1st Gen Durango 1998 - 2003 Durango's

98 Durango 5.9 4x4 steering knuckle part unfindable!

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  #11  
Old 08-08-2021, 09:41 AM
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Originally Posted by that_guy
Not gonna lie, that looks sketchy at best. I would never trust something like that welded to cast iron, let alone on something as critical as brakes.

Drilling out the holes and putting in helicoils works fine as a solution. And they did release an updated part for the 2003 trucks. No more slide pins, completely different caliper setup.
Weren't they bigger rotors as well? Sounds like a good excuse for an upgrade.
 
  #12  
Old 08-08-2021, 09:58 AM
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Originally Posted by HeyYou
Weren't they bigger rotors as well? Sounds like a good excuse for an upgrade.

Yep, about an inch bigger and a decent bit thicker too. Dual piston calipers with brackets rigidly mounded to the knuckles. Just better all around. I thought I had posted my notes on swapping over to the 03 setup a couple years ago, but looking through my started threads I couldn't find it. I just posted a new thread with more details on the setup: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...nt-brakes.html

But pretty much you just need the knuckles and calipers (and some new pads and rotors of course) from an 03. The 98 and 99 lower balljoint needs swapped out for a later one with the bigger diameter taper. It's a couple thousandths bigger, but can be knocked down with some sanding or a lathe.

Downside is that I don't think they'll fit with 15" wheels, at least not the stock 15" Durango wheels.
 
  #13  
Old 08-13-2021, 12:28 PM
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Originally Posted by that_guy
Not gonna lie, that looks sketchy at best. I would never trust something like that welded to cast iron, let alone on something as critical as brakes.

Drilling out the holes and putting in helicoils works fine as a solution. And they did release an updated part for the 2003 trucks. No more slide pins, completely different caliper setup.

I understand that but the upper part of the bolt holes are snapped so I helicoil is out of the question period.. the only solution is to weld Chicago screws at this point. The allow the bolts to be removable.. best option there is.

It's been a long time coming to this conclusion. A flux core wire welder holds perfectly.
 
  #14  
Old 08-13-2021, 05:09 PM
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Best option would be to replace the knuckle and helicoil it. This welded setup is dangerous.
 
  #15  
Old 08-13-2021, 07:25 PM
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Welding cast iron is a friggin' art form. Not just any welder can do it properly.
 
  #16  
Old 08-30-2021, 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by Rambo1
Yea that pic is from someone trying to sell me a knuckle on Facecrook.. i doubt he has it anyway.. this sucks!
You'd have to do your own cross referencing to find comparables but your ebay search should be broader as there are hits for "2000 Durango knuckle" from there you can break it down to see if anything fits..GL
 
  #17  
Old 01-14-2022, 09:48 PM
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Originally Posted by jims
You'd have to do your own cross referencing to find comparables but your ebay search should be broader as there are hits for "2000 Durango knuckle" from there you can break it down to see if anything fits..GL

Thank you! So far all welds have held . Got into a off-road chase and only one came loose. Going to just call a mobile welder to get them really locked in.. it's a horrible flaw and the only thing stopping the vehicle is the rim rubbing on the caliper
 
  #18  
Old 01-15-2022, 09:35 AM
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Why don't you take that half hour drive to Orlando and visit a u-pull-it? Don't mess with welds.

https://upullandpay.com/orlando/search-inventory/
 
  #19  
Old 01-16-2022, 03:37 PM
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If one came off at all that's not acceptable either. This is not a proper fix and is dangerous to yourself and anyone else you're driving around. Replacing the knuckle and helicoiling it or updating to the 03 knuckle and brakes would properly fix this.
 



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