Power Steering Pump problems of the 2004 Dodge Ram 1500

- the contact called regarding a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500. The contact stated that the driver was traveling down a hill coming to a stop at less than 5 mph when he attempted to make a left hand turn and the vehicle would not turn. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle had to be towed. There were no warning indicators. The current and failure mileage were both 32900. The dealer had diagnosed the failure as needing to replace the power steering pump. The Dodge dealer advised the contact that they located a pump, however, the power steering pump was on back order and they were not sure when he would get the part if he chose not to purchase the part at this time.

Steering-at approximately 70,000 miles, the power steering fluid began to require attention. At present, I have to add fluid every 3-4 weeks. My son has a pick-up, same year, same model and has the same problem. Yesterday, in a parking lot, another motorist informed me that, he too, had the same problem, only worse. He pointed to a puddle on the ground-steering fluid.

I was driving down interstate 65 in mobile, al doing a speed of around 65 mph. Suddenly and without warning, my steering wheel locked-up and I was not able to turn the steering wheel left or right. Thankfully, there were not many cars on the highway and I was able to coast across 3 lanes of the highway, finally stopping in a ditch on an off ramp. The problem that occurred was the power steering pump popped off, wrapped around my serpentine belt, and cracked my head gasket. They replaced all parts that were damaged. One month later, the windshield wiper modulator malfunctioned during a rain storm and I had no wind shield wipers.