I'm thinking of buying a second gen again, I used to own a 95, and have had about a dozen first gen trucks. How long do ball joints and front wheel bearings last on these trucks approximately? I had to do a lot of front end work to my old truck at 70K, and have heard front wheel bearing hubs are very expensive for these trucks and not very reliable. Also, does a third gen trackbar fix the trackbar problem, or is a lukes link a better alternative? Sometimes I miss the comfort of my second gen cab, and firstgens are getting harder and harder to find in decent shape, not to mention parts, so I'm thinking of switching back over. Thanks for any input.

 

Ball joints and front bearings on mine are still going strong. I used Lukes Link on the track bar over a year ago and never had any more problems with it.

Good luck with it.

 

I'm gonna change the left wheel bearing at about 200 k miles.. the right one had to be changed at about 170 k miles.
The balljoints did last about the same - approx 150 k miles.. But the moog balljoints I installed are shot with about 35 k miles on them. I used a lot of luke's links on my truck.- but I think I'm gonna have to get a new trackbar and maybe a crossover steering too. I must admit that I do abuse the truck.

The front wheel bearing for mine is BCA 515012 and is US$ 163.79 + shipping at rockauto.com.

HTH

AlpineRAM