1999 Dodge Dakota Steering Popping

GUNNMANXIII

MEMBER
1999 DODGE DAKOTA

Steering problem
1999 Dodge Dakota V8 Two Wheel Drive Automatic 86*** miles

I have a 1999 Dodge dakota RT, and when I turn sharply going slow speeds my front tires pop, or slide acroos the ground, almost as if my rack is locking up. I have messed with many things trying to remedy the problem, first I changed lower ball joints, thinking one was binding up, then moved to my rear end, thinking the limited slip wasnt "slipping" and causing the front tires to be pushed by the rear end. Changed my Diff oil, and added posi additive, that didnt help, I have looked at my power steering, pump seems to be pumping (whines a bit) but turns the wheel fine when sitting still and at high speeds, all my lines are ok, and the rack seems to be fine, no damage, no movement when it is off the ground inside the rack, and it seems to move freely off the ground. I have also checked my belt, thinking if it wasnt tight it might cause the P/S pump to chug, but it was tight. I am at a loss, I dont know where to go from here. :(

2 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,747 POSTS

Are there any leaks from the rack and pinion?

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Friday, February 19th, 2010 AT 9:03 AM

GUNNMANXIII

MEMBER
2 POSTS

No, rack is clean, as is everything else. I replaced upper control arm bushings and motor mounts yesterday, thought maybe if the mounts were sagging and letting the headers hang up on the control arms which had bad bushings that they would cause popping and shuddering. That didnt seem to fix the problem.
However, I am still leaning to the rear end because once the rear end warms up, the steering issue seems to lessen. Im thinking perhaps my limited slip sync is out. Might go there next.