one has tried to sell me parts yet, which really leads me to believe it's in really good shape (I've jacked the front up and looked myself and was pretty happy with what I saw as well). If I knew it was the weight of the wheels causing the last bit of my "washboard" issue I wouldn't hesitate to buy new wheels. Check the response I put to your other post I started as well. I'm making progress, slow, but it's progress.
 
#18 ·
I've just about exhausted my knowledge here. If you've had several front end shops look at it, then I'm sure they've check everything I could suggest. I was thinking the steering gearbox but I'm sure it was checked as well.
Perhaps it's a simple problem of not being able to balance the tires just right. Might see if a shop near you can balance the tires on the vehicle.
That's it... I'm out of ideas at this point. But I'll certainly keep researching.
 
#19 ·
I've had tires balanced just recently. I have been tempted to have them road force balanced though (the fancy machine that measures runout on the wheels and tires, etc. for those who don't know what that is), but I spent $60 to have them standard balanced. If I knew the weight of the wheels that I want I would be somewhat inclined to buy new wheels and have them road force balanced, but don't want to put another set of heavy wheels on the truck if that is a possibility of the problem. It is riding much better though with the new rear shocks and all the bump stops shortened.
 
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