2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 2wd Control Arm quaility opinions?

[SSage]

I'm thinking about replacing the upper and lower control arms on my 95 2wd dually, it needs upper and lower ball joints, the bushings are all cracked. Are the Dorman or Moog arms any good? Or should I stick with Mopar? I've been looking for a OEM part, shows discontinued on most sites? I figure it will be easier to just replace the entire a-arm set up instead of fighting the press in ball joints and old bushings in my rusty all original OEM set up.

My good local tire shop is quoting just under $1200 for Moog performer ball joints and an alignment, for that much I think I would rather put on new control arms myself and get fresh bushings.

I figure new control arms would not be too much trouble, but I am hesitant to mess with the press in ball joints with my old rusty suspension. Mine will probably be a bear to work on, then have a possible sloppy fit and need to tack weld? Can you get Mopar 2wd control arms for a 2nd Gen under $400 a piece? Ouch! $1600 for a a-arms ain't gonna happen. The lowest I've seen is $380 for a right hand lower control arm. Makes the Moog prices look cheap...

Update: Upon more research, it appears the only decent loaded 2wd control arms are from AC Delco Premium and Raybestos Professional Grade. They both appear to be the same or very similar in specifications, they share the same pictures. Supposedly better quality than the Moog RK series. The McQuay Norris loaded control arm have ball joint pictures that look different than the others, but I have no idea of the quality. The premium Napa offering uses the same pic as the AC Delco and Raybestos versions, probably the same. At around $208 from Rock Auto the AC Delco lower arms seem to be the best deal, about half what Mopar wants.

I'm thinking off trying the loaded arms from Rock Auto or maybe Amazon if they get the Raybestos Version back in stock. Amazon is about $100 less, but they don't have 4 control arms in a premium type. If you believe the reviews on Amazon, AC Delco has better ones...

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

I replaced joints and bushings in mine, but was somewhat tempted to spend $$ on new arms. I didn't have any rust issues, mine is a southern truck. Do you see a lot of road salt in your travels?

If you have experience doing this sort of thing with a hydraulic press, it's probably not too bad. My experience is limited and has been with a C-clamp-style balljoint tool, which doesn't fit our lower joints, iirc. Fortunately my friend is an expert and has plenty of plates and tubes and other press accessories. It was still kind of a bear for me to do.... I say if spending the $$ for arms isn't too painful, you'll probably be glad you did.

If your old arms aren't too rusty and you have space in the barn, toss them on the shelf for a few years til you know for sure the new arms are good....

 

[BigPapa]

My good local tire shop is quoting just under $1200 for Moog performer ball joints and an alignment

This is almost double what it should be. You're looking at 6-7 hours labor, including alignment, and less than $200 for parts. I'd be looking elsewhere to get it done. They have to be looking at a 4X4 in their estimate guide.

 

[SSage]

I've been getting $1,000 quotes so far, last one was $1146.00 over the phone with my favorite private tire shop. They want to install the Moog Problem Solver ball joints. I can't even find the "premium" loaded 2wd control arms online unless its the cheapo Dorman, so I may end up with new ball joints.

I have a truck built in 94, so I have the mystery upper ball joints. From researching the forum I guess I'll have to remove them to find out what I really have size wise. They look pressed in, I'm guessing they are the original smaller size. I have two trucks, so I can get by with the 2nd gen parked till I can get the right parts. But, I just don't know if I want to press ball joints, I tore my dominate arm's rotator cuff and its still healing. But, I probably could do it slowly and I have family around.

I have a shop press, welder, air tools, lots of mechanic tool sets etc. I don't have a ball joint press, but I have been looking to buy one. I usually do my own mechanical work. These labor rates are tough to handle for me. I just replaced my lift pump and fixed some oil leaks and worked on my AFC tuning, my shoulder kinda survived that. I had to get help with the metal fuel line fittings, my right arm is limited in tight spots. I was thinking loaded control arms would be easier for me than pressing the ball joints manually, plus why not replace the bushings too? They are dried out and my suspension squeaks really bad, I need to do a bushing refresh front and back.

If I do it myself I rather use better parts, the XRF and high end Raybestos/Napa ball joints appear to be better reviewed than the Moog problem solvers? But, I'm not sure if these will fit my early control arms.

The press in size differences with the early trucks is giving me second thoughts. Makes it harder to order via Rock Auto like I usually do. Wish the sizes were consistent. I was thinking about getting the Harbor Freight master ball joint adapter kit along with the 4x4 ball joint set. That should cover me for anything needed plus I can use my large shop press too. I just wish I had done the job before, I hate the learning curve. My truck spent its life in North Carolina winters and all along the SE coast and Florida beaches pulling my toy hauler when I full timed. So, the suspension is a bit rusty from coastal living and salted roads in the mountains. The body is still decent, but I have surface rust on the roof now.

