Well my truck started clunking in the last couple weeks and I knew the brakes were due as well. Did the brakes and took it to a good shop for the clunk. Bad news. Upper and lower ball joints bad and going bad on all 4. Plus an axle seal in the front. Its gonna be $1200+ for all of it. Shop says the uppers are oem only and I dont feel like chasing down some aftermarket brand.
I have over 90K on my 05 4WD quad cab and I love this truck.

As a former Chrysler emp I traded cars and trucks like underwear but this one stuck like indian underwear. I wont give it up. No power windows or locks. Just a 4.7 with a no spin rear and air.
As someone in the skilled trades/Maintenace I understand what I can do at home vs knowing when its time to pay the mechanic who has the tools and shop to save me the headache. This is definatly that time.
I have done religious maint and its never had issue other than brakes when it was new. Last 50K trouble free, just change fluids.

Looks like Im gonna have to get by with my spare car while my daily and bad weather driver Dakota is in the shop. Hope it doesnt rain for a few days.

 

I think you need to get a second or third quote on this one. 4 Ball joints on our truck should not be that price

Lower ball joints - ($40 to $50) x2 [sub Total $80 to $100]
Upper control arm with ball joints - ($100 to $125) X2 [sub Total $200 to $250]

Labor - 5 hours max @$60hr ($300) or @$80hr ($400)
Alignment - $80 to $100

Grand total ($660 to $850) with out tax

Unless you are going to the Stealership to get the work done anything over $800 is way to much.

REMEMBER with the times as crappy as they are its ok to bargain the work. If they say $900 tell them $700 or $650 is all you have to work with. Most places will do it.

 

Sorry to hear about the ball joints. I had my 2 lowers fail within 2000 miles of eachother, and each one was $225 installed. The front ends arent up to par in the Dakotas, and mainly due to the soft struts they put up front that cause premature wear to all the components.

You can get the whole upper control arm assemblies with a ball joints for $98/each from Oreilly, so if your installing yourself it probably could save you some time and possibly money depending on how much Mopar charges for a upper ball joint.

 

thats why i love friends who are mechanics....lol "hey man i need spark plugs put in, front and rear diff done, transfer case, belt and battery installed and power steering and brake fluid flushed. did that at 25K and it cost me 50 bucks and a 12 pack of beer!

 

You don't want to do the uppers yourself?? Changing an upper control arm is literally a 10 minute job. It's just two bolts and it falls off the truck. I would pay for a shop to do the lowers because quite a bit more is involved...but the uppers are easier then an oil change.

 

you have to replace the entire upper control arm to replace the upper ball joint?

 

Yes, you have to replace the whole upper control arm. Not a huge deal. The lower one however can be press fitted i believe, because moog sells just the ball joint.

There are now several 3rd party manufacturers selling the Upper control arm for this truck. Its easier to replace the upper control arm itself then mess with removing a ball joint anyway (since there usually never bolted on).

In all seriousness though, after you disconnect the upper ball joint, it really is a matter of removing two bolts to take off the upper control arm. Slip the new one on, bolt it up, and your good to go. There is plenty of room in the wheel well to get your tools and hands in there, it's really a nice easy clean job.

 

yeah, I saw the upper control arms at Oreilly's for $97.00. All you would need is wrenches and a fork ball joint removal tool, or a few good whacks with a BA hammer. i see they also sell the lowers ball joints and they are press fit, i bet it would be next to near impossible to remove the lower ball joint without removing the lower control arm to actually put it into a press.

 

I didnt know that the uppers were that easy to change but I wasnt sure what was wrong. The shop has the truck and in process of doing the work. Im going to call around and check on prices. They shop told me that the uppers were OEM. IF I find the other estimates to be vastly cheaper I will have a talk with them.
Thanks for the feedback.

 

Hey guys,
I have a 2005 dodge dakota 4x4 with the 8 cyl, my ball joints seem to be beyond shot...been dealing with the squeaking that overpowers my chopped turbo exhaust for about 6 months. Brought it to my mechanic friend and he told me what I assumed that I at least need new uppers, and sway bar links on both sides... I also know I need some bushings on the sway bar. He goes through mostly dealership and local parts sellers and told me the links would be 75 a pop and the ball joints were gonna be at least 90. He gets a discount on most parts so he can atleast order for me, but I want better quality hopefully.
SO... after my intro my question is where can I find the best parts I need!
Is the moog lower ball joint a better than oem part?
Is there a better upper controll arm/joint?
Where can I find some quality sway bar links?
and where to find the bushing set for the swaybar.


Anything else I should do while I have the thing apart?
Thank you in advance for helping a novice like me understand this stuff!