I have heard lots about how you cant do this and blah blah blah. I just wanted everyone to know that it can be done you have to cut a little off the tie rod so that it will collapse all the way (and by a little im talking 3/8") and it bolts right up. I will say that i would recommend getting lock nuts because the newer tie rod ends are not drilled for cotter pins. This was a very easy swap took less than an hour from start to finish I just did this on my 98 2500 12 valve 4x4.

 

are the tie rod ends superior in quality

 

The tir rod ends I got were from mopar they are factory 09 steering it comes as a complete kit and yes it is in my opinion far better than even the 98-99 hd steering and the factory steering stabilizer bolted on with no modification also.

 

i will look into that thx for the info looks like a win win situation

 

I am glad I did it on mine it was very simple and cheaper than buying aftermarket replacement parts. I got the kit from dieselpowerproducts.com I talked to Josh he has this kit on his truck and it is all factory mopar parts in the factory packaging. You can get it from the dealer also the part number for the kit is floating around on this site.

 

thx again anything we can do to improve the suspension on a 97 ram is a plus

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i am presently in the sahara desert for my work but when i get back home in may i will be upgrading

 

how many miles do u have on it so far? an by cutting a little of ur talking about the threaded section to shorten the length?

 

I have just over 1000 miles since I did this steering and so far no complaints and yes I had to take about 3/8" off of the threads to make sure I had enough room to get the correct toe I realisticaly only needed to take about 1/4" off but it works fine I just drove from washington to north dakota and on dirt roads and highway with no complaints. I did go and buy lock nuts as soon as i pt the steering on as the newer style does not have holes for cotter pins

 

i talked to the guys at thuren fab today about there heavy duty steering upgrade an they said i dont have enough lift for it to fit so i said ya what about the 09 steering an they said ya it will bolt rite up, but the tapper in the knuckles an pitmen arm r different an that it will get lose real fast. he said for me to stick with the 98-99 hd kits. this is just what iv heard.

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i need to add he did say it will fit 2000 an up tho.

 

Thats what I heard as well but I bolted mine right up and its still tight if anything the tapper in the pitman arm is slightly samller but it still works you just have to put lock nuts on because the factory stuff uses castle nuts and the 09 uses flanged lock nuts. My steering is working great glad i did it.