I got burned on a BJ purchase via eBay deal.

I'll repeat what I was told having learned the hard way: don't trust eBay to the "important" parts.

Any breakage due to suspect parts while driving that could cause an accident isn't worth the savings.

IndyDurango

 

Thanks all! I went to Amazon.com and I can get Moog, K-7392 upper for $53.96 (1) and K-7393 lower for $58.85 (1) other components were decently priced also. I will be replacing these when I get them in. I searched for removal procedure and it doesn't look fun. More time consuming to remove rivets (how stupid,why not use bolts?) from the git-go. I probably will need to do tie rod ends also but that is later. I need to get bjs done and new tires on soon.Hope the price check helps. I have ordered truck part stuff from Amazon before and have been very happy with parts arriving quickly sometimes free shipping,good service,quality parts.

 

Take an angle grinder to the rivets,they'll be out in no time.The bolts should come with the ball joints....
And you're buying 2 of each right??

 

Yes Sir! Two of each. So the angle grinder is the fastest and easiest? The procedure that was posted on here had the guy drilling using progressive size drills and I thought the same thing you mentioned...angle grinder. I raised the front end yesterday to confirm it was bj and I got no play at all by push/pull on tire. I'm guessing a long pry bar with tire removed would be the best way to confirm bj's?? Grinding the rivets off gives me a reason to buy a new grinder.lolol!! One more thing has there ever been any issues with the brake caliper piston sticking on our D's. I had a Caravan and the left front caliper would not release completely. After tearing it apart I discovered it had a plastic piston and there was a rebuild kit using metal piston. Why not use this from the start me thinks???

 

Every rivet that I can get a grinder on I do it...I juz don't like messing with things that are getting replaced,besides drilling may be a more controlled thing but it takes forever.I use a long pipe to check my ball joints...tire on so I'm not prying on the rotor or back plate etc etc....have someone there to help so you ccan concentrate on one or the other....

 

Good news! It's not bj's. I pulled tires off and the upper bj have been replaced with cheap parts probably from the dealer. Lower is still original. I will replace soon but I discovered inboard brake pads are not fully applying to surface of rotor. There is rust on both sides of rotor which tells me pads are not engaging fully. I did notice when I stop at a light or stop sign release the brake and take off is when I get the popping as if the caliper piston is not releasing fully from rotor. I believe this is the problem. I have a new set of rotors I bought not long after I purchased my D and never put them on. I guess I will do that now.Going to get new pads and do brake job this afternoon. I will look on here for brake caliper removal just to make sure I do it correctly.

 

Yes the angle grinder is the easiest. Harbor Freight has one for like $10-$15 bucks. Grind the top of the rivets off and knock the ball joint down, when it pops off then knock the rivets out, like a 5 minute job.

Yes, take a long pry bar and lift the tire just enough to get it off the ground and get the pry bar under it. Now pry up all over and look for movement. You can also grasp the wheel at 3 and 9 positions and wiggle, 2 and 8, and 10 and 4 positions. Put your back into it. If you have anything moving use the pry bar and get slightly under it and exploit the moving area to get a good look at the worn part. Now the correct way is to use a dial indicator on the moving area and measure the movement, but most people don't have one. Besides, you'll know if it is bad anyway.....

I've heard of some issues with calibers, when you rebuilt them did you ream them and the whole nine yards?

 

Bad news!! Wasn't the brakes It definitely needed brakes but after driving it I still have popping. I will do the honkin pry bar test and go from there. One thing I did find out after watching a You Tube vid on how to remove caliper for a 1st gen D the guy said you need a T47 (torx) to remove caliper mount bolts....well it is a T45! I did discover the spindle assembly the pads slide back and forth on had an indentation in the metal surface. I used a file to clean it up but they were pretty deep. I read on a post in here that Dodge had a problem with the brakes not operating properly because of the wear on this surface. Oh well time for a beer and tackle it tomorrow.

 

Yes, those indents are from the old pad arms slamming into the caliper, this is normal wear. You did it correctly by grinding/file that surface off so the arms don't get stuck in them. When that happens it will crack the center of your pads and can cause lock up and various other issues. Now you are supposed to lubricate the slides and pad arms with brake lube, as well as the slide pins (bolts) that the caliber slides on. I also use the blue anti-squeek on the back of the pads before install, it removes the harmonic vibrations.

Anyway, once the slide surfaces are ground once or twice you have to replace the spindles because you loose too much metal.

 

I put some lube on there but it doesn't look like it would last very long. I was wondering how long you could continue grinding those. Where would you get new spindles? Dealer? and what kind of money do they run?