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Finally doing ball joints on my 2000 2500 4x4 with dana 60 front axle, ANY ADVISE?

guinnessbrewer
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guinnessbrewer

guinnessbrewer

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I finally am going to do the ball joints on my 2000. I have found a couple of write ups on later model trucks on CF and the like. Does anyone know any tricks or tips for my model year. I talked to a friend who did them on a 94 CTD 2500 4x4 and he said he had to engage the 4x4 before pulling the passenger side axle to prevent the linkage from falling apart???? Any way I am going to start with it tomorrow morning. ThanksChris

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guinnessbrewer

guinnessbrewer

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Patience......you said it Mike!!!!This thing is officially kicking my butt! I thought I had the 1 11/16" socket... nope. Ran around town looking for an hour one no joy!!! Luckily I was able to borrow one. Started tearing into it at around 2:30 everything was going along just fine until it was time to start pulling the hub bearing. Followed the manual procedure of backing out the 4 attaching bolts and tap on them evenly and the hub should pop out...not!Got a BFH and big brass drift and wailed on it for close to 2 hours no joy. Then I tried the "Easy way" of using the power steering to press it out with a brass drift between the hub bolt and the axle. NO JOY! So finally I got a friend of mine to help me and he recommended applying heat to the spindle. This finally worked! ( with alot more beating of course) This truck looked pretty clean underneath, it was a Denver truck, so they do cover the roads with Mag-Chloride. So far I only have the drivers side apart. Learning curve is fun, but I think the other side will be easier now that I have a clue. :pray:Good News!!! I will have new hub bearings too ( was not planning on replacing them) Bad News!!! Because of the heat application I feel that I better swap the bearings out. :spend::spend:Holy Moly!!! I just priced bearings!! Anyone have a good price.... Under $200ea for new hubs?I have a 2000 4wd 2500 with a dana 60 and 4wheel abs

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guinnessbrewer

guinnessbrewer

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Right ON!!! Just PM'ed the guy, we'll see. I found some on APW for about 190 each plus 25 for overnight shipping. Here is a link to the a good write up that I am using:DIY Ball Joint Replacement - DodgeForum.com and this one for earlier trucks: 2nd Gen 4wd Ball Joint Replacement Session - Dodge Cummins Diesel ... So far I have had no other differences except wasting a hub bearing due to my " Heat and Beat" technique! Hey, one other thing the BEST deal I could find on ball joints was with Summit Racing. They beat Amazon's price on the ball joints and WILL take care of any LifetimeWarranty issues ( unlike amazon) Thanks, Chris

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guinnessbrewer

guinnessbrewer

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Well.... The right side is now pulled apart...It was even worse than the driver side, this is not for the faint of heart! I've got new hub bearings coming from APW next day air via fedex. They are supposed to be made in the USA, but well see tomorrow. Wish me luck. Chris

Just for my front bearing/hubs was $850... :spend: (shop done them - long story...)

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Wild and Free

Wild and Free

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What should replacing the ball joints cost at a mechanic Total for parts + labor. I'm thinking this is something i don;t want to tackle. :(

Mike posted 800+ in his post which seems to be a standard price for all 4 from what I have read on other sites as well. If you don't have the tooling it is best to have it done by someone with the tools and knowhow.
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guinnessbrewer

guinnessbrewer

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Got the hubs this afternoon.... They are not USA made....China, big surprise! Its is not much of a consolation, but I am not even sure a US mfg exists for these. Anyway, I got a quote for ball joints with alignment at a shop here locally of $1050. I would assume the hubs would simply be the cost of the parts, so long as you were doing it along with ball joints. Chris

oh - thought that was for bearings and hubs ? Didn't think that was for the ball joints ........... or was it all done at same time ?

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JOHNFAK

JOHNFAK

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damn

figured it would be around that

How do you know when you need to replace them. I have a little play in mine - but not what I would call bad - but then I wouldn;t know.

Just forked out $2k for my TC and valve body with the equipment to do it myself as well as getting the mechanic to do the second VB with lower pressures ..... so wasn;t wanting to start this until I had to.

---------- Post added 06-10-2010 at 10:39 AM ---------- Previous post was 06-09-2010 at 09:19 PM ----------

Hey

Recommendations on which ball joints to go for ??

2001 Dodge RAM 4x4 8800 gvw

I have seen OEM, MEVOTECH, MOOG ........

guiness - what'd you use ?

any others ??

