As i sit here at a local auto shop for an alignment, after replacing my steering parts with moog, the auto guy comes out to tell me that he won't be able to remove the clunk noise im getting in the steering parts. 

 

He proceeds to tell me that i should have gotten better steering parts as these joint ends don't have anything to keep them from rotating. I know what he's taking about as i have seen them before. He told me with the way it sits they won't last long. He was shocked to hear that they are moog parts.

 

Although i thought the solid pieces he's talking for the joint ends were to just combat the death wobble more. I would think that moog would have given me something to go over the grease boots if i needed them??

 

Would i be able to get something aftermarket to add to them to remedy this problem? I'm a little confused and irritated by all of this. 

 

I don't like dealing with auto shops for this very reason but right now I'm not equipped enough for the task at hand. Thinking i need start investing in my own home alignment system...

 

He told me my passenger side ball joints were worn out and the track bar was too..

Track bar you can handle on your own but the ball joints a bit more trouble. 

 

Ifr I'm to do my ball joints again I would do it differently. After the knuckle is removed. I would fire up a torch cut the tops off of the ball joints. Knock the stems out. The use a hacksaw lightly slice into the bodies and then smack it with a hammer to remove. A heck of a lot easier than ball joint press fighting to press them out. 

Aren't the ball joints on a 99 in the knuckle. If so you could take them off and have someone press out the old in with the new ones. I know the 02 is in the axle. I used a press on the uppers but had to beat the lowers. My press kit did not have a receiver cup to use on the lowers. The track bar is easy.

 

I have heard a lot a bad things about Moog lately. I used all Moog about 100k ago on mine and they are still holding up but getting a little play in the right front ball joint. Tie rods ends are good. The track bar only lasted about 80 and was shot. Federal Mogul must of cheapened them up. Sad to hear.

 

@Mopar1973Man be careful with that torch. Remember what happened last time.

Edited July 30, 20168 yr by dripley

4 hours ago, hex0rz said:

As i sit here at a local auto shop for an alignment, after replacing my steering parts with moog, the auto guy comes out to tell me that he won't be able to remove the clunk noise im getting in the steering parts. 

 

He proceeds to tell me that i should have gotten better steering parts as these joint ends don't have anything to keep them from rotating. I know what he's taking about as i have seen them before. He told me with the way it sits they won't last long. He was shocked to hear that they are moog parts.

 

Although i thought the solid pieces he's talking for the joint ends were to just combat the death wobble more. I would think that moog would have given me something to go over the grease boots if i needed them??

 

Would i be able to get something aftermarket to add to them to remedy this problem? I'm a little confused and irritated by all of this. 

 

I don't like dealing with auto shops for this very reason but right now I'm not equipped enough for the task at hand. Thinking i need start investing in my own home alignment system...

 

He told me my passenger side ball joints were worn out and the track bar was too..

 

Did you replace everything with the stock "Y" style steering set-up or the upgrade HD ("T") style?

 

When I got my truck I replaced everything with moog "Y" style and the truck was tight for a while. After about 20k miles I had bumpsteer again, but everything was still pretty tight. After upgrading to new "T" style, truck is much more firm, more controlled, no bumpsteer.

Looking at the pictures online, i already had the t style. Bought the moog parts and they are t style as well. 

 

I'm about to start tearing into the front again. I'll be diagnosing whether or not something needs replacement. I'm so mad, at the shop for their lack of effort. I can't be entirely mad at them i guess as maybe there was some truth in what they said. Last time i was there they told me my brakes needed done. That was like 6 months after redoing them myself!

 

..still on those a same set of brakes. I'm never going back to them again!

 

So does anyone know where to get the metal cups or whatever for the joints? Do i need them? 

 

I'm going to fix the toe myself and clock the ball joints, as i bet that's what my problem is...

 

Had oh really order me a sleeve adjuster wrench. Still going to try a pipe wrench until it gets here. Guy at the shop told me his worker has done alignments for 30 years and him and the guy both got on the wrench and couldn't move it...

 

LOL! I TOLD him i put that sleeve on myself. Don't tell me you can't move it!

 

I don't get it....

Edited July 30, 20168 yr by hex0rz

This is the kind of people I'm dealing with up here...

 

I got the front end jacked up, i check things over. None of what they told me was accurate. They told me they greased my joints but when i got under to check, they didn't grease them! They took a spooge of grease and made it look like they did them! WTF! It was especially evident when i greased them. 

 

They told me that even with two of them and a pipe wrench they couldn't turn my adjuster sleeve. GUESS WHAT?

 

I'M TURNING IT BY MYSELF! What a bunch of sissies! Granted I'm on the ground so i don't have enough clearance to get good turns using a cheater bar on the wrench but I'm doing it! It'll take me a billion turns to get my toe adjusted 5/8" but it beats having a headache with incompetence. I really feel like calling them and yelling at them on the phone and leaving bad reviews. 

 

Rant out...

What I got is a Harbor Freight ball joint press. It'll work but it's not the strongest press in the world easy to break the tool. So better pressing forced you need to hit the knuckle with a BFH to hopefully shock the joint to moving. Then retighten the press again. Back and forth till it comes out.

Mine is not HF but it is Auto Zone. Maybe a notch above I dont know. I have put a lot stress on it with a cheater bar and never felt like it was going to break, but the thought is still there when you load it up. You still have to do some beating like Mike describes. It worked real good on my front u joints. Still had to do some beating just to shock things loose.

10 hours ago, hex0rz said:

This is the kind of people I'm dealing with up here...

 

I got the front end jacked up, i check things over. None of what they told me was accurate. They told me they greased my joints but when i got under to check, they didn't grease them! They took a spooge of grease and made it look like they did them! WTF! It was especially evident when i greased them. 

 

They told me that even with two of them and a pipe wrench they couldn't turn my adjuster sleeve. GUESS WHAT?

 

I'M TURNING IT BY MYSELF! What a bunch of sissies! Granted I'm on the ground so i don't have enough clearance to get good turns using a cheater bar on the wrench but I'm doing it! It'll take me a billion turns to get my toe adjusted 5/8" but it beats having a headache with incompetence. I really feel like calling them and yelling at them on the phone and leaving bad reviews. 

 

Rant out...

So the ball joints and track bar aren't bad? How are you checking them? I'm surprised they didn't show you the loose joints while it was on a lift. 

8 hours ago, hex0rz said:

This is the kind of people I'm dealing with up here...

 

Granted I'm on the ground so i don't have enough clearance to get good turns using a cheater bar on the wrench but I'm doing it! It'll take me a billion turns to get my toe adjusted 5/8" but it beats having a headache with incompetence. I really feel like calling them and yelling at them on the phone and leaving bad reviews. 

 

Rant out...

isn't that a bit much? shouldnt it be more like 1/4 total? am i missing something?

That's how much the toe was out by. I adjusted the toe so the front was only a 16th narrower than the back. 

If you buy moog find a good shop, I say this because my shop put 4 sets of sway bar end links on my truck in one year at no cost extra to me after the initial investment(full front end rebuild and style upgrade).  I noticed a change in design as I kept breaking the endlinks...

 My hat is off to that shop and I'm grateful to have such great service, that being said I have about 110,000 miles on this front end rebuild and is beginning to show slop.  

I'm considering other options but aftermarket options have yet to prove their worth in my eyes....

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