Yet another Dodge front end bites the dust!!!

[MobyDick]

Hi folks,Well the fuel injector problem has been fixed. while the dealer fixed that they did an inspection and came up with the following needs to be replaced at 72k miles.(I had them confirmed by another mechanic)upper and lower ball jointsright,left tie rods inner and outer and adjuster sleevesfront axle u jointssteering damperhub bearing assembliesI am seeking words of wisdom on what brand parts to use(I know that they have to be greaseable and not to get the cheap chinese parts) and where is the best place to get them. I already priced them out at napa who stocks spicer and the total comes to $1125.I am not looking to start a brand name war, its just that you guys know a whole lot more about this stuff than I doThanks

[Mopar1973Man]

Might wander over to RockAuto.Com and check with them on parts... www.rockauto.com

[dripley]

I second that. They are a good source for parts, brand names and prices. They have cheap parts also some look them over good. It all depends on what you want.

[AH64ID]

I will be replacing my BJ's with dynatrac's, steering stabilizer with a Bilstein, and I am not sure on the tie rod ends yet. I am at 75K, and am hoping I can squeeze another 10K out of the setup.Hub bearings will be replaced with one of the free spin kits, just not sure whose yet.. those better make it to my next tax refund!

[Mopar1973Man]

Wow... It must be a 3rd Gen issue or something... :shrug:I've got two 2nd Gen's sitting here in the yard... 96 Dodge is still running all factory front end parts at 147K miles and the 02 Dodge just got the track bar and ball joints done at 185K miles.As for parts I just ordered the cheapest ball joints for mine and stuff them in. I figure if Dodge is getting the cheapest joints and stuffing them in and I'm getting 185K out of them it can't be too bad...But come to think about it... Is there any oversized tires or different rims on the truck that might change geometry of the front end to cause it to fail early?

[dripley]

I changed mine at 225k, but probably should have done it at 200k. I tw heavy but less than 5k a year and the truck weighs around7.5k in most driving situations. stock tires, it came with 265's not 245's. I put Moog in mine. Iam gonna be ticked off if Mike's out last mine.

[AH64ID]

I don't think it's isolated to 3rd gens, Dodge front end's are known for rapid wearing of the components (then again so is any SFA truck with a diesel). The issue is not really a problem for gassers as they don't have the weight to contend with. 185K on a 2nd gen with as many FS road miles as you put on is remarkable, and far far above the norm that I read about. 3rd gens are heavier, but with stock sized tires I don't think they are any worse than 2nd gen's.

[AABEAR]

I had the right one go bad so I replaced both of them 75.000

[Rogan]

176k on the OE junx.But I'm with Apache... I don't see how Mikie went that far on the OEs with the roads he drives on..