MY guys says most play is on one side - can I get away with doing upper/lower on one side or better to do both ??

thanks

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Gil2264

Gil2264

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I went with Greaseable Moogs. Got them on Amazon Uppers $53.77 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/compatibility-chart/B000C59Z0O/ref=au_pf_dp_chart Lowers $53.61 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/compatibility-chart/B000C5443W/ref=au_pf_dp_chart Trust me, they are a royal PITA. As far as removing the unit bearings, I broke a 3 jaw gear puller, then borrowed my neighbors, it was heavier duty and was a fine thread. I actually started pulling the bearings out of the pillow block. I had to put the hub nut back on and crank it down for all I was worth to press the hub back together, Finally after copious amounts of heat, and PB Blaster, I was able to get the unit bearing out in one piece. On to the Ball Joints...Do yourself a favor, Go to Autozone and borrow the ball joint puller. It's the only way you're going to get them out, and don't be afraid to use about a 5 foot cheater bar to turn that thing. They are an unholy beast to press out. To get the clamp to fit over them the right way, you have to take the screw completely out of the C-clamp, Line everything up, then thread it back in. Again, I used copious amounts of heat and more Blaster. ***WARNING*** Both of my Upper Ball joints Exploded due to the heat and pressure applied by the puller. The first one to go scared the He## out of me, I thought the Cast Iron Knuckle had exploded, bit it was just the pin pushing through the top of the joint and the now vaporized grease igniting. I suggest throughly wire brushing, and/or cleaning the Unit bearing and steering knuckle, and then Anti-Seizing every pressed or screwed in part before reassembling. It makes Assembly much easier, and may help if you ever have to do this again in the future. You will also need the ball joint puller to install the new ball joints. I would suggest lightly sanding (chamfering) the leading edge of the lower ball joint before installing to keep it from gouging into the side of the bore hole. temporarily install the grease fitting, to keep any metal shavings from falling into the grease port. The directions show installing the lower joints with the grease fittings pointed straight ahead. I installed mine pointed slightly in, so that I could get to them with the wheels pointed straight ahead. I haven't had any problems with them hitting anything...your preference. Good Luck...I hope I never have to do that job again. Keep lots of grease in those joints.

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JOHNFAK

JOHNFAK

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ManI don't have it in me after reading all that.I got a quote for $300 labor from my mechanic for doing it - labor - think it would be the best $300 I ever spent.He was charging $200 per set though - so $400 + $300 = $700. IF I could get them off amazon for $100 - so $200 + $300 =$500 sounds like a winner.HE said only small play in passenger side - and pretty firm on drivers side. I need to lift the wheels to check mself.Either way I think its a job for supermechanic - not homebody jim :) Exploding balljoints ,,,,, hmmmmm .......... I'll go work on something else ..... lmao ........ :lmao2:thanks for info guys

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guinnessbrewer

guinnessbrewer

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Finally got my truck together. I ended up getting the hub bearings late Wednesday and found one of them had a damaged ABS wire due to poor packaging/ rough handling. APW overnighted another one which I got at about 12 noon today. While I was waiting, I replaced the passenger side hub u-joint; figured I might as well as long as I am in here. Glad this job is finally over... Even more glad that everthing up front is tight and ready to work! As for what kind of ball joints I got moog greaseables from Summit. Summit beat amazon's price and WILL honor the lifetime warranty unlike amazon. Hub bearings I got from APW lifetime warranty for about $250 ea. They are China made, not USA like they originally told me...:( Front ujoints from Orielly's Precision USA made @ $47 ea Lifetime warranty. Just a word of warning. $300 for labor is Ok but keep in mind you may end up having to change hubs if your shop has difficulty getting your old ones out. I used the FSM procedure and then had to add lots of heat to get them out. If your shop uses a slide hammer for removal there is a good chance that they may be damaged coming out unless they are very careful. Good Luck either way. Chris

Man I don't have it in me after reading all that. I got a quote for $300 labor from my mechanic for doing it - labor - think it would be the best $300 I ever spent. He was charging $200 per set though - so $400 + $300 = $700. IF I could get them off amazon for $100 - so $200 + $300 =$500 sounds like a winner. HE said only small play in passenger side - and pretty firm on drivers side. I need to lift the wheels to check mself. Either way I think its a job for supermechanic - not homebody jim :) Exploding balljoints ,,,,, hmmmmm .......... I'll go work on something else ..... lmao ........ :lmao2: thanks for info guys

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guinnessbrewer

guinnessbrewer

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Actually pressing the ball joints in and out was not too bad. I have an astro ball joint press and it worked great. It took a little effort to get everything lined up right , but after that just tighten the press and tap on the side of the knuckle and they pop right out. :thumbup2:

ball joints are not that bad if you have a good press. the only time i took the control arm off is: if i was changing the control arm bushings(big pain in the arse) or if you have to replace the entire upper control arm(f150s and little cars)

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