2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Replacing steering ball joints???

[Whitmore]

I have a friend at work that has a 2000 with wore out ball joints, are there any good instros out there? I looked around on Fritz's site and couldnt find any... ... ... ... ..... TIA



Cheers, Kevin

 

[Dan_69GTX]

You don't state whether it is 4x4 or 2x4.



The OEM manual covers that pretty well.



There isn't much to it, but you will need some special tools.



Dan

 

[Whitmore]

It is a 4x4



Cheers, Kevin

 

[tmacc]

If the ball joints are on the axle, instead of the spindle, prepare yourself for lonnng day of beating the h*ll out of the 4 mounting bolts that hold the spindle on. On my truck, it took three of us about 2 hours the get the hub off. :--) No joke!! Thankfully, Jeff Knight is left handed and was able to beat the front bolts w/ his strong side. Wiredawg had to relieve me on the rear bolts at times. A 9/16th 12-point socket and a 2" extension were sacrificed to the cause. I don't think Sears will be warrantying them. I would seriously consider have a shop do it by the time you figure in a ball joint press. Cheapest ball joints I could find were from Mechanicsville Dodge 800-559-6698. Good Luck.

 

[DODGEDADDIE]

LOWER BALL JOINTS

YOU'RE RIGHT TMACC.....

Those LOWER BALL JOINTS do SUCK it took us about the same amount of time,,then had to buy NEW BOLT at $7 a piece.



I didn't like the IDEA OF using a PULLER... ... AS you are PUSHING on your axle ,,Into YOUR INNER bearings,,,an seeing as HARD as it was seated on the hub,,that would have been a LOT OF PRESSURE on that sucker.



JUST MY OPINION... ... .....



Mike In Maine

 

[tmacc]

Mike,

Yeah, the bolts took a beating, but since it was a Sunday, I just re-ground the heads so we could reuse them. Another tip for those compelled to perform this task themselves. Use lots of anti-seize when re-installing the hub. It will make the job much easier the next time the ball joints have to be replaced.

Cheers

 

[Heavy Metal]

Cheapest ball joints I could find were from Mechanicsville Dodge 800-559-6698. Good Luck.

Finally Moog is offering ball joints for the 2000-2002 4x4 CTD's. No more having to buy both the upper and the lower just to get the lower. part no. 's on their website. Click on Electronic Catalog under Moog chassis parts.



http://www.federal-mogul.com/moog



Bryan