 

[seafish]

FYI, the Moog "problem solver" ball joints tend to CAUSE problems on our truck due to their built in adjustability with no reference points… I have read far too many threads where the posters truck wanders after installation of Moog problem solvers to ever want to use them on my truck.

 

[SSage]

I guess I need to pull the ball joints and see what size I have, I'm just concerned if I order some heavy duty joints they won't fit my early control arms.

 

[BigPapa]

FYI, the Moog "problem solver" ball joints tend to CAUSE problems on our truck due to their built in adjustability with no reference points… I have read far too many threads where the posters truck wanders after installation of Moog problem solvers to ever want to use them on my truck.

I have heard of problems with Moog's on 4X4's and personally would not run them. The best "conventional" ball joints we found for the 4X4's were the NAPA ones. They told us they were made by Spicer.

I have run Moog's standard ball joints, probably the "Problem Solvers" on my '95 RWD that got totaled out, probably 300K on them, and currently have them on my '98 RWD with no issues.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

I have the KD balljoint tool, which is a pro-quality item, and I've done a fair number of jobs with it, but I'm still strictly an amateur. I found the lower joints to be too tall for the KD to work, and I don't know if a big assortment of adapters would have made a difference. While the HF kit says it does 2wd Dodge, it doesn't say what generation or weight class. And the reviews of the HF adapter kit don't look promising.

Have you heard that every tool from Harbor Freight becomes a hammer within a year?

Perhaps some of our 2wd brethren can tell us what tool they used for theirs.

When I did mine, I also did the steering linkages and shocks. My wife was encouraging me to pay someone to do it, as if it was a cheap job. So my mechanic friend's wife looked up the labor hours for me, and when I told my wife what it would cost, she was happy to let me do it myself. Your estimates aren't outrageous, IMHO. I worked up a good sweat and a sore shoulder too, and there was a lot of wrestling with the shop press. New arms (control arms, that is ) could be really wise for you, if you can get quality ones - not Dorman, as you know.

When I did mine, it happened there was a guy on Craigslist selling a mess of front end parts, and I thought about buying his arms, installing joints and bushings in them, and then quickly swapping them onto my truck for less downtime. Maybe you can find a good set of later arms to rebuild. At least that would solve the mystery joint problem.

I'm sorry we don't seem to have a solid answer for you yet, just a bunch of maybes...

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

BTW I used Problem Solver joints and Raybestos bushings. I'd have to check my records for miles since the job, but probably 30-40K. No complaints yet, but the truck needs a steering box, so the new parts didn't make as much difference as I'd hoped.

 

[SSage]

I've used Moog upper ball joints and a track bar on my 98 4x4, didn't really have any issues with them. But I didn't put a lot of miles on the Moog stuff, maybe 30K. My trucks are mostly for hauling and towing occasionally heavy stuff, only have 94K or so on my 1995 dually. It mainly hauls a 24' flat deck dove tail utility hauler these days. I haul wood and farm products occasionally. It was my RV 5th wheel toter for years, I was pulling a 18K triple axle with it. The old OEM ball joints have had a hard life, lots of rough country roads and dirt trails.

 

[SSage]

Well, I've been crunching the prices and can't find quality loaded control arms at reasonable prices anyway. Moog doesn't make problem solver control arms for the truck, just the R series. And the others don't look any better than service grade. I think I rather try using better than OEM ball joints, the loaded arms all have the service quality ball joints with no grease zerks. I guess I'm better off just pressing in serviceable ball joints for now and maybe bushings. If I have a loose fit somewhere I do have a wire feed welder and I have the nice die grinder with a cut off wheel arbor for releasing the possible OEM tack welds already in my tool collection. Gotta get back under there tomorrow and see how bad the bushings are.

The Moog problem solvers are cheap on Amazon, but they also have the Raybestos premium and McQuay line people seem to prefer. I was of thinking Moog Problem Solvers before I read all the anti-moog comments, the upper one is around $33, both much cheaper than Rock Auto. I wonder if they are legit Moog? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C544X2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2SRAMFNYAA85I&coliid=I1NF3FC1RZ2UQI

These look the same as Napa/ACDelco, I think this is the right part number for my 95 and probably a better choice: http://www.amazon.com/Raybestos-505-1181-Professional-Grade-Suspension/dp/B001QVBUR4/ref=sr_1_5?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1449881723&vehicle=1995-40-2781-20-31-32-11-7-4780-231-8-2-2660-107-3-0&sr=1-5&ymm=1995%3Adodge%3Aram+3500


Guess I'll find out soon and try putting in the Premiumn Raybestos or ACDelco ball joints next week.

