The original Dodge Ram aftermarket bolt-in steering kit, DOR's Patented Heavy Duty Steering Kit is the upgrade you've been looking for. This kit includes a new drag link, a new tie rod, with four rod ends that have been heat treated and then cryogenically frozen for the longest lifespan of any heim joints we have ever seen or used. You also get our custom 4340 heat-treated chromoly tapered bolts for a bolt-on installation (or you can upgrade to the optional Grade 8 bolt-in hardware), plus the miscellaneous nuts and washers needed for installation. Don't waste your time or money on standard tie rod end setups like the Mopar 08.5 factory steering or similar aftermarket setups - heims are much stronger and are 100% legal in all 50 states. We powdercoat the drag link and tie rod with a high quality satin black finish, which is very durable and looks great. This is a much stronger steering linkage than any other bolt-in setup available - it's strong enough to finish the Mint 400 under a Ram race truck we sponsored! The Mint 400 is known as the toughest off road race in America, it takes place in the brutal Nevada desert each year.
The only thing this kit does not include by default is a provision for the stock steering stabilizer - we recommend that all kits use a high quality steering stabilizer such as the Fox 2.0 that we sell as an add-on. You can use other brands as well if you already have one - just buy our stabilizer clamp if you don't have one that fits 1.5" OD tubing. Cheap single or dual setups, or the stock stabilizer, will not give you the steering performance you are looking for. Our single stabilizer will outperform those setups and will help tighten up your steering even more, and help with right-pull from larger aggressive tires. If you are tired of spending money on steering band-aids and just having to replace those parts a year later, buy our full setup with a stabilizer and you will love the results.
The Dodge Off Road Steering Kit is the result of over ten years of research and extreme testing in harsh off road environments, and daily driving on poorly maintained roads. What we have designed is a reliable, heavy duty steering system that meets all of our criteria, in a way that no other steering system can offer you.
1) Totally bolt-on install. No permanent modifications required. This is the only non-factory steering setup available that bolts right in (we own the patent on it). We use 4340 chromoly heat treated bolts that are custom made by our machine shop specifically for this application - nobody else has these. We also have optional stainless sleeves that allow you to run Grade 8 SAE bolts. See below for more info.
2) Uncompromised strength. Thick-wall DOM 1026 tubing ensures that your tie rod and drag link will never bend, break, or otherwise let you down. If they do, they are covered under our lifetime warranty.
3) Easy to adjust and fine tune. Tie rod is one piece with adjustment at the heims, so you set it and forget it. The drag link adjustment goes in 1/16" increments, so you can precisely center your steering wheel.
4) Works on all trucks (94-12), regardless of lift height and wheel size/backspacing. If your stock steering fits, this will fit. Also fits 2013 Ram 2500 models. If you have a lowered truck or a huge truck, we can make a custom drag link for no extra charge.
5) Proper steering geometry. Bumpsteer is designed out of this setup as much as possible thanks to the T-style design. The drag link does not bind up as quickly as stock when the suspension droops out, so there is less wear and tear, thanks to our drag link heim being mounted in a better orientation (unlike crossover kits).
You will not find all five of these qualities with any other steering kit on the market. We can confidently say that, because we have tried all of them on our own trucks. That is the advantage that DOR has over all other companies - we don't make parts to get rich, we make parts because they are needed for our trucks. What we are manufacturing is a totally new approach to Dodge steering, where everything was designed from scratch using the best parts money can buy, with some custom machined hardware that nobody else in the world has, and all joints are totally replaceable by the customer if they ever wear out. So far we have seven years of abuse on these same joints in a similar application with no failures or replacements to date, and our research indicates that other people have had the same results on their own trucks.
There are a lot of aftermarket steering options out there. So what makes our steering kit so special? We were the first company to offer a bolt-in setup, and we're still the only company using heim joints instead of failure-prone tie rod ends. Our kit works on all trucks regardless of wheels or lift height, and it's made using the strongest materials money can buy. Unlike crossover steering kits, the DOR setup does not introduce excessive bumpsteer into your steering. This setup is very similar to the 08.5+ Dodge factory steering in terms of geometry, however we use much stronger components and build the kit to be more user-friendly. The Mopar steering upgrade has a good design, but the weak tie rod ends are still a problem and have been recalled multiple times. Heims are safer because they are captured, meaning even if the ball came out of the housing, the entire assembly cannot get over the bolt hardware. With standard tie rod ends, if the ball comes out of the housing, it's game over. Tie rods also hate to be used at an angle, so they wear out much faster in drag link applications than heim joints do. We use heim joints at all four connection points because they are stronger, safer, and they last longer.
New for Thanksgiving 2020 - we now offer a totally bolt-in setup with Grade 8 hardware. This deletes the chromoly bolts and gets you a tapered sleeve that goes into the knuckles and pitman arm, and then you can use standard Grade 8 hardware without having to drill anything. This is a slight strength upgrade but also allows you to use impact tools, and the whole thing is field-serviceable if you ever snap a bolt. Just go to any hardware store and buy another one. We're offering this upgrade due to issues getting chromoly material to make our tapered bolts. The rest of the kit is exactly the same, but the new bolt-in Grade 8 option will speed up your shipping time because we machine the sleeves here out of stainless material and we use SAE hardware that can be purchased anywhere. If we have heims in stock, these kits will ship in about 1/3 of the time as the regular kit with chromoly bolts.
If you want to save a little money, or if you have already drilled your knuckles out for another steering setup and are unhappy with it, we do offer this kit as a drill-out option where you permanently modify the truck. See the related products section below.
This fits all Ram 1500 4x4 trucks from 1994 to 2001 with a Dana 44 front axle. If you have upgraded to a Dana 60 front axle, you need to purchase the 1013-STANDARD or 1013-FOX kit.
Expedited order option - You have the option to upgrade the build/ship time on this product by selecting the Expedite Build Time option. This will put your steering kit order on a separate list that gets fulfilled before our regular orders are filled. This does not mean that the steering will ship same day or next day, but we will do everything possible to get it out as quickly as possible. The amount of time will vary depending on what we have on hand to complete the steering, so if you want a closer estimate of ship time, call or email us to check first. This can range from same day to 2-3 weeks, but your order will go out before we fulfill regular/non-expedited orders. This is not meant to be used by everyone, this option exists for our customers who need their truck fixed ASAP due to work, an event, truck show, etc., which is a small percentage of our customer base. You can also upgrade shipping options at checkout to make that process faster, but again that does not mean it will change the build time. It just means when the product is shipped and UPS picks it up, they will get it to you faster than normal.
