I weigh in at 195lb and I tried to test mine on the ground and it showed no wear. Then I tried with the truck on stands and what do you know? Both top and bottom were worn! The top is a b**ch as you have to buy the whole control arm at $150+ each! You can test the tie rods on the ground if there are two of you (one steering, one looking) but if you lift the truck it only takes one as you can hear them knocking.

 

I've never had any trouble. And I think the 4x4's are closer to 6k.
You can actually grab the bumper and pull back and forth and that will get the suspension moving a bit easier. You should hear the ball joints if they are moving at all.
Do as you please,but on the ground is worth a shot if you know what to listen for

 

Ok now you're nit picking. So I forgot the plus sign after the 5000lb. I'm not arguing with you just saying that it's better to jack it up as you can find wear much earlier with the weight off of the wheels. Two of us tried (and we are both ex car mechanics now working on aircraft) and found nothing on the floor but when we jacked it we found the wear on everything. Also in the air it's easier to differentiate between wheel bearing wear and ball joint wear

 

And I forgot the LOL after the 6k....lol
Yes you are correct about pinpointing the issue with it up in the air. I work on both as well.

 

No worries we're both right! You see I use any excuse to get under my truck so I can have a quick scan to see if anything else is an impending problem! Even if like you say you don't need to jack it up I will for the afformentioned reason.

 

You guys kill me. In a good way of course. I tried the "on the ground test" with no noises. So i'm gonna hoist it when I get a decent day and check it out. I'll post what I found out.

Thanks again for the help guys.

 

sooo, how soon after the knocking noise starts do you think the joints need to be replaced? and if the bottoms are going (which i know are on mine) are the tops not too far behind?

 

If the knocking noise has started it's time to replace them xfee. You don't want to wait till your wheel assembly breaks off and your tiire/rim go through your fender on a turn out of starbucks. It's not a pretty site. Also a lot more to replace control arms, tie rods, shocks, etc, then to just replace the bj's. lol.

Oh yeah, I want that kind of snow here! we've been getting crap for snow so far northeast of detroit.

 

Hey guys. Got an 07 Ram with leveling kit and 33s with 25K miles. I too have just a little play and figure the ball joints plus ends of upper/lower tie rods could all be replaced... here's my question - do you think the dealer/warranty will fix or am I wasting a trip --- also, what is cost (especially curious about the greasables you all speak of vs the 'greaseless' stockers) --- I know Ive got to do this, but money bit tight with holidays and new baby and trying to budget/figure costs if I get screwed on warranty on brand new truck. Thanks for your advise.

 

blackgoat, not sure if they would be covered under warranty. They would obviously inspect them first to see if they are indeed worn. I know from experience on my Dakota that they cost a good amount, I forget what I paid but for all 4 I think it was over $800, mainly because there is so much labor involved (remember, this was on a 2000 Dakota too, so it might vary on the Ram). If they replace them under warranty, they are going to put the same ones back on, not greasable. If you have to do it, don't wait. It will only get worse and see what people above have said about what can happen when one fails completely. Also, if the lowers or uppers are going, they put extra stain on the others causing them to go a lot faster, which is going to cost you more in the end.