Ball Joints

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I seem to recall reading something about this before but... .
My truck is a 93 D350 CC with 62,000 miles on it. My mechanic is in the process of installing new ball joints. I consider this premature wear. Has anyone else had the same problem?

Thanks,

John

 

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Hi, John. I have a 92 Ram (4x4) with 73,000 K, no problems in that regard.

Cheers,
Al

 

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I have had alot of problems with ball joints!! About 4 years ago I went in to get an alignment for abnormal tire wear and found that the upper and lower joints were shot. They replaced all the joints, Note: the upper joints are threaded in NOT pressed.
and a year later I had the same problem. This was the NAPA parts and they replaced them free of charge. Another year later they were shot, mostly the uppers #ad
, the uppers shouldn't wear as they only hold the wheel vertical!!!. Now they replaced them with MOOG heavy duty balls, and an upper a-arm as one of the balls popped out #ad
, fortunately no injuries #ad
. It has been about 2 years with no noticable wear.
I blame most of this on having the "red-headed stepchild" of diesels in the Dodge. The books don't have alot of info on the 89 trucks, some say diesel some don't. Make sure that they get the heavy duty version of balls, especially in your 1 ton. I can get the part numbers of all the balls etc if you need this info, but I assume that yours are going to be different.

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Jason's Lil' Mack - 89 D250LE 2WD 5Spd 3. 55 Reg Cab. K&N,"tweaked pump", 3. 5" Exst straight,E&M Custom seats. Bosch H4, PIAA 80W/80W HdLites. Bosch 100W Driving. Bosch 55W Fogs.
218,000 miles (355,000 Kms)
7450 Hrs.

 

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John, My 91 D350 had 49,000 miles on it when I purchased it. I immediately took it in to have the front end aligned and was informed that all of my ball joints were bad. I bought it from a dealer and also bought the extended warranty. They replaced all joints at the local Dodge dealer. The front end shop took one look at them and said some of them were worse than the ones that were replaced. I returned it to Dodge where they again replaced them and again I was informed by the Alignment shop that that they were "Very Sloppy" for "New" ball joints. I now have 84,000 on the truck and have had no problems with tire wear or handling. If I had my way I probably would go for the MOOG ball joints since they are a quality product.

Walt

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91 D350,New style BD Brake,Gear Vendors O/U Drive,Gauges-Pyro,boost,tach,trans,rearend,brake,
Airbag rear,Transfer flow tool/tank, Exh. sys,Rino lined bed, Alcoa Mags,SS runningboards.
16cm.

 

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John, Al, Walmor, wow, you guys have some pristine, low mile trucks. I bought mine in Oct. with 129,000, so I didn't put all of them on, however I wish that I did. Can't get enough of drivin' such a great truck!
By the way, I've got a little funny wear on my front tires, need new tires, then I'll find out how my front end is holdin' up.

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'93 D350 2wd Club Cab 5-speed,133,000 miles,K&N, Amsoil throughout, Borgeson Steering Shaft,Isspro gauges (Tach,EGT,Boost,Engine Oil Temp. )

 

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Chris, we have two vehicles and most of the driving around town is in the car. Since I am retired, the truck is basically now used for pulling the boat and going hunting - hence the low mileage. I prefer to drive this vehicle, especially on the highway, over a car any day. They sure hum along whether empty or loaded.

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92LE,Cummins,tach,4x4,5spd,Borgeson steering shaft,