Help! Durango steering/suspension

[RanJer]

So I let my friend drive my durango the other night, he ended up sliding into a curb decently hard.. now when my passenger side front wheel and the steering wheel are pointed straight, the driver side front is pointed left. Not sure if it's just toe out/positive camber? or if it's possible the steering has been screwed up? the wheel will still turn but it's horribly toe-d out. Doesnt appear as though there's visible damage to the ball joint or tie rod and the cv boot looks fine. Think an alignment would remedy this? I'm sure I'm not the first person on here that has had a vehicle slide into a curb.. It's a complete pita to drive so I'd like to get it to an alignment shop close if that would fix it. Any ideas as to what to look at? or if an alignment would fix it??

This is my only available vehicle in winter... Kinda need it fixed asap..

[RanJer]

not sure if this helps at all.. but
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k51/suprajer/durangotire.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k51/suprajer/durangotire2.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k51/suprajer/durangotire3.jpg
ALL WITH THE STEERING WHEEL STRAIGHT

[Prince Valiant]

My guess is that something's got to be screwed up bad for this to happen. If it was a steering box/pitman arm issue, both wheels would still be pointed in the same direction, as this had happened to me once. Might have bent a small section of a tie-rod or partial collapse of the upper/lower control arm at the tip, where it may be less visible, or the actual knuckle between the arms is screwed up. I'm not familiar with the durango's front steering components like I am the older trucks, so I can't say for certain. Bum luck though...

[Sleeper Sierra]

someting is definitely bent. maybe a knuckle. I've seen a lot of curbshots, and if you are sure all 4 of the tie rods are straight I would say it is a knuckle or possibly a control arm.

[RanJer]

what about the idler arm or pitman arm? im just looking at checkers website for front end parts.. ive never dealt with crap like this before..

[Prince Valiant]

Pitman and idler arms would result in BOTH wheels being off...

[Prince Valiant]

Jack up the front end and remove the front wheel...it'll probably become obvious what's wrong from that.

[Al]

Jack up the front end and remove the front wheel...it'll probably become obvious what's wrong from that.

I'll second that.

About 10 years ago, my sister ran her Jetta into a curb and did the same thing. She needed a new tierod.

[sloLs1]

thats a pretty good one! i'd also say take the wheel off and look over everything(knuckle, tie rod(s), a-arms.... you should be able to spot your problem... its looks really bad!

good luck!

[H8RADE]

Look at the steering rack and the knuckles.
The a-arms on those rigs aren't the best to begin with.
Which tire hit the curb and at what angle?
If the wheel is straight in the pics, did you hit the back of the drivers side wheel?
Get that thing on a rack before your endanger yourself and others trying to fight it down the road.
Way to show off your ride to a friend.
I hope you learned something.

[88Nightmare]

hey jer if you still need it towed, just let me know.

[RanJer]

Look at the steering rack and the knuckles.
The a-arms on those rigs aren't the best to begin with.
Which tire hit the curb and at what angle?
If the wheel is straight in the pics, did you hit the back of the drivers side wheel?
Get that thing on a rack before your endanger yourself and others trying to fight it down the road.
Way to show off your ride to a friend.
I hope you learned something.

Thanks for trying to help, but for your information I wasn't trying to show sh1t off to anyone. I couldn't care less about what other people think about what I drive. I drive it because I like it. I asked a question because I was looking for input, not for someone to criticize my life decisions.

Everyone else, thank you. bgcntry, I don't personally care what you think. Figured this is a forum consisting of people that are willing to share knowledge, not be a jackass.

[77thor]

Those things are notorious for front end issues.... cheap parts and poor design.

[hrsp]

figure out what it was? that blows man...is he gonna foot the bill seeing as he busted it? or atleast help somewhat?

[H8RADE]

Nevermind, got it on by myself tonite. Just stuck with the 87 Octane setting for now and it feels like a completely different truck. Thanks to bgcntry for suggesting the parts!!

Believe it or not, I was trying to help.
You got a truck and modded it right away.
I know your friend was impressed by the power, and I know you let him 'get into it' a bit.
It happens.
PM me if you want a good wrench for the front end, because I can help.
For the record, I have been using Superchips for years, and on the Durango with the 5.9, set it to Tow Mode and leave it.
Trust me on that.
Best combo of efficiency and great power.
Good luck with the front end.
Don't repair it with stock parts.
PM me and I can help you get more for less.
Hasta and sorry for the hurt feelings.
Expect an FTD 'Tickler' bouquet to be delivered to your cube on last Tuesday of next week.

[RanJer]

Well yes, I figured it out.

First, bgcntry, I do apologize for what I said last night. I wasn't completely sober and took your off-color remarks as insults, so I got upset. I do appreciate that you suggested the parts that I bought. Everything had worked out fine until my buddy fukt my truck up. Still, I wasn't trying to impress anyone with my truck.

As far as the problem: The mount that is welded to the frame that contains the upper shock mount and a-arm bolts has been fukt. Where the rear bolt goes into the mount, the hole in the mount has become oblong; or basically ripped a new asshole. Aside from that, tie rods and ball joints were fine. I checked the other side (passenger side looked identical aside from the problem area). A-Arm is not bent, my problem lies within the bolt making problems for me.

Any suggestions are still appreciated. bgcntry, if you wanna look the truck let me know. I can always use a better opinion, about the truck that is.

[Breecher_7]

I might be able to help, probably going to require some fab work. Id have to see it.

[88Nightmare]

I took a look at it with Jer and we basically determined we will have to weld small plates on either side of the brackets and tap a new hole in, otherwise we are going to be disassembling the entire driver side steering/suspension setup and grinding the old bracket off the frame, then rewelding a new one on. Doing that would require precise measurement otherwise it could throw the whole steering geometry off. Welding on smaller pieces of metal and tapping a hole wouldnt be as involved and would probably yield a stronger bracket when finished.

[Breecher_7]

I was thinking somthing along those lines myself.......

[DirtyMax]

I saw this vehicle being trailered somewhere today. You and 88Nightmare....

[88Nightmare]

yeah we were taking it to the junkyard


























nah actually we were taking it over to my neighbors hosue to see if we could fabricate something, but after adjusting bolts and tightening things, it didn't do anything. I know we arent the best with steering/suspension, but we couldnt find anything noticeably broken or bent. only things we figured could be wrong would be the driver side lower balljoint might have collapsed and something may have been damaged on the steering gear box, where the pitman arm bolts up. the steering wheel is super sloppy. When holding the wheel in a straight line, the truck just drifts side to side, its not like its pulling in any one direction, it just wanders side to side. also, when having the front axel jacked up and moving the wheel from lock to lock, it almost feels like there is a very slight hangup when you get back to top dead center, unless it is just our imaginations or thats how the truck really is.

and yea it was us trailering the thing. we cant even drive over 5mph in this pile.