I have worn out my front tires because my ball joints are shot. I was told that 2 years ago, so i know thats the problem. My truck only has 82000 miles on it. I have gotten some quotes on replacing them, but have decided to try to tackle the job on my own and use the extra money to replace some other parts that may be worn. My question is what parts should i check (and how do i check them.) I plan on replacing as much as possible without getting too stupid of a bill. I have never done any work on heavy trucks before, so i am a little unfamiliar with this kind of wear (not to mention i don't put many miles on my vehicles.) I have a problem with the truck wandering a little and the steering is a loose. I have purchased a dss but haven't installed it yet. thanks for the help

 

If your going to do your ball joints check out the article section. Look under third gen for Mr Gadget's ball joint writeup. Lots of good info there with pics and it is the same for our generation. Check your auto parts store to see if they have loaner tools. That's where I got my ball joint removal kit. This is not an easy job but can be done. Also use lots of penetrating fluid.
Check to see if the steering box has excessive slop when you turn the wheel side to side. Also check the shaft that connects to the box from the steering wheel, it should be tight.
My experience with the track bar is that it will pull to one side. Any movement of the track bar bushing or ball joint end is bad news. I used Luke's Link on mine. Cheap and it holds up well.

 

ive already replaced my steering box, but i have almost 1/4 turn of the steering wheel before i get any real movement from the truck. i don't know if its just cheap boxes or what.

 

Just finished mine 3/4 way done. I am waiting on adjustable track bar, and dss. If you have a partner, with the truck running, have him turn the wheel back and forth while you look under and look at each rod end, and track bar joint at frame. You will see if there is any play in the joints. Replace if any play. You can only replace whats sloppy if you want. There are a few good writeups in here on this, and i will tell you, read them, and go from there. If you have a harbor frieght near you, that will help alot for cheap good tools. I don't know what truck you have, or if the bolts are the same as mine, but for a 2002, you need a 14mm 12 point socket, 5/8" 12 point socket, (1/2" drive) 1 11/16" socket ( 3/4" drive preferred) big breaker bar, cheater bar ( pipe that fits over breaker bar) Either a 5/8" deep impact socket, or 9/16" 12 point socket, assortment of extensions ( for pushing bearing hub out with power steering). Also the wrenches and sockets for the rest of the joint nuts. Like stated in other write ups, 1/2 drive minimun for sockets, 3/4" drive preferred. And for reassembly, the ball joint press, Auto Zone loans them out for a refundable deposite. I'm sure other places rent them or loan them as well. When you do it, loosen the axle nuts before you jack up the front end. Only do one side at a time, keep the opposite side on the ground and raise the side you are working on to keep the axle fluid from leaking out. Tip it up pretty good. Clean everything well with wire brushes and files if needed. The rust gets bad. Use lots of anti-seize when reassembling. After you have the axle assembly pulled, check your u-joint and replace if needed. Some guys replace just because they are at it. Mine were good yet, and if the anti-seize actually works, it won't be a big deal to get to that when i need to. Take you time, parts get heavy, truck is heavy, tools get put under heavy stress, but rewarding when done, and you didn't pay a shop for labor. I did both sides and all steeering parts in one weekend (Thurs. to Sat.) Any questions, there are lots here who have done it.

 

Oh i see now that you have a dually 01. most should still be the same.

 

luckily, this isn't my primary driver, so i can work slowly on it. i have several parts stores nearby and all loan tools. i had oreillys work up some usually parts worn, worst case if i replace all parts (except steering box and steering shaft) it worked out to just under $900 in parts. thats half of what most shops wanted for doing just the ball joints

 

I replaced my steering box and it, the replacement box had about a quarter turn of slop in it. Truck was hard to get to go in a straight line. I got another from the parts store and it is good and tight. My steering is a 100% better. I think a quarter turn is too much and if its under warranty I'd have it replaced.

 

02ctd4now has given you some really good information in a nut shell! I am in the middle of doing mine now and I can tell you that the ball joint press that they loan out from AutoZone etc, is not big enough for our 3/4 and 1 ton 4x4 trucks. I have had to be very inventive while using the AutoZone press, making my own adapters and so forth. While the steering knuckle was in my bench vise, I had to torch the studs off of the old ball joints to get the ball joint press assembly to fit and had to rig up all sorts of parts and pieces to press (and pound) the new joints in. Just beware......read all you can on the subject by searching this forum. Now is also a good time to replace those old brake pads and have the rotors turned if necessary. Good luck to you, it's been a real adventure for me but if I can do it, any clever person can

 

