What should I tell the dealership to get second steering box TSB fix?

[Davesnothereman]

Old dealership refused to do a second steering box TSB, so I found a new one that is gonna look at it. They’re gonna ask me if this is a new issue with the steering box or if the TSB never fixed anything. My question is: what do I tell them? I don’t want to give them an answer that will get my TSB denied. Truth is that the TSB never helped it and actually made it a tiny worse.

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[ALVagabond]

Be honest. You expect them to be honest with you, right?

 

[dcmdon]

Its not terribly unusual for replacement parts to be faulty. It happens.

 

[Davesnothereman]

Be honest. You expect them to be honest with you, right?

Honest? They’re far from honest and I don’t want my “honest” answer getting me denied services on a new Gladiator under warranty for a TSB.

 

[redrider]

Tell the truth, always. It is a slippery slope once that little white lie becomes accepted behavior. But what do I know? My parents must have been exceptions.

 

[Davesnothereman]

Not looking to be coached on morals. My question isn’t based on morality, I’m not 5 years old so anyone looking to coach me on morals can just… not leave a comment.

 

[IrishRob]

I told the second dealer that the work had already been done once. Symptoms had returned and let them tell me what they would do - which was to put another gear on and it was in stock. The actual problem was that the pitman arm nut was only finger tight so the splines had stripped. So was the first replacement gear bad or poorly installed? Either way a new gear with zero hassle.

 

[eaglerugby04]

Do you know which part revision you have? They actually revised the TSB part once and that could help with the justificaiton

 

[WXman]

I'll just leave this here for whatever it's worth...

I have had a brand new JLU and a brand new JT that both wandered all over the highway like a sleepy drunk when I took delivery. Like, really awful handling. Felt like being behind the wheel of a bass boat on a lake during a storm.

By the time I reached 7,500 miles on both, they had settled in and drive normally. No more wandering. No more excessive input into the steering wheel to stay straight. I have video of cruising down the highway at 65 MPH into a stiff breeze with a 24' trailer behind me and the steering wheel is as calm as could possibly be.

Three possibilities:

- The 2" level spacers changed the caster, which corrected the steering
- The adjustable track bar that allowed me to perfectly center the front axle under the truck corrected the steering
- Over time, the joints, bushings, and steering stabilizer loosened up to normal operating design, after having been "tight" from the assembly line

In any case, the steering box has had nothing to do with it.

 

[Renegade]

My solution is to tighten the sector shaft preload screw just a bit. It takes less than 5 minutes, and no dealer required.

 

[kevman65]

If you have had the TSB done you can't hide it. It's tied to your VIN forever.

So be straight, tell them you had it done and it got worse.

 

[Davesnothereman]

I told the second dealer that the work had already been done once. Symptoms had returned and let them tell me what they would do - which was to put another gear on and it was in stock. The actual problem was that the pitman arm nut was only finger tight so the splines had stripped. So was the first replacement gear bad or poorly installed? Either way a new gear with zero hassle.

I already told them I had it once and they’re taking it in next week to look at it. But they’re going to ask me if it’s basically a faulty steering box or this TSB never fixed the original problem. I don’t care what they do, I just want it fixed but I want the steering box replaced.

 

[Davesnothereman]

Do you know which part revision you have? They actually revised the TSB part once and that could help with the justificaiton

Not sure, had it done in November

 

[Davesnothereman]

If you have had the TSB done you can't hide it. It's tied to your VIN forever.

So be straight, tell them you had it done and it got worse.

I told them that already, that’s not what I’m asking. They’re gonna ask if the TSB fixed the issue or if this one just wore out.

 

[Davesnothereman]

My solution is to tighten the sector shaft preload screw just a bit. It takes less than 5 minutes, and no dealer required.

Never heard of that or tried… do you have any links for that? I doubt it will help, the dead spot is large but I can take a look.

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