Changing the ball joints DOES NOT CHANGE THE ALIGNMENT. We check it and SET TOE ONLY simply as a courtesy. We have ball joint recalls on many different vehicle other than the Durango as do most manufacterers, the Durango is the only line that gets the alignment checked.

It should be pointed out that we only set the toe, not a complete alignment, if you want an alignment then you will have to pay for it.

 

The dealer gave me a full alignment on my recall work..

Of course, that's because my drivers side tire fell off and they had to replace the half shaft and steering rack at the same time

 

I'm 90% sure its a T 45. Good luck.

 

What year is yours? Or what year is the recall on? I have a 99 & have had 2 ball joints replaced! Thanks in advance!

 

We have a '98 Dodge Durango and replaced summer 2004 all upper and lower ball joints because we had a little play in them. Our truck has 100k miles on it. There was lots of talk about faulty ball joints then. Any recourse? I assume it was normal wear and tear....

 

Holy crap 100000 miles and you want the company to pay for your balljoints..........if they lasted that long then I don't think they were faulty ones. Come on now. I do believe however if when replacing a part under warranty or recall, if an aligment is required after the part is replaced it should also be covered. If they were charging for an aligment I would just get the ball joints replaced there and go somewhere else for an aligment because the dealer charges too much for all their service. I only get warranty stuff done there, hourly rates are crazy. In fact I returned a total of 5 times for a pull to the left and vibration in the steering wheel at speeds over 60 mph....the dealer everytime said it was fixed, from balancing wheels to rotating tires to finally an alignment and everytime I left it was not fixed. I finally paid 126 bucks with tax for an aligment, 4 wheels balanced and rotated at a local alignment shop specializing in 4x4's, when I left it was fixed. I called the salesman I got the truck from because he told me if I ever have a problem let him know. I told him I got tired of coming back so often to get it fixed and not actually even getting it done right so he got me a 130 dollar credit in service or parts,so I think I am gonna go buy a jacket or something in the parts dept. LOL

 

Does anyone know why the 99's were not on the recall. I have read all I can and asked at several other forums, and have not found or been given an answer. Aug 04 the passanger ball joints went while on the highway 700 miles away from home, no warning no noise, like some articles say. My drivers side started making noises this week, and sure enough they are going. [:@]

You all are conplaining about getting yours replaced, and crying about paying for allignment. Some of us that didn't make the reacall are sucking the whole cost up ourselves. []Any Ideas??

Sure sounds like reading from your posts it depends on where you are and on an individual basis how you are being treated by your dealership.

 

I went to the dealership this morning for 60,000 maint (2000 Durango). Asked them to look for other potential problems. The came back with brakes, water pump and some other wear and tear issues I can live with.

The service advisor also indicated I needed the lower and upper control arms replaced and it would cost me $1400. After some quick internet research I discoverd the recall for ball joints. (Why I never heard form Dodge is another issue) I am not very car savy but this seems like a very similar issue. Are these guys pulling a fast one on me?

 

I just had the ball joint work done on my 2001. They did say that it was only a suggestion to have the alignment done and that it would cost me an extra $90. I figured it was worth it since it was pulling to the right more than I had remembered.

I do have a question for those who have had it done already. When I back out of my sloped drive way at an angle, the front end still makes a slight clunk noise like something is loose. I figured that was just part of the ball joint problem but it didn't go away now that it's fixed. I have put the front up on jacks and tried rocking the wheels and looking for loose parts, but found nothing. I also mentioned it to the dealer before I brought it in and they agreed it was probably just the ball joints.

Does anyone have a clue what I'm hearing?

 

I had my replaced under the recall as well. all the squeaking went away until 2 weeks later. Squeaking came back and sometimes sounds like it pops too now. Getting worried that maybe the lowers are going now??? But I know what you mean by the clunking noise that comes and goes as I have it too and the balljoint recall repair did not make it go away! Going to take it to my personal mechanic to see if the lowers are okay and then grease down the rubber mounts on the sway bar to get rid of most of the squeaks.

Today, when I was running thru the supermarket, I made a soft stop and the front right tire made a pop during braking. worried me also. Felt the right front tire lost traction with the surface when I braked going around 5 mph. But the pop sounded like it came from the ball joint/suspension. Will have to check that too!