Megatron

I did price a new truck a month or so ago... scary lol. The BD steering brace does have a sealed bearing that can be pressed out and replaced. The whole bearing unit looks like a piece you would see on some farm implement/tractor. Not that its a bad thing, just a reference idea. Now if you can tell in the picture I did run into one snag with the combination of steering parts. The Carli pitman arm is slightly thicker (not much) and the spline cut is a bit narrower (In reference to top to bottom taper) than whatever BD used as a template to build their brace. This is evident if you look at the fact I had to shim the bearing plate away from the support bar so it would clear the taper of the sector shaft nut. The remedy is to cut the tab off the steering support box and lower it roughly 1/4" then reattach. I assume if I would have utilized the supplied Mopar pitman arm this would not have been an issue, but after years of mixing other vendors parts together I have grown used to little modifications to get the desired results. The next point of this topic I would like to get others input on is the steering pump itself. I have read on other articles that the old pump may not flow efficient volumes to support the new Mopar box. This is kind of supported by the fact they released a new pump and reservoir kit for my truck. I will research it as time goes, but any outside help or knowledge would be appreciated. I have not noticed any lack of steering pressure yet, but that doesn't mean I won't. I do have the 48re, and yes I have worked on it... That can be another topic/thread!

I found these pictures for some reference on factory versus Mopar upgrade for the 03-08. Enjoy.

Your question about the Pitman arm tip is correct. The pitman arm provided with the new gearbox kit is canted a little at the tie rod end, the Carli one is not. Given the extra drop I assume it was not needed. The alignment of my tie rod end seems to be within spec and suffers no binding from lock to lock even under a passenger side droop. The sector shaft diameter, at the splines, is way larger than the factory one. The original 03-08 nut will not fit it, nor will the factory style pitman arm. That created 2 problems. 1, your factory pitman will not work and if it was a drop version like my original it will have to be replaced. the supplied one is designed for factory steering geometry. 2, if you already have a steering box brace (BTW mine is made by BD performance and so was my original) fitted for the factory box, it will no longer work. I had to upgrade to another one from BD which comes with the new sector shaft nut. This nut is the key because of the shaft machined on the end that rides in the steering box brace bearing plate (That is the answer to your question about it having a bearing plate). Plus, the Mopar box seems to extend from the frame further than the factory box.. could be me but I didn't think to measure that in a before and after scenario. You almost have to trim the fan shroud. Good eye on the steering dampener lol. My truck had an aftermarket 2 shock system that would not clear the new diff cover so I ordered a new single from Carli (Bilstien single setup) I have plans to finish that over the 4th of July weekend. It required new mounting locations (more like stock) and my stock ones had been removed to make room for the twins. So that leads us to your other comment. Yes, welding is a very good skill to have when playing with suspension components. Also over the fourth we will be installing my own 4 link (Parts complementary of Ballistic Fabrication). Its all new 2.63 poly bushing rod ends (Best of both worlds) with 2" aluminum links and frame tabs. Write up with pictures to follow. In my opinion, the kit on my truck now lacks proper triangulation and upper to lower bar angles and ratios. (Thanks 4 link calculator lol) I pieced the sway bar end links together at my local race shop (Circle dirt car guy stuff). The pieces provided with the original lift kit lacked proper alignment so 50$ later they are adjustable and short. As for the recall notice, mine said recall "steering components" contact Dealership A immediately. When I got to the dealership, mechanic a came out and said "you already switched your truck to the "T" style so there is nothing for me to inspect". That being said I assumed it was for the linkages?? I never got anything specific besides "they were done and you can leave" haha. Attached is the photo from last Friday after it got back from paint and body. I had the silver stripe painted black. Bumpers are at powder coat but I have pictures and a write up for that on another thread as well. The Rhino WIY (Weld it Yourself kit) Very pleased..

Strike my 2002 comment, I meant 2003. Attached are a couple pictures from my 2006 3500. You can see the drop bracket and larger track bar plus you can clearly see the size of the pitman arm and the new Mopar gear box. The angle between track bar and steering linkage I believe to be the most important part in eliminating the wobble (lessons learned on my YJ Jeep wheeling days). I agree 100% in getting the factory steering fixed even in a stock configuration. With the larger tires and lift we find the problems faster due to extra/extreme wear. But a stock truck will suffer problems, just later when the warranty has run out. Now after completing all of this I finally got a recall notice in the mail from Dodge. When I took it to their shop, they were all like "your steering has been fixed?" I said ya, by me. Couldn't get them to reimburse any parts or labor...Oh, well, I feel better about the safety of my family and when we're driving down the road. I wasn't about to wait for the factory to do it. My alignment of linkages seems comparable to yours. It's hard to call it on pictures. My Carli drop is right at 4", so close to what you have. I have more pictures of the complete T link plus a couple pictures of those Carli ball joints I did 2 months ago. (Although it's another topic, those things are a work of art and worth every penny.)

My understanding, from Carli, was this pitman arm covered a lift from 3"-6". That being said, the arm does not extend down 6". More like 4" from center to center on the drop (on the Mopar 68170214AA). I think the point of this arm is to give your truck proper steering arm angle to track bar angle and avoid the "Death Wobble". As for your question about sector shaft size, in the 02-08 line up I believe there only to be 2 sizes (small stock and large upgrade, I will get the exacts later). Also the Borgeson box that is offered is not a larger shaft, it has stronger/larger internals but utilizes the same housing and sector shaft. This is why I went with the Mopar unit. It is a total redesign from top to bottom. After 2009 I am not sure what size the sector shaft is. I will have a 2010 truck in my shop tomorrow and I can measure and post a stock size for reference. I believe it is the same sector shaft size as the large Mopar unit, just the Mopar 68170214AA is a bigger gear box. even bigger than the 09 and up trucks, I think lol. I know mine now has a 6 bolt cover on top of the gearbox compared to the 4 bolt ones I have seen. I have not switched to the Borgeson steering shaft yet. I don't seem to have much play in mine yet so I spent that money on a Steering dampener kit from Carli haha. Install thread to follow later.

I recently did the Mopar 68170214AA Steering box upgrade on my 2006 Ram 3500 Mega Cab. The factory box was shot, and it was a miracle that it hadn't broke off. I run 37" tires with a 6" lift. The pitman arm you are searching for is made by Carli suspension and can be purchased through DPP (Diesel Power Products) for under 200$. Its a 6" drop arm to keep your steering geometry in check with a lift kit. This new box was the single best thing I ever did to my truck. Cured the wandering and steering wheel play. Felt factory new even with the 37" tires. I already did the 2010 "T" linkage upgrade so the steering box was all that was left. If you have a steering shaft brace you will need a different one of those, that's also related to the larger sector shaft and the orientation of the new box.