Another symptom of bad Ball Joints?

[Tomeygun]

So heres the story...



Got new tires about 2 weeks ago, 295 Nittos. About a week later I notice a funny steerig problem. When I give 1/2 thottle or more on highway, the truck goes to the left, Let off throttle, truck veers back to the right...



Hmmm... Very wierd - So I take my truck in for a state inspection and ask them to do an alignment and a tire rotate just to see if that was it.



Tech comes back and says that it is either hub bearing, or ball joints, Upon another tech checking, Seems to be upper ball joint, and the lower one is not that great either



well,well,well, 43k on the odometer and Service manager says that I better get my check book - Not good enough for me, I asked for our Rep's number. And to make matters worse, the tech broke the hub while getting it off - GREAT! - Another $365 for a new one



Well I finally got a call back from the REP and we are "working" things out...

$1000 is about what the bill is now for upper and lower (driver side) and new hub



Bad day for the Gunner

 

[Bertram65]

Not covered by the 7/70 with a $100 deductable?

 

[Tomeygun]

Not covered by the 7/70 with a $100 deductable?

Nope, after 3/36, dodges says it your dime

 

[fireman717]

so what good is the extended warrenty then??

 

[Tomeygun]

so what good is the extended warrenty then??

THe bumper-to-bumper ext warranty WOULD have covered it



But all I have is the free powertrain warranty, No coverage on that one

 

[HOBrian]

I had the death wobble (stock truck) I have a bad vib now and took it to the dealer and they said ball joints are bad $1020. 00 to do both sides. Yea right, got the info from here (TDR) and will be doing mine soon. the 7/70 is the axle, shaft, gears. IT does NOT cover the hub, ball joints, tie rod. stupid ***** warranty

 

[Hercules130]

that sucks! maybe they would let you put that 395 towards the dynatrac hub conversion.

 

[Midnight]

Let me get this straight. The tech broke the hub taking it apart, and you get to pay for a new one? Or did they tell you a head of time there might be a problem?

 

[Tomeygun]

Let me get this straight. The tech broke the hub taking it apart, and you get to pay for a new one? Or did they tell you a head of time there might be a problem?

I was told that 50% of the time they break the pressed bearing seal when removing the hub... So I was warned, But I had confidence in the tech, opps



I am working with the REP right now to get things "taken care of" - And we did not have the hub in stock, So the big rig is stuck over night... But I happen to sneak a Megacab home - So we'll see what happens tomorrow with the rep



Still amazing there is not a better fix out

 

[DIESELMAN]

Ever thought of trying a different Dodge Dealer ? Who was your salesman anyway????

 

[Nate]

What are they doing to the bearings to break them... it's not right whatever it is.



Ball Joints are fairly cheap, I did both sides on my truck this summer, was $60 a side for Spicer ball joints. Took just about a day to replace them though. Most of that spent fitting all the rust... got 145,000 of of them, so not too bad.

 

[Tomeygun]

What are they doing to the bearings to break them... it's not right whatever it is.



Ball Joints are fairly cheap, I did both sides on my truck this summer, was $60 a side for Spicer ball joints. Took just about a day to replace them though. Most of that spent fitting all the rust... got 145,000 of of them, so not too bad.

They put this press-thingy (LIKE THIS but bigger)on the studs and thread 3 nuts on, Then start turning it. . But it is usually so hard to turn they hammer on it. Well the back end that is pressed into the steering part would not give and something had to, so the hub seperated at the bearing (supposed to be sealed I though)



Anyway, should be done today - Arg

 

[Nate]

Is your truck 2WD? What you described doesn't sound like anything that needs to be done on a 4WD.

 

[Jeremiah]

Ball joints again

Upper and lower ball joints on one side went out on my '03 at 55,000 miles; uppers were out on the other side. I have the extended warranty that covers 7,000 parts or whatever. Ball joints certainly were covered. Cost me $100.



IMHO, the extended warranty is worth the $1900 - $2700 it costs. The ball joint job would have cost $1100. I had the heater blower repaired too and it would have cost $600 because the dash had to be removed to get to it.



Bottom line: buy the extended warranty!

 

[jwilliams3]

Tom,

Welcome to the replaced ball joint club.

 

[Nate]

It's not that bad. I've done ball joints on Durangos that were just a few years old with 25000-30000 miles. The ball joints under my Dodge were the factory ones with 145,000 miles or so. Actually one 1 upper was worn, but I changed all 4 while I was at it. Was only $120 in parts and a day of my time. Not the end of the world.

 

[CumminsBu]

Quad4X4 has ball joints and the tool to complet the job.

 

[Tomeygun]

Why can't we drill the top of an OEM ball joint and thread in a grease fitting?



And I wonder how to get the hub off safely? - Maybe very liberal wd-40?

 

[Jeremiah]

Why can't we drill the top of an OEM ball joint and thread in a grease fitting?



And I wonder how to get the hub off safely? - Maybe very liberal wd-40?

From what I read on the service order, dealer mechanics have problems getting hubs off. And yes, I understand you can install grease fittings. Interestingly, even though mine was a warranty job I wanted to furnish the dealer with aftermarket greasable ball joints. He refused, saying, "We can't warranty anything we don't furnish. " Never mind that the warranty will have run out by the time the second set of ball joints wear out.

 

[FM]

I just had my hubs replaced at 65k covered by 7/70. They said it was part of the drive train on a 4x.