2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission I now hate my truck- I have to vent before something dies.

[pholt]

I am now convinced Dodge is Stupid. Bought a 1000 set of new tires for my

truck and went to get it aligned, to my amazement they said my entire

front end was SHOT. Yea track bar, outer, inners, upper and lower ball joints is all toast. They showed me and it Was, oh my it was. But the stabalizer bar was FINE, thank goodness the cheapest part was OK!!



After there $1400. 00 estimate, I said "Well I said I will fix it"



Well that turned out to be a stupid waste of time



With good intentions and every tool known to man in my fab shop, I was on a mission to fix my baby and It all went down hill from here.



$550. 00 for all the parts at a 20% discount.

4 hours of beating the shi@ out of the outer hub assemble until I threw the 4lb hammer across the street. I tried all the tricks even the Dodge mechanics told me, NOTHING MOVED. Broken 2 $100. 00 pullers and shattered the hammer on my IR impact, rated at 800 ft lbs, smoked 4 grade 10 metric bolts, ruined my pants mashed my finger and I think I may even have a paper cut.



Put the hunk of crap back together took it back to the mechanic, well they could not get them off either, so he said i have to heat it up and I will probably ruin the bearing packs, so to keep in tune with the day of course they ruined them



$550. 00 in parts

$375. 00 In labor so far.

$375. 00 in outer bearing that the dealer only has.

Oh and my broken tools and ego. (priceless)

Plus whatever labor is left. I have 4 dana 60's in two rock crawlers none of the parts cost anywhere near what this joke of a axle cost, my truck has 120,000 this should not be worn out.



This will be my last Dodge Cummins or not. I should have just set it on fire.

 

[ndurbin]

"I should have just set it on fire. "



I've been there a few times with my truck but somehow it's survived and still sitting in the driveway. I usually haveta get away from the truck for a hour or so then go back to working on it when I have cooled off when it pisses me off like this.



Nathan

 

[biggy238]

What model truck is this???

I've done what you have had done in about the last three weeks. Replaced everything but the center section and CAD. I'm still under $1000 and have all of my tools left. Get that done and my rear pinion seal is leaking now. Napa has the hubs for $234 for mine and tie rods side-to-side for $300. Axle joints were $16 each and ball joints are $35 a side. I put new rotors and calipers on mine at $50 per component and thats how I killed my hubs. They don't press apart.



Not trying to fuel the fire, just trying to stay away from what started it.

BTW let me know before you torch it to the ground... I can find a good home for it. Sorry about your luck man.

 

[y-knot]

I like post like this... ... . feel free to vent any time.



I don't think it's as bad as you do, I think 120,000 miles is pretty good for ball joints and the like. Are you the original owner (?) . Hey it could have been much worst, the rods or something might have gone, as it was you only needed a few front end parts, doesn't sound that bad any more does it?



I have heard many horror stories about working on the front ends of these trucks, the same frozen parts like you experienced. I was lucky I suppose, my came apart very easy, nothing hard or particularly impressive about it. So, see not all Dodge owners share the same experience, you are just one of the unlucky ones. The good side was you found out about the problem before it ruined your new set of tires, now that would have been a sham.



As it is, you are now set for another 120,000 miles of use, the tires might not last quite that long, but they are much easier to replace.

Did you ever go across the street to retrieve your hammer, if not that would be a good ideal.



Gives you a whole new appreciation for the professional Dodge mechanic doesn't it.

 

[champspa]

why didn't you set it on fire ?

 

[pholt]

it is a 2001, that is pretty sorry if you ask me.

 

[pholt]

OH well

Yea, I thought shi# just sell it, but I love the truck I just put a grand in tires, new exhaust, Bullydog computer and now this, just was a shock to the pocket book. I am the origional owner and the truck is taken care of, but that seems a short run I have had many Dana 60's go MUCH longer than this, and this Dodge design is a **** poor idea they should can it.

 

[pholt]

Story of the Hammer, come on look at my luck today!~!!!

It is or shall I say was a beautiful 4lb BluePoint hammer, costing about $50. 00 or so and the fiberglass handle died on impact with the curb, hope the Snap on guy understands. i just bought it yesterday..... for this very project.



Seriously guys I am a car guy I have had at least 40 cars and trucks to date and i have NEVER HAD ANYTHING I could not get apart until today, I was takiing full swings with a 4lb hammer and I am a 200lb guy that was putting it to it and it did not move. And all the while my dad was trying to drill a hole through it with my air Chisel... ... My dad owns a farm and he said, I have never had anything that tough to get a apart.



Hey Dodge buck up 8cents and put some anit-seaze compount on this $40,000 truck, it is just really rediculous... . And even the Dodge service manager say many mechanics just have to walk off for a while and have some quiet time on these things... When I called them he said "get the biggest hammer you can swing and hit it until you give up and bring it to us"



They allocate 7 hours for this job and now i know why.

 

[biggy238]

Kinda sounds like the hubs had some heat sieze problems. They went to the new hubs in 99 i think.

