2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Speed Bump Damages?

[litespeed]

I hit a small speed bump in a residential neighborhood today. It was not visible or painted and was on a private road exiting a traffic circle (no time to slow down). My speed was only 10 to 15 MPH.



The impact was fairly violent but not bad enough for me to be concerned. My wife was in the truck at the time and she freaked!!



So we headed to the Dodge dealer to have the front end checked out. Here is what they found... .



Bent front sway bar and damaged upper and lower drivers side ball joints. They want to replace the sway bar, sway bar bushings, upper and lower control arms and do an alignment to the tune of $1,475. 00.



All of this from a lowly speed bump?



The reason for them replacing the control arms, and I quote: "The Ball joints are a part of the control arm and therefore the entire control arm must be replaced"... .



I got a kick out of that one!!



Has anyone else ever heard of such non-sense?



In the past we would just grind the old rivets out of the old ball joints. Then replace the ball joints with bolt in replacements. Without removing the control arms.



Just curious if things have changed? I have not been a mechanic for a while. But this sounds a little ridiculous.



I had the truck sold and this just happened only a few days before delivery to the new owner. I'm afraid this has scared the new owner off...



Needless to say the truck is for sale so I need to get this fixed quick or reduce the price.



Any input is greatly appreciated.



AJ

 

[jraker]

You can replace your ball joints without replacing the control arms. I also am not familiar with a front sway bar. I have a steering damper, tie rods, control arm in the front but no sway bar so I can not comment on that. Personally I would find a local 4 wheel drive shop and see what they say. Ask around on TDR on who would be good in your area. I did this in AL, and found some good shops that were far more credible than the dealership. Good luck.



JDR

 

[WDixon27]

does it drive any different after the bump? noises? vibrations? if not i suspect that someone padded the estamate and or maybe there is a few old ball joints and whatnot, id be seriously annoyed if a average sized speed bump could do that much damage at anything less then highway speed on a heavy duty truck

 

[litespeed]

does it drive any different after the bump? noises? vibrations? if not i suspect that someone padded the estamate and or maybe there is a few old ball joints and whatnot, id be seriously annoyed if a average sized speed bump could do that much damage at anything less then highway speed on a heavy duty truck

No, it drives the same. This is part of my confusion...



I feel the same. This suspension appears to be pretty "tough looking". All the components are big.



I did feel a clunk after the bump. And again on the way to the dealer. But I could not duplicate it again.



I was thinking initially that it would have been possible to break one of the shock absorbers. But they seem to be ok too.



The truck still drives perfectly. No vibration, pull, etc...

 

[tlgdiesel]

Its highly unlikely your sway bar is bent as they are made out of spring steel. I was recently in an accident and hit a barrier rail at about 50 it mangled the frame but the sway bar wasnt a bit bent. The balljoints are not part of the control arm either.

 

[JPittinger]

You're talkin 2 wheel drive (with IFS), right?

 

[Nate]

If the truck is 2WD, then yeah teh ball joints are part of the A arms. I don't know if they are removable. I've never worked on a 2wd Ram when I was working in a shop... they are pretty hard to find in Alaska



Control arms, or "trailing arms" are used on 4wd Rams

 

[litespeed]

You're talkin 2 wheel drive (with IFS), right?

yes 2 wheel drive with IFS