ball joint ?'s
 

I was pricing ball joints and I noticed that there are adjustable ball joints with up to 1 degree caster and camber adjustment. Are these recommened or should I go with the factory replacements that arent adjustable? Thanks in advance!

stay with the reg ones

get the moog there the best out there

yeah the adjustable ones only have like a year warranty. go with the napa's they seem to hold up the best according to the axle shop that does a lot of them

Are they hard to swap out? I have a shop quote me $600 to swap all 4 of them.

I have "XRF chassis parts" ball joints in my 99. I've had them for almost 2 years and roll on big 35" mud terrains. They have been rock solid. You can order direct from them. Their prices are VERY reasonable.

AC Delco, and Moog are also EXCELLENT choices.

$600 is at my high end of reasonable for a ball joint job. $150 per side plus the cost of the ball joints is what I would try and get. It's a tough job.

Full Disclosure: While I am not affiliated with XRF, I was given these ball joints for free along with an adjustable trac bar. The parts were sent to me for evaluation. I didn't care for the track bar, but the ball joints have been SOLID.

I think im going to go with the moogs i just dont know if i can get them done myself before I deploy in april. I just hate paying someone else to do what I can do myself.

Here is a good site for ball joints and many other stuff.Dodge Front Axle & Steering Dan the gear man has done alot of homework to make our lives alot easier.:tu::choochoo:

Agreed. Dan rocks. BUNCH'A parts you can't conveniently get anywhere else. Prices are good, and the "kits" with special tools are fantastic.

So i have been outside for an hour and a half trying to get the hub off so that I can get to my ball joints... Is there atrick to getting this thing off?

yeah. there is. :) get a shallow socket that fits one of the 4 hub bolts... and a socket extension... loosen all of the hub bolts and thread the rear upper one about 3 or 4 threads from snug... place the socket and extension on the bolt and the opposite end against the frame.

start the truck, and use the power steering to pop the hub loose.

PM me if that doesn't make sense, I'll give you my number and you can call me.

like an idiot i tried that before you responded with the bolt threaded out too far and bent the bolt pretty bad. It didnt dislodge the hub though so I guess Im gonna go buy a bfh and keep trying.

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just to clarify something... am I supposed to remove the cotter pin and castle nut first then pull off the 8 lug piece off of the axle splines then the hub assymbly? or am i supposed to leave it altogether as one unit and just unbolt the 4bolts to the hub assembly and pull it all apart in one piece?

YES. you have to remove the pin and axle hub nut. Hope I'm not too late :scare2: that's prolly why you bent that bolt.

Yeah, im retarded.. I got the pin and axle nut off and tried using the steering technique and cant get this hub off :dang::dang: i have also tried beating the sh*t out of it. when and if i get the hub off do i have the separate the u-joint before taking the steering knuckle off or will it just come off with no issue?

You'll get it man. getting these hubs off is probably the hardest job I've encountered. It ain't no fun, that's fo' sho'. I'd SOAK the beejeezus out of it with penetrating oil. Keep trying the power steering trick, that's how I've had the best luck. While a good whoopin with a heavy sledge will make you feel better, it's not real great for that unitized assembly. Whatever IDIOT came up with unitized hubs and bearings needs to be drug out in the street.

Once you get the hub off. Have a beer, a smoke and a smile. After that, you'll notice that the axle shafts connected by the u-joint will slide right out of the axle housing as "one piece". You'll be left with the knuckle, ball joints and axle mount.

Good times man. good times.

Good luck dude... a bunch of us have been there. :tu:

You can doooo it! - Rob Schneider "The Waterboy"

Thanks man... Welll I have broken a few sockets and actually bent an extension. I think im gonna try to find someone in the area to do this job. I just cant believe how hard this is. Thanks for all of the advice!

So i took my truck to a shop today to have the ball joints done and the guy asked me why I wanted antiseize put back on the hubs when he remounted them. He said that it would just wash out after driving it in the rain a few times. LOL!

ok once you get down to the ball joints how hard is it to do the swap?

Just swapping the ball joints is just as sucktastic as getting the hubs off. The ball joints are HUGE and they are IN THERE.

The tool from Quad4x4 should make the job a LOT easier.

i would go with the Moogs both the upper and lower are greaseable i know most lower ball joints in other brands are not greasable.....

I just talked to my mechanic and he cannot get the hubs off the truck. he just told me that he has even used a 15lb slide hammer and cant get it to budge... any suggestions?

ive always did the socket against the frame using the power steering but it sounds like you already tried that....im sorry wish i could help:s:

I've replaced the bearing hubs 3 times on each sides of the truck and I just finished replacing all of the ball joints, tie rod ends and bushings. If you're gonna do any of this stuff, buy the right tools! The OTC hub puller is 70-100 bucks and will pull the hubs in about 30 seconds, no sweat. If you're going to do ball joints, get the big clamp press and the right adapters for your truck. If you have those tools, you can swap the ball joints out in 3-4 hours. When you do replace things, do yourself a favor and use Moog and Timken for the bearings if you need them.

I used a puller for the hub and it pulled the hub apart. once I didnt that i brought it to someone cause I was tired of dealing with it...

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anyone know where i can get steering knuckles for a d60 rather cheap?

What a mess man. :( I'm sorry it's been so awful.

Look on craigslist for a complete axle maybe? How did you eff up the knuckles? Or are you just going to rebuild from scratch maybe?

I use craigslook.com for searching multiple craigslist sites. Have had good luck.