They run AAM axles now don't they? I guess we'll know in a year or two how those are working out. GM seems to have good luck with them for years now if you follow the companies lineage. And I agree totally that this is the most worthless D60 model i've seen so far. The HD44 I put in my bronco last year from an 87 ford is build as tough as this axle.

 

[y-knot]

Check this out

 

[PC12Driver]

Brother, I feel your pain.



I bought the Quad 4x4 kit with the do-it-yourself tools for $300 last week.

Spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday trying to get the hub assy out of the knuckles. They wouldn't budge. Didn't even pretend to.

Tuesday went to a local shop that quoted 4 hours of labor, but said they could probably get it done in three.

Today I picked up the truck, paid the $1,300 bill (2 hub assys, 8 hours labor), and then took the truck to get an estimate to repair the dent they put in the fender when the mechanic got a bit carried away with the hammer, swung high and clipped the fender.

Oh, and when I got home I had to put a pan under the right side of the axle to catch the gear lube that's dripping from the axle seal they damaged when they slid the axle shaft back in. At least it's the CAD side. And the hubs should come off pretty easily now.



My balljoints we're diagnosed as bad @ 68,000 mi, and were probably on their way out at 63k or so. That ain't right for a truck of this caliber.

 

[rmrc]

Great engine wrapped in a regular body.

I know exactly where you're coming from!!!!!!! Most of us bought these trucks for the Cummins engine. I know I did! I think that we were drawn into the false assumption that the truck was just as reliable and indestructable as the Cummins.



WRONG!!!!!!!!



I've been through my own trials with this truck and probably will be faced with more down the road. ( I sincerely hope not!!! ) I definitely can't afford to replace her!



When every thing is working as it should, these trucks are really great!!!! I agree that when you're paying this kind of money for these trucks, you'd think the manufacturer would put quality parts and a much higher quality control into the engineering and production of these vehicles!!!!!! Their goal should be to match the truck,,,,, to the Cummins regarding durability!!!!



Are you listening DODGE?????????

 

[JPittinger]

I'd like to grab the cheap SOB who didn't approve the cost of anti-sieze and dunk him hot vat of it. My '01 1500 was nearly impossible to get apart, but my '94 2500 came right apart. Last night it took my 8 lb sledge to move a top control arm bolt. It was dark by the time I got it, so I had to put it all back together to finish another day.



Forget chrome, my frontend glistens with beautiful silver anti-sieze.

 

[hammersley]

185,000 on mine and used in 4x4 EVERY DAY......

and still everything is great on front end - have it checked every 4-6 months... . BTW - Mine was made in Mexico - where was yours assembled??????

 

[dseabaugh]

My truck would not pass inspection with only 5X,000 miles on it and had to have all new ball joints. thanks to the $1700 extended warranty and 2 trips to the dealer it was fixed. My last truck went 200,000 miles before sold and all steering components, wheel bearings and u joints were still intact and in good condition.

 

[Joe G.]

I'm always amazed at these broken front end posts. My '95 has 233K on it and everthing is still tight and works fine. The only thing that has been replaced is an axle U-joint. The steering has no slack. It goes straight down the road with no wandering funny business. I grease everything I can at every oil change and inspect everything. The track bar is still tight. The road I live on is NOT smooth. Like Hammersley, my truck is a beaner. I wonder if that matters.

 

[DPelletier]

I don't think it's as bad as you do, I think 120,000 miles is pretty good for ball joints and the like.

I have to agree. I have a small fleet of trucks in all three brands and have owned dozens more. It isn't uncommon for a 4x4 to need that kind of work within 100,000 or even 60,000 miles.



Nonetheless, I can definitely relate. I can get kinda hot under the collar working on a stubborn part. Not something I'm particularly proud of, but I have caused many a tool to take flight!



Cheers,

Dave

 

[Jff24Gordn]

Was the nut that is on the axle shaft the one that wouldnt come off? my truck was like that, the robot at the factory that put it together had been on steroids and stripped the threads out. It was torched off and needed a new shaft, $150 including u jount. I dont rember if it was the drivers or passanger side, but that 4x4 shop had a few of those come through before all on the same side.

 

[biggy238]

Well... . I'm thinking the Axles were outsource by DC from Dana so it's a DANA corp problem... probably how they wound up with AAM's. I'm lucky in the fact that I got mine apart and had experience with them from 4 wheeling. Still a pita though. .



Oh yeah, so when am I takin' delivery of that truck with the new front end and $1000 in tires that you were gonna burn?

 

[daveshoe]

Better Way

Look up the thread ''Two Hubs'' for a better way to pull them off. You have to make a plate puller out of a piece of half inch thick steel. 3/4 inch would also work. The nice thing about it is the rear metric bolts are saved. the pulled piece remains centered on the shaft, and you are working from the outside of the truck. I did mine after one year on the truck and grease the ''non-servicable'' bearings myself

After seeing the results of a bearing failure that took out the entire front end by laying the wheel on its side. I decided to find a better way.