Ball Joints On The 3500

[rancherman]

not only is there  cheapo  and  high end  ball joints available,  but there is   a  choice  of     'adjustable'  caster/camber      +/-   2-4   degrees.    

 

How in the heck  would  I know  what  I'd need,  UNTIL  new  joints are installed???  There is no way  I  could  get anywhere close to  'true'  reading as  shot as  my current  joints are!    Is   there  a  common  problem  on these    dana's   that  an automatic  2 or 4 degree  adjustment  will  correct?   

Or  are  these   offset  joints  for the lifted  guys...    

 

I am assuming  they  are only adjustable   as  to the way they are pressed home...  after that,  you have to  drive em out  and  clock em  to the  right   spot.....  right??

[diesel4life]

What do you consider a high end ball joint? I was not impressed at the selection for the 2nd gen trucks when I replaced mine last year...

I believe you are right, offset joints are directed more so for lifted trucks.

[mopartechnician]

Ive never installed anything but regular ball joints into 2500-3500 pickups. I just did a 3500 last week.

[rancherman]

well,   by  high end,   I meant      difference  in price.     ~ 25 bucks  for    low,    and   around  125  for  one  that was    adjustable/greaseable/glowed in the dark.

 

 

 

Edited January 16, 2014 by rancherman

[mopartechnician]

If you can find a lower ball joint that is greasable and you can keep the zerk in, get that one. Most of them you grease, pull the zerk, and install a plug.

[dripley]

Moog makes a lower with an angled zerk. I have them on mine. I think they were around $50.

[volkswagon]

Moog makes a lower with an angled zerk. I have them on mine. I think they were around $50.

I have the same.

[mopartechnician]

Ive heard moog quality has gone down the drain. Cant remember were i seen that, i was doing some research on ball joints for a kid and was reading alot about it.

[dripley]

I heard both good and bad from folks when I bought mine. I replaced everything up front with Moog about 2 years ago and they are holding up fine for now. The have a lifetime warranty, but replacing them regularly is something I really dont want to do. Time will tell.

[mopartechnician]

If i remember right its been within the last 6 montgs to a year where quality went downhill. I was even talking to the local carquest and they changed who made the carquest brand suspension parts. They went from moog to somebody else but cant remember

[Ilikeoldfords]

Just so everyone is aware, Moog is part of the Federal Mogul Corporation. That Corporation also includes names like Anco wipers, Wagner light and brake, Precision and others. Most all of Federal Mogul parts are made overseas now. Federal Mogul is what I stock in my store for the most part. I believe the quality is still there and they will back their warranties but over the last year or two they have moved all manufacturing overseas.

 

I just wanted to clear up all the rumors. I would not be afraid to use the products on my truck but I want others to be aware of the Moog situation.

[dripley]

Do you know where overseas they moved their manufacturing?

Edited January 16, 2014 by dripley

[Ilikeoldfords]

I know the majority of it is in China of course. All Wagner products come in from China, Anco actually comes from Mexico now. Moog and Precision are made both here and China so its a toss up of what you get in the box now.

[diesel4life]

There is a lower end and upper end version of MOOG parts (at least there used to be). The better quality MOOG is the problem solver line and what I ended up using when I did my balljoints a year ago. I had done alot of research trying to figure out what the best bet would be and did read some mixed reviews as well. In the end I chose them because of my prior experiences with MOOG. I used them exclusively in all my mud trucks which saw a ton of abuse and never had a failure. If they don't hold up satisfactorilyI will replace them with something else regardless of lifetime warranty or not. I wish some of the upper end balljoints were available for the 2nd gens like are available for the 3rd gens, I would have rather spent the money once and been done with it.

I would suggest you buy something greasable whichever you choose, my old joints were so dry there was dust in them which I'm sure led to the failur rather then just wearing out. Also I'm sure most are aware but the proper way to grease ball joints is to take the weight off the balljoints and then grease them..

[rancherman]

I'll  try  to find  the  grease-able  ones,   without the   adjustment  feature.   Thanks!

[CTcummins24V]

I've got MOOG everything upfront, even the track bar, got about 15,000 miles on them so far and no issues...yet. Got everything dirt cheap from amazon, but I would check rockauto as well. This might not mean much, but my mechanic who specializes in diesels runs MOOG on dodges