Hi There...

I know there is a lot of information in this forum about replacing the ball joints, but I wanted to shout out to get more info.

I have a 2002 Dakota Quad Cab 4WD with 4.7 V8. I had the recalled ball joints replaced about 8 years ago, but they've been crunching ever since. I'm selling the truck to my 16yr old nephew and want to replace as much of the front end as possible before I do so.

1) Are the Duralast Ball Joints good to use, or should I go for Moog or some other brand?

2) What sort of shocks should I replace with?

3) Should I replace any other parts while I'm at it?

4) I'm pretty mechanically competent, as is my boyfriend; should we do it ourselves, or should I take it in and have it done? (Have a friend with shop, will still cost, but not as much as a dealer, and I can supply the parts)

Any advice would be super helpful.

Oh yeah, side note... Check engine light keeps coming on with O2 sensor code. AZ resets and I drive it okay for 100 miles. Any thoughts on that? Or a link to another forum with advice on that?

Thank you in advance!

Kim

 

it depends on how much you are willing to spend and how much effort you are willing to put it to it.

1. Moog are suppost to be the best. you can find them in ebay for half the cost of an auto store. ( i just bought a set of upper and lower for my 97 dak.) i have used to store brand cuz they were cheaper at the time. then a year later, i had to replace them..
2. i don't know much about shocks. however. i did put the gabriel max on my 01 durango 6 months ago. they made a big difference.
3. cv shafts, hub bearings might not be a bad idea to atleast inspect. hub bearings are pricey tho.
4. it is all pretty easy to do yourself. will need a ball joint press tho. which you rent from an auto part store. plus a grinder or something to cut the heads off the 3 studs for the upper ball joint. (replacements will come with nut and bolts, that is if they have not been changed before.) the only thing you will need to do at a shop is the alignment after you change everything out.

 

I have Moog's in mine that I bought from NAPA. They're greaesable which is important. I think they were $60 a piece when I bought them 2 or 3 years ago. I pump a little grease in them when I change my oil every 5-6k miles and they seem to be fine.

For shocks I have Monroe Reflex shocks that I also bought from NAPA. They're not that expensive and they come with a lifetime guarantee. I had to replace one because the bushing wore out and they replaced it for free.


As for replacing them, the uppers are easy. Since they've already been replaced ones chances are they're bolted in so it makes them easy to remove. You'll need a pickle fork, or at least it will make it 10x easier to get them out. The bottoms are a little more difficult and you'll need a press like the previous post says. They're time consuming but if you have a Saturday or something you can do it. NAPA used to, not sure if they still do, press ball joints of for like $5 a joint. Only problem with this is you have to take off the whole lower control arm and bring it to NAPA. They might rent out presses as well. I'm not sure, we have a press at work so I did mine there.

Also, look at the cv boots while you have the front end apart. If the boots don't have an tears in them, the cv joints are probably fine. If they have any tears in the boots, you should probably replace them. They might be alright for awhile but they will go bad and then you will have to take the front end apart again. So if they're torn its good to replace them now. I think they run $50-$60 if I remember right. I replaced them a couple years ago when I did the control arm bushings.

I would look at the control arm bushings as well. The cheap rubber ones wear out and crack and make the whole front end squeak like crazy, at least they did on mine. So I replaced them with poly bushings. I used Energy Suspension bushings and they are still holding up good but they've only been on there about 20-25k miles. They're not too expensive either but I don't remember what I paid for the set. If you do replace them, get polyurethane ones, they're not much more then rubber but they won't crack and wear out. They will probably, actually most certainly outlast the rest of my truck.

Those are just somethings to look into while the front end is apart...

 

I kept having my o2 sensor codes on mine and found my cat was bad so I replaced that and still had it occasionally till I replaced my muffler and haven't had a problem since.

 

my mech put moog on my 2001. and he is picky.

 

Thank you for your advice! It looks like Moog is the consensus, so that's what I'll get. And thank you for letting me know what else I need to look at. My dad used to help me with all this stuff, and he knew it all; but, he's now fishing with his brothers in Heaven, so I appreciate the help.

Maybe I'll have my nephew come over and learn how to work on it, since he will be the new owner soon.

Cheers... Kim

 

To early to tell how these are. But 2 months ago I got some parts off E-bay and just replace entire control arms. $150 for both uppers and $ 130 for both lowers and these were complete with new bushings and ball joints.Put new inner and outer tie rods that I bought at local parts store price on these not bad.Also put new Hub bearings in these were also off E-bay for $45 a piece. Like someone had mention check your cv axles mine were good. The shocks I replaced a year ago and work great. They are Rancho 5000's.