Im going to order some new ball joints for my truck, but I have a stupid question because ive never ordered ball joints before. Are they all the same on both sides ?, im guessing they would be.


I also noticed on the driver side were the shaft comes out of the axle housing between the upper and lower ball joints that the seal is bad and leaking oil. What is this seal called and were can I get a new one for both sides ?.

 

Yes, upper and lower ball joints are the same for both sides (the upper joint can be used on either side and the lower one can be used on either side)....order some good quality moog ones!

That axle seal is a HUGE pain in the *** to remove/install. I would not suggest undertaking this task on your own unless you are an extremely experienced do-it-yourself-er...my passenger seal was leaking bad on my truck when I first bought it...that is the first and only time my truck has ever been to the dealer for any repair. I had them replace both seals while they were at it. Cost me $500 bucks, all in labor time (seals are only 10 bucks a piece from dodge). There are some videos on youtube of people doing the front axle seal repair and after watching those my thought was "ummmm no thank you"

 

I did watch some of the videos on youtube, and from what I saw it is definitely a huge pain in the *** to replace these seals. There is no way I would ever try and do it. I will let the dealer do it.

 

yup...normally I would swear against going to the dealer for ANYTHING, but in cases like the front axle seals, I was left with no choice. Even my mechanic that I usually use for my emergency situations turned down that job. Depending on how bad it's leaking, you can usually just let them go until you have the extra funds available...just keep an eye on the fluid level in your front diff

 

I did both of my seals on my Dana 60 when I did my front suspension rebuild. Definitely takes some fabricated tools to replace the passenger side seal properly. The driver's side seal involved removing the differential carrier to get at the seal to remove and replace it. Had to borrow a case spreader to do it. I made sure that I bought good quality seals (SFK/Chicago Rawhide) so that I would not have to go through this seal job again!

 

Yes the other side is pretty easy but the drivers is a pita.

When I did my 60 swap nothing was leakin so I said screw it it will be alright

 

I swapped out my upper/lower ball joints, front end links & did the right side axle seal (under the CAD cover). Wasn't that hard, just needed a chunk of 1/2" all thread & couple adapters to fit the outer axle tube & the seal. The seal adapter was threaded for the all thread & the outer adapter fit the axle housing & the all thread passed through.

Put seal on inner adapter, slide in the CAD hole, thread all thread onto the inner adapter, slide over the outer adapter, thread the nut on & tighten until the seal is seated.

I have a lathe that I made my own adapters, but a person could probably use a socket & a couple nuts for the inner/outer adapters. Hardest part of that particular job was making the adapters on the lathe.

Ball joint replacement, now that was a bitch & took 3 days to completely rebuild the front end.

 

I had a friend with a lathe, too. He helped me out and made the adapter I needed to install my inner seal by the CAD. I wouldn't even want to try it with a socket, as it makes the installation more of a hit or miss affair.

 

A seal driver adapter on a piece of threaded rod with washers on the outside and a nut that draws the seal right in on when installing it ! Works great and a cheap built tool !

 

Im not going to try and change these seals my self, this will be a job I let the dealer do.
I don`t have the time, the tools, or the experience to even try to do it.