OEM 2001 Dodge Ram 3500 Van Rack And Pinion

2001 Dodge Ram 3500 Van Rack And Pinion Parts and Q&A

• Q: How to service and repair the Rack And Pinion steering gear on 2001 Dodge Ram 3500 Van?

  A: Before doing any rack and pinion work, position the front wheels forward and raise the car to hold it steady. Unlock and pull out the fluid line hoses, next remove the coupling retaining bolt and finally slip the coupling off the rack and pinion shaft stub. Before using Puller C-4150A, identify the pitman shaft and pitman arm so you can remove the arm safely. After that, remove the bolts and nuts that hold the rack and pinion bracket and then remove the rack and pinion and bracket from your car. Turn loose the bolts holding the rack mounting bracket and pull the bracket off. While installing, attach the rack and pinion bracket to the rack, add the mounting bolts and tighten them up to 142 Nm (105 ft. lbs.). Set the rack and pinion and bracket where they will attach to the frame rail, bolt them in place and tighten everything to 136 Nm (100 ft. lbs.). Mate the index marks on the coupler shaft to those on the rack and pinion and steering shaft and then fasten the coupler with fresh bolts that are tightened to 49 Nm (36 ft. lbs.). Secure the pitman arm, tighten it to the proper alignment, add the washer and nut to the pitman shaft and use a torque gun to tighten the nut to 251 Nm (185 ft. lbs.). Fit the fluid hoses to the rack and pinion and use torque to tighten them to 28 Nm (21 ft. lbs.), lower the vehicle with its support removed and add fluid afterwards.