Got a huge chuckle about the steering. Yeah, mine steers like soggy ass. I thought yours (03+) got rack and pinion? Mine is the old school Recirculating Ball that Noah used on the Ark.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fummins
Got a huge chuckle about the steering. Yeah, mine steers like soggy ass. I thought yours (03+) got rack and pinion? Mine is the old school Recirculating Ball that Noah used on the Ark.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fummins
Nope, even the newer 2016 style still have a steering box. Oddly enough my 97' had 500,000kms on it(old pilot truck) and steered great. Probably the best steering dodge I ever drove.Quote:
Originally Posted by 7milesout
My 05 was decent when I first bought it but quickly went to crap. Previous owner just installed a "rebuilt" box in before selling it they don't last long. Even one of our 95' dodge 2wd we had here, I threw 3 reman boxes at it and just gave up, truck went to a different location where I wouldn't have to work on it anymore. An independent shop procceeded to chase the same problem I did, they installed 2 different boxes then gave up too.
I'm gonna try to snug up the sector shaft a hair on mine before ordering a redhead box. It's crazy. A buddy had a lowish mileage 2012 and had the same sloppy steering. My truck is stock height, stock tire size and wheels. Junk! Yet a co-worker had an 05 like mine but a single rear wheel, put 200,000km on it and it steered great on the old stock steering box.
I looked like I was hammered driving it to and from work for the past few days. Going from ultra tight steering in the Mirage to what feels like driving a 70's land yaht down the freeway, it's a pita trying to keep it between the lines. I'm waiting for the cops to come to my door and give me a breathalyzer one day. I'm not drunk, it's a dodge.
I found a cheap blown up 6.4 Powerchoke and want to swap one of my 12Vs into it so bad, but I don't have the time or space :(
Give PSC boxes a try. Heard they are the best and cheapest compared to constantly replacing rebuilt steering boxes. Not sure if they have yours though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fummins
I'm an idiot for keeping my 5 spd. Vue. insured and plated. It might see 5 trips a year. I'd be way better off selling it and renting a pickup with a hitch when something large needs moving.
I have a really nice 4x6' all aluminum trailer I paid $250 US for last year. It weights 140 lbs. with a 5/8" ply bed and all lights and fenders etc. I'd be really hard pressed to find something to move it couldn't handle. It's rated for 1100 lbs.!
As for gas prices for the first time a fill cost me >$43!! Jesus, I could almost fill my Vue for that amount 4 years ago. I don't understand how people can afford to drive a 4 dr. F150 4 wd. as a daily driver. How?
The first time pump prices passed $1.50/liter, in the run-up to the 2008 crash, I sat in a gas station lot and watched how much gas people were buying. There were as many people pumping $2, YES $2 (which is a toony, a deuce coin for our US readers) as there were people filling to the brim. This carried on into and well after the 2008 crash was over. IIRC though gas prices dropped greatly as soon as the crash hit.Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG
I remember living with "reasonable" gas prices, well under $1/liter for quite a while. Then when house prices started to skyrocket, EVERYTHING soared higher, food, used cars, used goods (think Goodwill). I look at my gas logs from 2016 when I got my 1st Mirage and fillups were $25 for 30~ liters. Like I wrote elsewhere my last fill was $43, and I drove around a bit to find a price more reasonable. Had new Mirages not been available for $10k OTD I'd have bought a used Fit. I love the styling and the price used was reasonable enough for me. I don't like used late model cars, I've seen enough total junk late model for sale at near to new prices to steer very clear of them. Anyhow, I digress.
I'm still wondering how anyone can justify using a 4wd 4dr F150 as a daily commuter on a moderate length commute? Anyone care to answer? I'm also curious how gas prices can be near record highs when America is now the largest producer of crude in the world. I would have expected that to push Canadian crude prices way down as their messy environmentally ugly product could be ignored, but I know crude sales don't work that way. Don't get me started as to why during a pandemic with demand way down prices again, soar.
I can't answer all of your questions, but I did hear a good explanation on why gas prices may continue to go up for a period of time yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wallythacker
There is no shortage of oil. The shortage is truck drivers. When the pandemic hit and gas demands dropped, many truck drivers were out of work. Some decided to retire & some found better trucking jobs. Hauling an an explosive liquid is not exactly a job everyone wants. There's also a shortage in the work force. I don't want to generalize this about everyone, but many young people are not interested in jobs like trucking. There's a real shortage of truck drivers. If I look at my local paper, there's seems to be a real shortage of workers period.
I've also heard story after story where 25 people may apply for a job, but only two can pass the drug test. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone in charge of hiring say that? I heard a story somewhat like that just today. A local landscaping business had a serious accident happen. The consequence of that was a new requirement for passing a drug test (new demand of their insurance carrier). The landscaping business lost half of their employees instantly (went from 35 to 17 remaining). They have now downsized their business because of that.
I realize this may be somewhat political, but stopping the completion of a major pipeline was not a wise move. A pipeline is the most efficient way to move large quantities of liquid. Look what happened recently when a portion a pipeline was hacked in the eastern part of the United States. The impact of that was seen almost instantly. Today's pipelines are yesterday's railroads.
There are several reasons for the current trend we are seeing, but it's really hard to have that discussion here. I will just leave it at that.
Notice the price of shipping and delivery on new vehicles? If politicians had to experience what CDL drivers had to just to turn a key. First most companies prefer years of experience, Enhanced Physicals, background for hazmat, new portal for points, new mental health evaluations, credit and work history search, dmv record search don't get me wrong some of this is justified to have safe drivers. Would love all politicians physically and mentally examined equal to airline pilots or cdl drivers since they make decisions for all of us.
And in trucking no one remembers the miles you drive safe only when incidents occur.