I'm replacing the lower ball joints on my 2000 QC 4x4. I have a problem that the ball joints that I have removed are 0.015-020in larger in diameter than any of the replacement ball joints I have found, including the dealer. Anyone run into this? If I can't find over sized ball joints the only option is to replace both lower control arms, which is not cheap.

Thanks,
Josh

 

Ive never ran into this issue and ive replaced hundreds of ball joints on many different makes of vehicles... perhaps they just arent made to the same specification...

 

More info please

First off I don’t know the 4X4 at all but something sounds wrong here so I will try to help.

What end of the ball joint is the wrong size the top or the bottom?

I believe the lower 4X4 ball joint is pressed in is this were the problem is or were it attaches to the knuckle?

 

The problem is the diameter on the end that presses into the lower control arm. The ball joints I removed from the truck measure out to be 1.985in. All the replacement ones that I have checked, including the ones from the dealer, measure out to about 1.970. That's .015in difference!

I went to CarQuest today, and they have been the most helpful so far. They called a tech support line where they were able to pull up the drawings of the parts. Unfortently, the ball joints I pulled out of the truck do not match the prints at all. They were also unable to find a listing for an oversize ball joint. I have to wonder where these parts came from though...

Unfortunetly the only safe solution I see at this point is to replace both lower control arms at a cost of $330 each! This is getting expensive fast, as I just put $700 worth of tires on the truck.

 

one more interesting note... the guys at CarQuest pulled a ball joint for a 2000 Ram to see if someone may have installed the wrong one. The Ram ball joint is smaller than the Dakota one! I found that interesting.

 

Mig welder.

 

Ram heavy duty truck joints? Aka ram 2500 & 3500, also check chevy part sizes. s10, silverado ect, Heck check durango measurements while your at it. I know you said you check out the ram 1500 allready but what about newer and older ones? Im just throwing out ideas to save you money on the control arms.