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07-07-2019, 01:16 PM #1
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Ram 3500 Drag Link Recall and Tire Issue
Took our truck into FCA for the recall on June 26th. This Friday July 5, wife asked me to check the truck, something was wrong with the steering, vibration and steering felt wobbly. The longer I test drove it Saturday checking it out, the worse it got, bad vibration on front end, kind of felt wobble side to side.
First thing I checked was the drag link recall they did to see if they had done what the recall said. Yup, the jam nuts were welded to the adjuster on drivers side, looks good. Next I checked the air pressure and the lug nuts. Torque supposed to be 130-140 ft lb depending on the nuts used. They were loose by a lot, re torqued all wheel lug nuts. Test drive - even worse vibration in steering but got the classic thump feel of wheel balance problem on drivers side.
Its 95 degrees, hot sun. Put the spare on left front, same size tire. Now this in itself is a PITB. Drag jack out from under passengers front seat. Cut hand on metal bracket, bleed like a stuck pig. Clean, peroxide, band aid resume task. Assemble the extensions and try to hit the spare tire hoist pin in hole, drag tire from under truck, etc. We've all been there. But this would have been even more of a PITB had the 5th wheel been hitched to the truck, very little room to work to get spare tire out.
Anyway problem solved, bad left front tire. The orig tire, one place in the tread has a slight knot on the inside of the tire and a flat spot outboard, not easy to see unless off truck and rolling on floor.
This happened all of a sudden right after they done the recall. Just coincidence, tire going bad had nothing to do with the drag link recall.
19,651 miles on truck. Nexgen Roadian HTX LT 235x80xR17 120/117 Load Range E, Made in Korea. Front tires run at 80psi, rear 4 all 65 psi. If all of a sudden you get a bad vibration, check your tires for a flat spot.
Now to see if FCA dealer has replacement. I don't want a different brand of tire of same size.Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel
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07-07-2019, 01:24 PM #2
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- Mar 2017
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- Pearland, TX
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Have my Right Front Nexen sitting in the garage. Took it off a couple of days ago b/c of shimmy that had just developed, about 6500 miles on the tires.
I'd lifted the front wheels up and when I rotated the front right, there was about 2 feet of tread 1/4" higher than the rest of the tire.
From reading the Nexen tire bomb thread at ram forum, figure it's got a belt separating.
Pulled my front brake pads the next day so I could clean and put synthetic brake grease on the clips as I was barely able to rotate the wheels by hand b/c the pads were so tight on the rotors.
Too sore and tired today to do the rear pads, though just eyeballing them they looked in better shape than the frontLast edited by gbkims; 07-07-2019 at 01:27 PM. Reason: Right Front Tire
- Gene
Kim & Gene
2015 Reflection 317RST
2017 Ram 3500 CC LB 4x2 6.7 CTD AISIN 3.73 DRW Auto Level Rear Air, BD3, Prodigy P3, Aux Tank
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07-07-2019, 05:52 PM #3
- Join Date
- Nov 2013
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- Sitting in the sun! FL for along while
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Marcy & Gary
2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
2003 F350 - retired
Michigan
We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
https://3dogsandatrailer.wordpress.com/
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07-07-2019, 07:17 PM #4
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The Nexen's are pretty roundly hated on the cummins forum. I've never read anyone that replaced them with another set of Nexen's when the OE set were wore out.
2022 Imagine XLS 22MLE
Sold: 2015 27RL
2016 Ram 3500 Crewcab Cummins SRW
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07-08-2019, 12:15 AM #5
- Join Date
- Aug 2018
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- Vancouver, B.C.
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A bit hard to see in the picture but looks like the tech is still learning how to weld!
Trailer: 2019 Solitude S-Class 3740BH
Old trailer: 2016 Outdoors RV Creekside 27DBHS (Sold)
Old trailer: 2010 Heartland Sundance 3300RLB (always leaked, then rotted! Layout was good, but build was junk.)
