im gonna be selling my ram and buying a dakota. i have a few questions about the ball joints. does the recall only affect 4wd? also if i buy a dakota and change the balljoints right away myself so i dont have to deal with it what kind of balljoints would i replace them with? finally, what is the problem with the joints that they fail? do the transmissions go out on the dakotas like the rams? anything else to look out for? thanks


doug

 

LITTLE HELP?

 

I'll try to answer some of your questions:

balljoints-the problem was on many the "lubed-for-life" ball joint wouldn't stay that way, it would dry up and thus break. The VIN# of the vehicle would tell you if it was affected by the recall.

transmissions-you need to give a little more info. the 545rfe auto behind the 4.7's are strong trans. I took care of mine and used AMSOIL synthetic it's entire life, was as good as new after 150,000 miles. The 46LE auto's behind the 5.2's and 5.9's I do not know about, but I have found most mechanical problems are caused by a lack of maintenance, but not always.

My 02 is for sale at Bedford Chrysler in Bedford PA, you won't find a cleaner 02 with 150,000 miles on it. If you scan through the classifieds on this site you will find it also.

hope this helped some, good luck

 

ANYBODY ELSE GOT SOME INPUT???

 

That recall didnt only apply to 4wd vehicles. Why go and buy ball joints when you can get them for free!? The ball joints that we are putting back in these dakotas have been redesigned, they wouldnt put in the same ball joint. Ive put in a ton of them and have had no problems out of them. Dont go wasting your money, the recall wont cost you a thing. Granted they might want to sell you something else but if you can work on cars then spend that money on that stuff. Not sure why they have failed other than a design flaw of some kind. Really havent seen that many dakota trannys go bad, ofcourse its not that heavy of a truck either. Just keep it maintanced and you shouldnt have any problems. But dodge trans will be dodge trans. Just depends on what year dak you are looking at as far as common probs. they each have their own. Just about all the input that i got for now.

 

I have a 2001 QC 2WD and got a recall letter last spring-summer for free replacement and warranty reissue on the balljoints up to 100,000 miles. I am the original owner though and don't know if this warranty stays with the vehicle under recall from owner to owner. Had them replaced last summer and it took about 2 hours. If you still plan on doing it on your own I think MOOG makes a replacement that is greasable.