I took my truck into the shop today to have some tires mounted and balanced. Well long story short when they jacked up my truck to get the wheels off the passenger side balljoints are basically falling out. They said that they feel fine and tight but aren't grabbing like suppose too. My question is, what are my next steps going to be? Should I start trying to source a new front axle or should I try another set of balljoints? For now they tack welded the balljoints in so it shouldn't drop back out but this isn't a permanent fix.



Lower balljoint





Upper balljoint





Axle seal

 

Axle seal pictured is just a dust seal. I wouldn't even worry about those.

As for the balljoints, I would replace all of them. See how that goes.... If they press in too easily, then may be time for new axle housing.

 

alright, would you recommend the moog problem solver or should I just replace the axle housing If the balljoints don't fit correctly?

 

Can you elaborate on this, please?

 

Moog makes good ball joints yes.

 

What is the "problem solver?"

 

It's their branding thing. The "problem solver" line of products is their highest quality.

 

Are those 100% definitely factory ball joints? Normally the knurled ones are aftermarket, and they take a snap ring on top to prevent them from falling out. That upper however appears to be close to coming apart. The entire joint isn't falling out, the joint looks to be sloppy big time. Jack up the axle one wheel at a time, put a pry bar under the wheel and wiggle up and down while looking at the joints to verify for yourself. However, I'd just suggest replacing them all from the pics, even if they aren't "bad," then they are falling out.

 

I couldn't tell you. I took it in the shop today to have tires mounted and when they were doing their front end check the found this and showed me. Driver side was good they said. The PO said he replaced all the balljoints so I couldn't tell you honestly. Maybe the snap ring fell out or he didn't get them seated correctly. I'm trying to price what it's going to cost to get done or see if it's something I can tackle myself.