Bad ball joints after 13K?

[231jasonS]

My 06 has been pulling to the right with new tires (TOYO MT 295/70/17 on stock wheels). I cross rotated and front to back, but the pull stayed. It was pretty bad, change lanes in less than 100 feet.



I replaced them with the 265/70/17 mich's that came with the truck and pull is almost gone, but still there slightly.



I started double checking all my front end parts and found all four ball joints have 1/8-1/4 inch movement up and down. I think the factory standard is less that . 02" .



What gives 13,030 miles is way to low for this. Never had big tires, has a Carli-leveling kit. Going to the dreaded dealer to fight with them about something new.

 

[BHolm]

Seems kind of early on to have them worn out. The good news is though, it is a warranty issue and shouldn't cost you a thing.

 

[Grizzly]

Did you have any additional weight on the front end of the truck, such grill guard, heavier bumper or a winch. I hear that added weight to the front end can cause premature ball joint wear. Good luck with the dealer. If you don't have luck with them, go to another one.

 

[231jasonS]

Well, dealer confirmed all four have excessive play and will replace. I made a 1000 AM appt. and they had the truck until 400 PM to confirm what I knew, four bad ball joints.



They have ordered the parts and will be in next week.



Nothing on the front end as far as extra weight.

 

[Nelssen]

Good news the dealer has no issues with the suspension mods.

 

[231jasonS]

Goos news the dealer has no issues with the suspension mods.

I guess... i put the stock tires back on so its not that noticable.

 

[sid325]

So, that was the problem, odd. I didn't think it was the tires, they just compounded the problem that was already there.



Jacob

 

[MConyers]

My 06 has been pulling to the right with new tires (TOYO MT 295/70/17 on stock wheels). I cross rotated and front to back, but the pull stayed. It was pretty bad, change lanes in less than 100 feet.

I replaced them with the 265/70/17 mich's that came with the truck and pull is almost gone, but still there slightly.

That sounds very similar to what I experienced with my truck, same Toyo tires but I had the BFGs for the stockers. I rotated tires, rebalanced, alignment, etc; truck still pulled. One difference, maybe big in this case, is I didn't notice any play in the front end components other than the steering sector shaft.

Also noticed after a while that the truck was pulling to the right mostly due to the road surface, following the crown. It would pull to the left in the left lane. This wasn't noticeable at all with the stock tires.

My conclusion, for my truck anway, is that aggressive tires will tend to follow the road more than the stockers AND the DSS is worth 5x the money I spent for it. The DSS eliminated any wandering feeling I had with the Toyo's. And with the muck the Toyo's have gotten me out of they are worth every penny I spent on them.

 

[231jasonS]

So, that was the problem, odd. I didn't think it was the tires, they just compounded the problem that was already there.



Jacob

Ill have to see after the ball joints are changed and i put the toyos back on if the still pull.



I agree that the toyos, which are wider and more aggressive will follow the crown more. All though i had 185/75/17 goodyear MTRs on before these and they were straight and smooth.

 

[sid325]

I payed a little more attention and noticed an ever slight pull to the right. I really didn't notice it before. Not sure if it will make a difference, but I want to change out to Thuren's trackbar and ss.



Jacob

 

[kparker]

231JasonS,



It is not uncommon at all for larger tires to make the truck follow road crown(pull to right). That is why the KORE steering damper can be adjusted with the amount of nitrogen to counteract this. It's an annoying drawback to larger tires, but an easy thing to address.



We have been using these same steering dampers for about 4 years. They are the exact same thing that goes on the race trucks.



Any good IFP steering damper located in the stock orientation will help this.



KP

 

[ZPennell]

my truck was pulling and i took it in and had all the ball joints,tie rods and steering stabiliser replaced and had it alligned then put on brand new toyo

35" M/Ts, and it still pulls to the right a little.

 

[crobertson1]

MConyers,



You have a DSS on your 3rd gen? I had one on my '01. 5 and was impressed.



Craig

 

[231jasonS]

Well i picked up the truck after three days. I swear these dealers would be out of buisness if they did not have warranty work. If a independent ran their shop like these dealers they would be out of buisness.



Everything seems fine, except for the bent backing plate rubbing on the rotor. I will put the Toyos back on and see what happens. But so far so good.

 

[231jasonS]

well i put the toyo's back on today and it is still pulling to the right. It doesnt matter which tires i put where the pull is allways to the right and more than minor.



I dont know why, when i had the 265's on it was straight. No pull or wander. I assume its pulling because its a wider more aggresive tire?



What can i do to correct this the stabalizer seems to be fine (13K miles) and the rest of the front end is tight, what gives.



Trac bar?

 

[Desert Proven]

There are a number of posts on this topic right now. Trucks running bigger tires will have a tendency to pull right. This can be corrected by using a different steering dampener. We run the KORE steering dampener and it provides positive pressure to keep the truck tracking straight. The nitrogen pressure is adjustable to give you the ability to tune it specific to your truck.