Ball Joints Argh!

So my Ram is 5.7 Hemi, 202K on it, original ball joints despite moron attacks. Just changed out front pads, rear still good. Funny part is it came with lifetime drivetrain warranty! In 2009 market was down and this truck quad with 8' box came with it as incentive. Hardly used. Intake gasket and left front axle u-joint replaced under it. So even get oil changes at dealer to protect warranty. Plus my back appreciates not getting under it.

I warned a friend, he took his new Camry years ago to a tire dealer for its first oil change. It was near work so "time saver". I told him don't do it!!! OMG! They dropped it off the lift onto its side, punctured roof, trashed it big time! He came in to work late afternoon, told all in office he didn't listen to my warnings, turned around dropped his jeans and told me to kick him as hard as I could! I was WTHELLO are you talking about? Then he told us! First was funny than it became OMG! This was one of the top name tire dealers. Yes, a vehicle dealer can do it too but not as likely IMO.
 
I'm sure there are horror stories galore out there with tire store issues. My daughter went to a well known tire store and replaced all her worn tires. Two days later while driving in low speed zone (thankfully) on of her wheels came off the car. It caused damage to the car, but it could have been disastrous if she was driving at a high rate of speed.
 
In the 70s I was a mechanic in a Dodge dealership, specializing in front ends, brakes, and drivelines; I then later retired from teaching Auto Tech in a Technical College.
About once a week someone would come into the dealership stating that he or she had just come from Firestone, Goodyear, etc. and they were told, or shown, how bad their ball joints were - without that many miles on the car! On cars without McPherson struts and trucks there are two kinds of ball joints on each side - load carrying and follower. The load carrying joint is the one on the control arm that has the spring pushing down on it (normally the lower), and if you jack it up to unload it by that control arm, an OEM ball joint will probably have noticible play, which is absolutely fine until it gets worn to the max specification. Put a pry bar under the tire, pry up and down, and you can scare the crap out of a customer! The follower joint controls sideways forces and can't have any play. I had a bulletin from Chrysler stapled to the wall by my alignment machine that spelled that out that I would have the customer read!
I suppose that things haven't changed much since then - a combination of ignorance and getting paid on commission of sales! 😞
Steve
 
I just re-read one of the previous posts. The tie rod sleeve the gentleman referred to controls the toe setting (in or out). Of the three adjustable angles, caster, camber, and toe, incorrect toe setting is the big tire-eater. If it's off by 1/8", it's like your tires are sliding sideways 33 feet per mile! You can do a quick and dirty check to see if it's correct. Run your hand back and forth side to side on the tread. If your hand "catches" one way more than the other, the toe setting is incorrect!
Steve
 
I had one "come from untogether" on our 3500 Ram at about 150K…..no warning.

Thankfully, we were in a slow turn, on an icy/snowy 2 track when elk hunting! Went straight, didn't even try to make the turn. Again thankfully, a nice open area to come to a stop. Could have been a bit worse at interstate speeds! memtb
 
McStocks said:
I just re-read one of the previous posts. The tie rod sleeve the gentleman referred to controls the toe setting (in or out). Of the three adjustable angles, caster, camber, and toe, incorrect toe setting is the big tire-eater. If it's off by 1/8", it's like your tires are sliding sideways 33 feet per mile! You can do a quick and dirty check to see if it's correct. Run your hand back and forth side to side on the tread. If your hand "catches" one way more than the other, the toe setting is incorrect!
Steve
Click to expand...
Yep that's what happened with my truck . The dealership welded the drag link adjuster as they were just jam nuts and I guess prone for coming loose. So alignment is quite simple move the wheel to get the passenger wheel to the correct toe then use the tie rod adjuster to bring in the there side . All the while the steering wheel should be straight. Simple process right from the dealership. You can see where the nut was and how far I had to tighten it . It's now got a traditional clamp style adjuster on the drag link and is much easier to align correctly as you have all the available adjuster to correct the alignment. What got me ****ed 😤 was when they re aligned it and gave me the report that showed before and after that showed it was still way out . I did tell the guy upfront I've turned a few wrenches and could read the reports. So a call to the regional manager was made . They only covered the cost of the alignment and I still am out for the replacement tire . The level kit and all the other parts were on me as I wanted to have the truck leveled and done 100% correct.
 
For the guys with ram trucks that got the drag link welded and want a permanent fix to correct the b.s weld . I found a traditional clamp style adjuster from steer smarts . I think it was 135 plus tax and shipping. The link is not the problem just the poorly designed adjuster. I didn't want the dealership re- flashing my truck for emissions so this is a great fix any alignment shop can remove the old adjuster and replace . It gives you back full adjustment and the steering wheel will be back to straight after alignment.
 

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Pretty much any Heavy-Duty American made pickup truck's front end, that hasn't been in a wreck, can be fixD with a few tools, a cutting torch, Metabo cut-off wheel, and a weekend. Make a list of all worn parts and order the best quality brand of those parts on RockAuto. Put on all the new parts, don't forget shocks, tires and when done, take it to a good alignment shop you trust. Nothing under there is even close to Rocket Engineering.
 
memtb said:
Considering these…..darn expensive, but maybe worth the cost! memtb

Dynatrac Heavy-Duty BallJoints™

Dynatrac Heavy-Duty BallJoints™ are the strongest, most durable and highest quality available anywhere for the Jeep Wrangler JK, Dodge 2500/3500 and Ford Super Duty trucks.
www.dynatrac.com www.dynatrac.com
Click to expand...
EMF ball joints are another option to look at.
 

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