2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Front end question

[SWC]

My truck is 01. 5 3500 4 wheel drive. I have 134,000 kms or 80,000 miles on the rig. Warranty ran out at 60,000 kms for this.

It is too late now to change what is happening to my truck, but for my education what were my alternatives?

I had excessive wear on the right front tire. I took the truck in to an alignment shop. (Read not dealership). I was in the shop and I saw the tech checking things out. My guess is at least 1/4" movement up and down on the right side ball joint and close to the same on the left. Also there was slight movement in the ball on the end of pitman on the steering box.

The tech said upper and lower ball joints on both sides should be replaced. He could not find aftermarket for these and had to order them from Dodge. The other ball on the steering box he could get aftermarket.

Is there a source this guy was not aware of or did I get hosed as well as snowed?

I do my own oil changes and greased the upper joints at the same time.

Let the comments roll so I know better next time!

Stan

 

[Extreme1]

I don't know about Canada but most autoparts places in the US can provide replacement parts. I usually go to NAPA and order the Dana/Spicer parts as they have at least 2 different quality levels.

 

[jrollins]

there is only one company here in the US that makes aftermarket adjustable ball joints for the late model 2nd generation 4x4's. if you do a search on ball joints you should find a link to them, but i don't remember the co. name right now. if i find the link i will post if for u. and yes they are considerably cheaper than stealer prices.

 

[jrollins]

here is a link to Ingle products who manufacture the only aftermarket ball joint for the 4x4, 2 wheel drives there are no aftermarket ball joints available.



http://www.ingallseng.com/parts/615.htm

 

[SWC]

jrollins, I checked the web site and I saw that the replacement was for a 2500. Showing my ignorance here, is the ball joint the same for the 3500?

Thanks for the information.

Stan

 

[jrollins]

well on that one you got me stumped, i believe they are the same, but i don't know so if anyone else out there knows, fell free to prove me wrong

 

[mberry]

The part numbers on the site are the same for the 2500 and 3500. I couldn't see anything regarding 4x2 or 4x4.

 

[TomGolden]

Has anyone installed these? It says ". 8" hours install time per ball joint, I was wondering if that is fairly accurate, or if it was meant to be 8 full hours..... Also wondering if any special tools or equipment, like hydraulic press or something might be needed to remove the OEM ball joints and install these. Also wondering, if like the pros/cons of the OEM non-greasable U-joints, if these are actually maybe weaker than the OEM ball joints because they have the grease channel.....



Thanks,

Tom

 

[jrollins]

they are only for 4 wheel drives the two wheel drives you must replace the control arms as a complete unit if any portion of them fail, from the posts i have read about the Ingle ball joints they are pretty nice but i own a 2 wheel drive so i have no experience with them at all. .

 

[SWC]

Gotta go

Thanks for the replys.

I got the truck back this afternoon. The shop said it took longer then normal to get the old parts off. The tech said labor should be around 9 hours and they figured 8 hours when they gave me the estimate. The bill indicates 8 hours at $62 per hour. The ball joint sets were $326 Canadian a piece. That would be around $220 US.

The steering is more responsive so that is a good sign.

I will be back on the road tomorrow morning to get a Keystone fifth wheel from Indiana. This one will go to Winnipeg, Manitoba and then back to Indiana to bring one back to Saskatchewan. That will take me 8 to 9 days if I have no delays. So carry on and I will check in to TDR when I can.

Stan

 

[SWC]

I am bringing this back to let you know the results. After driving about 8000 miles I am all smiles. This truck has never steered as well as it does now.

I suspect there was a problem with the ball joints right from the factory. I wish now that I would have made more noise about the lousy steering. Maybe I could have caught this when it was under warranty.

Stan