Ball Joints Argh!

[Muddyboots]

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.

So wonder if at a tire dealer?

 

[FireFlyFishing]

So wonder if at a tire dealer?
View attachment 564668

Definitely a bad ball joint in that picture.

 

[Chadp82]

Definitely a bad ball joint in that picture.

No - It's cosmetic. It will buff out

 

[ARlife4me]

My son's 16 1/2 ton had very bad tire wear after a minor incident. Hit a deer, all air bags deployed causing him to go off the road hitting small trees before coming to a stop. All body work was done correctly. While it was there I requested the check alignment. They didn't as I found out later. About 10k miles later before I noticed his tires looked strange so I checked. The inside if both front tires were down to the belts. The insurance company didn't want to or declare it needed as I also fit later. I can't say I'm an expert mechanic, but I know a fair amount! I was told by 2 separate places the caster was off..... ya, like *** NO it isn't! I said no way both caster is off, it's toe due to wear patterns. Alignment proved me correct. The crappy thing is he could've got another 10-15k on the set. What ticks me off is this not being able to grease joints and ends. Another thing that a tire shop I go to always wants to put the thiner tires on the FRONT (yep, the front). Not me, I'd rather them be on the back. I've had many blowouts on the back at various speeds w/o control issues, but the 1 time it happened on the front was down right scary as !

 

[K.E.C.]

My 2007 Lariat Outlaw 6.0 still purring like a kitten. But it doesn't like only having 1 steering stabilizer needs 2.
Steering stabilizers for these heavy dutys are a must.

 

[ARlife4me]

My 2007 Lariat Outlaw 6.0 still purring like a kitten. But it doesn't like only having 1 steering stabilizer needs 2.
Steering stabilizers for these heavy dutys are a must.

Helps fight road walk, especially in high wind conditions. My dad's '03 has only 70k and no engine work. There was a guy that had an '04 w/ 21k on it that lost 6 injectors and the turbo. We were 1 mile of my house when it started blowing white smoke out the exhaust. I had him turn it off as so I could inspect. I said your turbo is gone and not sure how many injectors also? Went to the dealer where the repairs were going to be done and asked them how many injectors were out along with the turbo. That's how I knew the amount of injectors.

 

[Taylorbok]

Another thing that a tire shop I go to always wants to put the thiner tires on the FRONT (yep, the front). Not me, I'd rather them be on the back.

If you want the more worn tires on the rear you shouldn't have to rotate tires until you get new ones, and at that point you just put 2 new on the front and move the partially worn fronts to the rear

 

[ARlife4me]

If you want the more worn tires on the rear you shouldn't have to rotate tires until you get new ones, and at that point you just put 2 new on the front and move the partially worn fronts to the rear

Al 4 new 1's are on then dropped off to get an alignment. This way all 4 can wear the same. I'd rather have tires that are in good shape when getting aligned. Doesn't have to be new, just good shape. My 1st alignment was on a '65 vette back in '84. 4-wheel alignment to be exact.

 

[1mechanic]

My 2007 Lariat Outlaw 6.0 still purring like a kitten. But it doesn't like only having 1 steering stabilizer needs 2.
Steering stabilizers for these heavy dutys are a must.

I'm a Ford guy but the engineers screwed up on the super duty 4wd front end 2005-2016. The track bar has a vertical ball joint on the passenger side and a horizontal through bolt on the drivers side. Wrong geometry for an axle that goes up and down, they both should be in a horizontal plane.

My friends 2011 f250 super duty got a bad shake at about 66,000 miles. I replaced the track bar and she got it aligned but about 17,000 miles later it did the same thing, both times the ball joint was wore out.

I found a company years ago that had a kit to eliminate the ball joint and have both pivot points in the horizontal plane, worked great she hasn't had a problem with it since and did the 300,000 mile service 2 years ago.

 

[xsn10s]

No - It's cosmetic. It will buff out