hello there fellas ,
i just had my ball joints checked by a very reputable mechanic in town and he said they are in need of replacement and says "DODGES SPEC IS OUT TO LUNCH "
He said there should be no movement in them !! dodge say likewise !!

went to dodge this morning to get a u joint repleced on warrenanty and they said my ball joints are fine !!

grr i am very confused .. who do i go with ???

any info would be great ...

 

minimal movement. are your tires wearing funny?

if you get new ball joints dont get moog they are junk that is what i have and is only regret i really have.

 

nope , no funny tire wear.. all seems fine up front IMO

no , i already bought those napa premium ones.. they are supposed to be spicer ??? might take them back if i dont need them.. save myself a few bucks

 

Wen't around with dodge on mine too.Said there needed to be 90 ths play for warranty to cover them only had 40.Needed to replace front axel u joints so they replaced ball joints wile they were in there because you have to break ball joints apart to do the u joints.

 

Not to be a smartedit but you do not need to break ball joints apart to do the U joints. The axles can be removed without disturbing the ball joints.

 

They do allow quite a bit of axial play on the 3rd gen ball joints (.120") if I remember right, as do many other vehicles on the road. If there is no radial play (side-to-side) I would continue to run them. I generally use the specs given by the people who designed and built the part. It is a myth that a ball joint with no lash at all is better; that is why these trucks are impossible to steer with Moog ball joints.

 

After my leveling kit the alignment shop told me they were shot, dealer said they're fine.
Truck steers true, no DW, no bad tire wear, I'm in no hurry to spend $800 so I left them, a year later still no problems.

 

thanks for the tips guys,
i think for now (under recommendations for the dealer)i am going to leave them .. i too do not want to spend 800 bucks i don't have too ...

 

swan,

At some point you'll have to do the ball joints. And it will be sooner than it should be. When you do, just forget Dodge and get a good set. I mistakenly bought Moog the first time and hated them for thousands of miles. The I bit the bullet and put in a set of Dynatrac joints. It now handles better than new with joints that should last a long time. Also, when you do go in there, do the Ujoints too, with greaseables. They will most likely be shot and you'll just save yourself another trip.