Hey all I have 3 questions about my 2001 dodge diesel 2500 4*4 QC --
Im sure a lot of you would Know the answers

history on the front end ;I bought the truck(used) from a dealer 1 year ago
--30 th km ago. The dealer had replaced all ball joints,steering box and the track bar.


I recently had the front end inspected at Kal Tire because when i lightly tap the brakes or go over sharp bumps (train tracks, out of my driveway ) I FEEL a clunk on my steering wheel and on my petels. But not on gravel roads or over speed bumps. The tec showed me vertical movement in the lower ball joints.


1) Do ball joints wear out this quick ?

2) with the weight of the front end do the ball joints ever get a chance to move up and down ?


3) Please tell me more about the steering shaft(up and down -slack) and what kinds of simptoms I should look for in that


Thanks for any info you can give me REDZ

 

Yeah, look to see if there's a silver ring showing at the rubber boot on the lower ball joint. My rig is at 65K miles and needs a complete rebuild to the tune of around $1600. Replace ball joints with Moog parts. I've been reading a lot on here and they come highly recommended. Also there's a third gen trac bar swap that supposedly helps extend trac bar life and give better steering performance. Welcome to the site. Fill out your sig so everyone can see what you've got. Kurt

 

If you replace with MOOG, which I did, you should use different bolts than what they supply. They put in 1/2" threaded bolts with no shoulder. They are loose in the ball joint. If you put a 9/16" shouldered bolt, it fits tight in the joint. You just have to open the holes in the a-frame up just enough for them to fit. Fits super tight and allows no gap for slack.