98 Durango 5.9 4x4 steering knuckle part unfindable!
Administrator
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 87,483
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From: Clayton MI
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.
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.
Champion
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 4,099
Likes: 44
From: Pittsburgh, PA or Columbia, SC
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.
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Registered User
Joined: Jul 2021
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
I understand that
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.
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.
Rookie
Joined: May 2007
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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
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Registered User
Joined: Jul 2021
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Thank
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
Champion
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 3,775
Likes: 449
From: Atlanta
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/
https://upullandpay.com/orlando/search-inventory/
Champion
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 4,099
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From: Pittsburgh, PA or Columbia, SC
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.