Old trailer: 1992 Prowler 5th 27.5N
Truck: 2016 Ram 3500 Cummins Megacab 4x4 SRW Laramie Aisin
Old truck: 2012 Ram 3500 Cummins Megacab 4x4 SRW Laramie 68RFE
Old truck: 2003 Ram 3500 Cummins QuadCab 4x4 SRW Laramie 6spd
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07-08-2019, 05:01 AM #6
Had the same issue with the Nexen tires. At around 16k miles driving home one evening got a shimmering in the front wheels that got so bad the steering wheel was shaking. The front passenger seat (with no one in it) was shaking so bad you had to see it to believe it. Slowed down and made it home.
Next morning I took the truck by my local tire shop that I have used for years. Asked them to check it out. Before I got comfortable in the waiting room the tech asked me to join him out in the shop. My truck was up on the alignment machine. He told me there was nothing he could do except get rid of the tires. He then showed me a softball size bubble on the inside of one tire and the other was beginning to show a bulge in it.
This whole incident came up without warning. Had 6 new Michelins installed on the spot. That was not cheap but worth the piece of mind. Have since made a trip across the country and back to the east coast with no issues.2018 Momentum 376TH
2016 RAM 3500 Dually
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07-08-2019, 08:04 AM #7
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On their welding technique, yup. a strange cheap fix for their problem, welding the jam nuts to the adjuster so they wont come loose. Now to adjust the toe you would have to grind the weld off.
I just detest decisions like this, replacing 6 tires with only 20k miles on them, on a supposedly 60K mile tire. Well, I'll try this time to buy the one tire and get some more miles out of them before replacing them all. Of course nobody around has them in stock so have to get it tomorrow. Bought it from the local FCA dealership, yeah I know, I paid a little more for it than ordering it from the local Discount Tire. @$40 diff but the local Discount Tire shop employees a bunch of idiots. I don't want them screwing up my aluminum rims or screwing up the TPMS sensor or trying to sell me a new cheap crap TPMS sensor, or monkeying around with the valve stem.
On the other hand if I have one more of these Nexen tires go bad, they all get replaced. Yes I am aware of the cummins forum. Same decision making process can be said for the tires on our RV's....... Do I or Don't I replace.
Oh well, you pay your money and you take your chance. Leaving Thursday morning to meet up with the Escapee's club in Johnson City.Last edited by Steven@147; 07-08-2019 at 08:08 AM.
Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel
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07-08-2019, 10:43 AM #8
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Having been a mechanic doing front end work I feel that welding front end parts together is not acceptable. That is called a backyard mechanics fix and looked on as being very shoddy. If someone knows what they are doing and do the job right it would not have to be welded. Front end components are too much of a safety feature and should always be installed properly. I can't believe the dealer accepted welding front end parts together as a fix. I would never accept that if it was my truck.
Marcy & Gary
2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
2003 F350 - retired
Michigan
We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
https://3dogsandatrailer.wordpress.com/
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07-08-2019, 12:00 PM #9
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I'm with you Gary but what is a guy to do, that was FCA's fix to the dealers. 2013 up to 2018 all 2500 and 3500 Ram trucks, some 573,876 recalled.
the dealerships were told to Set toe, check the torque on the jam nuts, and tack weld the nuts. No matter what they were told to tack weld the jam nuts to the adjuster. Even if the drag link was to be replaced the jam nuts were to be tack welded to the adjuster so they wouldn't come loose. The dealerships are going to do what FCA says. The owners had no choice accept to not get the recall done at all. Even if you took the truck in for like an oil change and they found it needed the recall done, they would do it and the owner would likely never know what they did. Now if you ever take your truck to get an alignment and get the toe set, the alignment shop has to grind the tack weld off to loosen the jam nuts to move the adjuster.
Everybody can guess whats going on here, They would have had to redesign the drag link adjusting mech to fix it right and then swap it out on all 573K trucks recalled, a huge cost to FCA. They did redesign the drag link mechanism for the 2019s, looks totally different.Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
Sharing the Fulltime Lifestyle - www.youtube.com/@tsrvadventures3219/videos, Nonprofit Channel
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07-08-2019, 01:57 PM #10
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You are stuck on that but it still doesn't make it right. But what can you do. Letter to FCA is a thought.
Marcy & Gary
2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
2003 F350 - retired
Michigan
We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
https://3dogsandatrailer.wordpress.com/
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