Will the 7249 OTC ball joint press work on my 2wd okay?

http://www.amazon.com/OTC-7249-U-Joint-Anchor-Service/dp/B0002SRGXY/ref=sr_1_3?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1449881974&sr=1-3&keywords=ball+joint+press

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

The OTC looks exactly like my KD, right down to the shape, color and label location of the case. SO I think it won't work. I wish I could tell you more detail of the issue I had with it, but I can't recall. Maybe you'll have better luck, but you have the shop press at hand anyway....

 

[KEnglish]

I replaced lower ball joints with Moog on my 97 with a Harbor freight C clamp and, about half way through, wished I had someone else do it. But I plodded thru and they've worked well for several years so far.

 

[SSage]

After asking a mechanic that's a family member I think its a good idea to check out Advanced Auto. He said he just rents or uses the loner ball joint press when he can't avoid suspension work, I'm going to look at it soon.

Supposedly a decent assortment of adapters. He said if I bought a ball joint press I should get a quality OTC master set and maybe the large C Clamp if I work on my 2003 4x4, thats around $369 if I remember right. So, maybe the AAP loner will work fine for my 2wd. He said the Harbor Freight kit is expensive for what you get. Just the small 4x4 Ball Joint tool set from HF is $84.95 plus 10% tax here, looks identical to kits on Amazon for $53 with free shipping and no tax. If I buy one it makes sense to get something that will be durable for both trucks.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

A Just the small 4x4 Ball Joint tool set from HF is $84.95 plus 10% tax here, looks identical to kits on Amazon for $53 with free shipping and no tax. .

I found the same sort of thing with a HF hydraulic crimper for battery cables, etc. The dies in the HF tool were severely undersized and could not possibly fit the cable size they claimed, as well as requiring a screwdriver to pry them loose form the tool and a pliers to get them out. FOr less money, I got a crimper from Amazon that fit the cable properly and had dies held in by magnets, easy to switch sizes but still securely installed.

HF is good for some things, but you have to look closely at the alternatives before buying.

 

[SSage]

I like the Harbor Freight sockets and hand tools, hydraulic jacks ain't bad either. But, I think I'll pass on the ball joint press, rather rent or get the OTC brand. The power tools are scary cheap and weak, my name brand Dremel is better than that Chicago brand. But the welders are not a bad deal for light use. Gotta pick out the decent deals.

I'll be glad when I get these ball joints done, not looking forward to the venture, but I don't want to spend $1146 on a shop doing it either. Just have to wait on the ball joints, the deals online are too good to pass up. About $100 less on Amazon.

 

[seafish]

You MAY want to call Rukse to see if they have control arms for 2wd models. I do not know what the diff is, but their 4wd arms are stout and relatively affordable. For some reason I cannot access their website right now to see if they have them or not.

Also, at some point in time, Mopar changed the design on the oem 4wd arms to be tubular instead of hollow…a MUCH needed upgrade…I wonder if they have done that for 2wd models as well??

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

Seafish-- I'd never heard of Ruske. I've got their site in my bookmarks now, thanks!

The 2wd control arm is a whole different animal from the 4wd. They don't make one. Photo below.

 

[SSage]

Well, best I can tell I have the early 94-96 press in pre-1997 original lower control arms with the smaller ball joints. Hopefully I'm correct. The Moog and XRF part numbers are compatible, so I think K7205T is correct.

Gotta order them, my local auto parts store didn't have them in stock anyway and I don't really want Moog. They do rent a master ball joint press though and it looks like a good hefty set up with the truck/4x4 adapters. Advanced Auto for tool rental and I'm trying the The TireClub XRF ball joints set for $189, all greasable, maybe a slight upgrade. http://www.ebay.com/itm/XRF-Kit-of-4-Dodge-Ram-2500-3500-2WD-Ball-Joint-Set-2-Upper-2-Lower-1994-1996-/181775509434

 

[seafish]

Seafish-- I'd never heard of Ruske. I've got their site in my bookmarks now, thanks!

The 2wd control arm is a whole different animal from the 4wd. They don't make one. Photo below.

View attachment 94049

Thanks for the pic ...never seen a 2wd control arm before…definitely different then the 4wd version.