There were a post ofice box full of recall notices for 2003 to 2008 Dodge truck 3/4 to 1 tons in the post office earlier this week. "Left tie rod end" problem....schedule an appointment to get important safety recall corrected by dealer at no cost.
Well as every RAM diesel owner might freely admit; its exactly like an honest Dodge salesan said pre 2006.. Save up a thousand bucks; because within 60,000 miles it going to need a whole new steering arm apparatus.
But why did it take so long for Chrysler to admit the premature failure caused by no grease fittings on tie rod end and the weakest retaining system to keep the tie rod ends in one piece.
Well this recall; doesn't apply any o those issues. Its the right tie rod end that commonlt fails first. (Juging by completely failed RH tie rod ends on two of four vehicle with less than 100,000 clicks. The dealer and many of his other customers have said as much in anecdotal testionials.
Hell it doesn't even apply to the left tie rod end that is listed on the recall cards sent.
Its for the "shock absorber dampener" on the steering rod assembly; and its not a very appealing fix. You see they want to put a couple "U clamps" to replace the stud that apparently have soeties failed in the original equipment.
Maybe most roadworthy vehicles have already been changed out anyway; and with the three warranty cards I ripped up before the dealer; it will be interesting to learn how this campaign satisfies customers.
The real problem is that although everyone (and I mean everyone who has eyes and ears and maybe a dodge diesel truck) has put their lives and everyone else's at the mercy of an ungreased right hand tie rod.
Not that the repair parts aren't identical; and will have just as short a service life. And not that Chrysler has ever confronted this serious engineerig safety issue.
But that can't be fixed with a couple of "U clamps" And I doubt accident investigators know the difference beteen a tie rod end and some "dampener" attached closeby.
Well as every RAM diesel owner might freely admit; its exactly like an honest Dodge salesan said pre 2006.. Save up a thousand bucks; because within 60,000 miles it going to need a whole new steering arm apparatus.
But why did it take so long for Chrysler to admit the premature failure caused by no grease fittings on tie rod end and the weakest retaining system to keep the tie rod ends in one piece.
Well this recall; doesn't apply any o those issues. Its the right tie rod end that commonlt fails first. (Juging by completely failed RH tie rod ends on two of four vehicle with less than 100,000 clicks. The dealer and many of his other customers have said as much in anecdotal testionials.
Hell it doesn't even apply to the left tie rod end that is listed on the recall cards sent.
Its for the "shock absorber dampener" on the steering rod assembly; and its not a very appealing fix. You see they want to put a couple "U clamps" to replace the stud that apparently have soeties failed in the original equipment.
Maybe most roadworthy vehicles have already been changed out anyway; and with the three warranty cards I ripped up before the dealer; it will be interesting to learn how this campaign satisfies customers.
The real problem is that although everyone (and I mean everyone who has eyes and ears and maybe a dodge diesel truck) has put their lives and everyone else's at the mercy of an ungreased right hand tie rod.
Not that the repair parts aren't identical; and will have just as short a service life. And not that Chrysler has ever confronted this serious engineerig safety issue.
But that can't be fixed with a couple of "U clamps" And I doubt accident investigators know the difference beteen a tie rod end and some "dampener" attached closeby.