I took my truck in for alignment today after hitting that fencepost with my lug nuts.

For those of you that didn't see the video, look here, skip forward and you can see where I hit the post and it looks like my lugnuts hit. I was doing probably less than 5MPH when I hit the post.



OK... brace yourself... here it comes.

I dropped my truck off this afternoon expecting to go pick it up tomorrow and pay around 50 bucks for an alignment.

The guy calls me and says:

You are going to need to get your lower pitman arm and ball joints replaced, and the cost for those parts is $1114.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now it may be that it is time for the balljoints and such to be replaced on this truck, because I had not had it done since I bought the truck. But it drives just fine, no sway, no squeaking, etc., and feels pretty tight.

So I asked the guy if it could be aligned without replacing those parts, and he said no. Is this true? I just spent $900 on new tires about 1000 miles ago, so I don't want them wearing weird, but what do I do... paying for that is going to wipe out almost my ENTIRE bank account... Any opinions on what I should do? I told him to hold off on it for now, because I wanted to get some opinions from you all first...

Thanks for any advice...

*A very DFO slouching back in his computer chair in disbelief...

 

Hopefully someone here can help with ideas...but I feel for u. Maybe get another estimate is all I can say.

 

Go pick up your truck and try someone else. That guy may be as honest as can be but replacing ball joints that are not needed is a common problem with some shops.

It would not hurt to get other opinions on it

 

I would go for a secod opinion and if you need the lower arm try to find one in a wrecking yard in good shape. You might get it for a little of nothing. I took my truck in for alignment the other day and they told me it needed all the steering rod ends replaced. I had already replaced one, so I called him on that. Then he backtracked and said it was just missing the grease cert and it was probably bad(I forgot to put it in). I told him I would make the repairs and bring it back for alignment. When I got into it, I found one of the three needed replacing. It cost me $25 for parts and half an hours time, and they wanted $250 to do it all.

 

OK well here is a little more:

A quick search on google for Dodge Ram 3500 lower pitman arm brings up the following:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/de...QQMOK7238.html

$105. I know an honest mechanic that my family has taken our stuff to for years that did the balljoints on the 2500 for about 5-600, and to be honest I don't think the balljoints need replacing now, but what do I know...

Now I know steering parts are tough to work with, and its probably not something I could do myself... but even if I had to get this mechanic to put in a new pitman arm, it wouldn't be that bad would it?

 

When I bought my truck, I took it for a test drive and I thought it drove pretty straight and smooth. So I told the car at the car lot I would take it. I couldn't get the truck the same day becouse he said he was going to take it and get the heater switch changed for me becouse it wasn't working ( that was part of the deal ). Anyways he phoned the next day and said it would be another day becouse he had his mechanic look over the truck well it was in there and he said the ball joints were completelky worn out. He payed to have them changed for me and even filled the tank with diesel becouse it took longer to get it to me.

Anyways my point is I think with worn out ball joints it can still drive ok so you might not notice it. I mean if he tried to charge me to change them then I might have thought he was just looking for money but he did it for free so he waasn't looking for extra cash so I don't think he was lying about them being worn out.

 

Wish you were closer man, I would do 2WD balljoints in a flash.

5-600 should be PLENTY to do lowers and get it aligned, heck, it should even cover the labor to put the Pittman arm on.

I just did a 4WD S-10 for a guy, I drove the truck for 2 years before I sold it to him, heck I drove the thing that morning and I saw nothing in the way it drove, but sure as all get out, the balljoints were shot worse than ANY I had ever seen.

1100 bucks for what you describe is highway robbery.

 

Interesting he would say the pitman needs replacing.
My experence with trucks hitting the curb hard or going off into a ditch is that shaft on the steering box twists before the pitman bends.

 

Jack up the whees, and have someone rock the wheels back and forth at the top and bottom, and watch the joints for movement. You will see which ones are bad. You can also put a bar under the wheel and have someone lift it, and you will see the knuckle lift up in the BJ a bit. When you determine what parts need replacing, price them out. See how much it will cost you. Parts are priced different areas, so what might be $500 in guys area will be $750 in another. Get the parts you need, and rent a ball joint press from a parts store. Its not a hard job, takes a bit of time on the first side, but the second side goes a lot easier. Start on a saturday, and you'll have lots of time, even if you do run into a complication or two.

 

Yes, normally when these trucks take a hit in the wheel like that they bend the shaft in the steering box.

Ball joints are not hard to change, and I see 500-600 being steep.
As far as the pitman arm replacing it isn't so bad either but it requires a puller.

I will check my labor book tomorrow and give you the amount of labor that is required for each job, if someone doesn't get to it before I do.

I don't know where he got that figure at.. you sure he said PARTS alone?

 

Autozone -
Duralast Lower Balljoint - Part Number: FA2074 Price: 29.99
Duralast Upper Balljoint - Part Number: FA2072 Price: 43.99
Duralast Pitman arm - Part Number: FA6035 Price: 71.99

I'm pretty positive the ball-joints are life-time warranty not sure about pitman arm.

So you're looking @ $233.14 w/ tax.
That is for ALL FOUR ball joints AND pitman arm.

 

Nice video! I thought it was great.

I was waiting for the Yanmar to start billowing black smoke out of the stack like a tractor pull.

Your next truck will be a 4x4.

 

Ok no one has asked this yet. How many miles on your truck? It may need them anyways. I wouldn't worry as wet as it was that day and as soggy as the ground was, I don't think you messed it up that bad. Heck, that pole gave alot.
Did you tell the alignment guy that you had hit something? If so, I say he saw you coming and is trying to stroke you. Does it drive differently, or are you just being cautious?
Pick the truck up and take it to a reputable shop, ask around and see if there is someone around that everyone agrees is a honest person.

 

As most have said get another quote, if it needs the work I would blame it on your sister.

 

I would stay away from AutoZone balljoints. Moog or Spicer for my vehicles. In my Jeep Cherokee the AutoZone balljoints only lasted about a year.
Check out rockauto.com.
You can choose from different brands. Personally I will be using the Spicer Professional grade.
You cant spend enough money on balljoints. It not a difficult job, but its a PITA.
JMO

Also, if you do order from rockauto, type in turbodiesel in the coupon box to get another 5% off. This usually covers shipping.