2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission 2WD Ball Joint Differences - 1994 - 1999

[charlessmith]

My recent experience was replacing the upper and lower ball joints on a '96 2WD 3500.

A real big caution here.

The '94/'96 and '97/'99 lower ball joints are ALMOST the same, the '97 is 0. 010" larger where it presses into the A-arm.

The early part is 1. 981" - 1. 985" and the later part is 1. 996" - 1. 999" diameter. This picture shows the splined area that is a different size. The smaller size part will slip into the larger sized A-arm without a tight press fit, so watch for this.

If you install the early smaller ball joint in a later A-arm, you may think it's OK but it may come apart down the road.

And just because you have a '94 - '96 doesn't mean you need the smaller part. A few years ago I had a '96 2WD 2500 and the dealer repaired a worn lower ball joint ... by replacing the A-arm! They told me the ball joint was riveted in - and I didn't know any better and paid them lots of bucks. I'm sure this ended up with a truck that had an early size joint on one side and a late size joint on the other side. In my just-completed repair of my '96 3500, both sides needed the '97 size part, so evidently both lower A-arms had been replaced earlier. They don't call the Dodge places "Stealers" for nothing!

My recent repair was done by Enterprise Engine Performance and the ball joint labor was $280.

Watch your prices on the Moog joints, the later (larger) parts are almost twice the price of the early part.

I'm told that somewhere about 2000 or 2001 Dodge changed to bolt-in lower ball joints.

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[surfbeetle]

Good to know. On my 95, it had press on ball joints, no bolts or rivets anywhere from the factory. But as I recall, there was a TSB out sometime ago that stated that the a-arms must be replaced to replace the ball joints. This must have been due to the difference in size. Rather than keep two different part numbers, they must have superseded the part but also decided to require the a-arm change.



A few years back, I rebuilt the front end and did in fact buy new a-arms that came from mopar with ball joints in them. Anyone want the old factory original '95 a-arms? I think I still have them.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Interesting Charles, I was wondering how your balljoint situation worked out. Never knew about the size difference between early and mid-range 2nd Gen trucks. Yes 2000-up trucks are very different than the early 2nd Gens, Dodge made numerous changes to the suspension and axles of both 2wd and 4x4 Rams that year.

 

[SSage]

Old thread, but I'm looking at my 1995 ball joints and they look all original, pressed in, no spot welds I can see. Curious, did MOPAR change the lower ball joint part number? Mine are 64964 and I see that same part number on a 1998 truck too. I see Advanced Auto shows different part numbers for the Moog joints and The TireClub also shows the early XRF ball joints from 94-96 on eBay, but the website's Dodge page contradicts the listing and shows them 94-99 which is not right obviously, go figure.

I don't want to take mine out till I have replacements, guess I'll try the XRF K7205T for the 94-96 2wd and hope they press in tight. I can get the Moog Problem Solvers K7269 locally if I get in a bind. Some other parts websites are getting them mixed up and showing K7269 for 94-99. I hope I can get it right the first time! Amazon has my truck correct I think on the Moog, but I can't cross reference the ACDelco or Raybestos part numbers with K7205T so far...