I have an 06 Dodge 2500 Cummins with 37K miles. It too wandered at 65 mph and got the DW occasionally so I took it into my Dodge dealer. I was 5-6 months and 1K too many miles for warranty work. Dealer said $1500 for new steering box and flush (old had broken tooth) and to change over the front end from a Y configuration to a T configuation. I thought it too high $$ so pulled the tie rod off the pitman and ran it back and forth under hand pressure. Could feel some slop when reversing but never felt any broken gear. I checked the worm gear on top (has a locknut and an allen wrench adjustment) and found it way loose. I think the locknut was kinda loose too. I replaced the two inner most tie rods (one was on the trackbar and the other connected to the pitman) and adjusted the worm gear to tight and then backed off a tiny bit (15 degrees) and locked it in place while holding the adjustment with the allen wrench. I also added a BD stabilizer and took it in for an alignment with reputable company. Steering seems OK. I don't get the wandering now or DW and it is fairly tight but takes a bit of pressure to get it moving - more than a passenger car.

The alignment mechanic said my ball joints showed a bit of wear with 1/4 and 1/8 inch. I thought it more like the 1/8 inch on the drivers side when I had checked the lower ball joint with a pry bar. With the front lifted I tried to jiggle the 12 and 6 position and the 9 & 3 position and it seemed solid to me.

Just thought I would share my experiences. Haven't seen anyone else mention the worm gear adjustment.

 

I just did the front end of my truck. Replaced ball joints, steer linkage, bearings and rotors. Did all the work myself except for pressing the ball joints out and back in and the front end alignment. Total labor was $150 at the local shop as opposed to close to $1000 from the original quote.

I had some lag time with parts ordering because I didnt know one of the bears was gone until I took it apart, but over all the job wasnt bad at all. Keep the anti-seize handy and use it.

The truck rides so much better after the fix...should have done it a while back.

Good luck.

 

another thing ive notice is the steering will almost lock on my when im sitting in place and turning the wheel. doesn't do it all the time, just occassionally. wierd feeling when it happens, almost like the powersteering takes a quick nap.

 

littlebuddie has told the truth, the autozone press isn't made for our rides, worse, it didn't work all that well with my dads '96 gasser. had to bang em out to get the job done. i too am in the process of replacing my well worn steering, and this really helps.

 

Derceg:

It sounds like you have something moving around in the steering gear box and jamming the gears. That sounds unsafe to me. It might be a missing tooth in the steering gear box causing the jam. You might try 1) flushing your power steering fluid, 2) taking the pitman loose and manually running the steering back and forth to recreate the problem, or 3) just replace the steering gear box and flush the system. Good luck!

 

1/4 turn is WAAAAY too much and will include things in addition to the box. My recommendation is to do the whole system & be done. Start with ball joints. You'll have the brakes apart change if needed. If you have any play in the tie rods or track bar, take care of that also. I went with Moog ball joints (paid a shop because of time factor), thuren track bar (talk to Don & see if you also need a 3rd gen bracket) also Moog tie rods. Only get the adjustable ball joints if your camber is out of specs. They're a pita to adjust & usually aren't needed. Read about converting from Y to T on the tie rods. I haven't but may later.

WHEN you need a steering box, stay away from AGR. They have terrible quality control, are expensive and have a long wait for replacement. 1st box didn't turn smoothly (no idea why), 2nd & 3rd dumped fluid because case wasn't properly machined and lock ring let go & 4th leaked oil in less than 5000 mi. I have a stock Cardone reman installed because the shop would warranty parts AND labor. It has more play than I'd like & steering is stiffer than the original and any of the leaky AGR boxes. I'll try redheadsteeringgears.com next if Cardone doesn't work out. I talked to redhead & their claim is to custom fit ball bearings to the worm gear for tighter tolerances. Someone post back if this turns out to be a good thing.

The rocksolid bushing works. Steering wheel turns free and smooth. (I tested by disconnecting the steering shaft after the bushing was installed for a month.) DSS was installed & works fine that's one reason I'm surprised that the last AGR box leaked. At least it wasn't a sudden failure causing brake & steering loss as the 1st 2 failures were. The only onther thing to test is the steering damper & steering shaft. Both are good on mine so I've no experienced recommendation.

Firestone has a lifetime alignment but getting them to do anything extra or what you specify is difficult. Mine had a wander & I had to set the caster myself so it was way high (out of specs) so Firestone would have to adjust downward on the high end. Now I have the truck re-aligned when I balance the tires - FREE . Speaking of tires, Discount Tire price matches web prices. So...find your tire, find lowest price on te web, print the page & take to Discount. Add install + tax & you have lifetime balancing to go with the lifetime alignment.