I have a bad ball joint. I'm thinking of just replacing all the balljoints tierod ends to save on running back and forth to the alignment shop. What are best parts to put on. I have been getting my stuff from rock auto lately. I live in a small town and only have an advance auto but their parts prices are insane.

 

I used moog parts and have been happy with them. Rockauto is my go to parts supplier.

 

I just replaced all the front end parts on my ram. I used rock auto also, I got all the mevotech parts and have been very happy with them so far. The only moog parts I got were the control arm bushings. They didn't have any from mevotech.

 

Oddly enough, to me at least, Amazon sells ball joints, etc.. for less than rock auto! I bought and installed raybestos premium lower bj's and uca's. You are on the right track though, replace the tie rod ends at the same time. I thought mine would be okay since their boots were still intact. When I disconnected them from the steering knuckle, I found they were in as crappy condition as the ball joints.

 

I also just replaced TREs and BJs. All Moog parts for me, this is my second time doing them (other truck was a Nissan Hardbody 4x4). Seem to be good quality parts.

Both upper and lower BJs were VERY BAD on my truck. The uppers looked like they were close to falling apart and the bottoms were causing lots of squeaks. The TREs were not too bad, still tight steering. Just wanted to replace everything while I was working on it.

Also bought from RockAuto.

 

How many miles on your truck?
Is it a keeper.
If in the high 140K miles, you might want to consider wheel bearings if money's ok.
You'll be well into tearing down the suspension parts, attached to your steering knuckle. The knuckle is easily accessible at this stage. New wheel bearings at this point would give you another 140-150K life span without having to tear into it all again a little further down the road and you'll save money on only having to do one alignment.
Al.

 

I like Rockauto for some things, but I buy a decent amount of things from Advance Auto. If you order the parts online, they have coupons like $40 off $100. Sometimes I make it 2 or 3 orders to groups a few things to $100, and some times I have to buy extra stuff like paper towels to get it over $100, but it's a lot easier for me. I like getting my parts right now, and I like getting it local. The guys and gals that work there are also pretty helpful.

I just did a wheel barring from Rockauto, and bought a Moog. I am planning to do the BJs and tierod ends this summer, and put Moog brand parts in my cart.

 

I just did the CVs (Cardone), upper control arms w/ball joint (Moog) and lower ball joints (Moog). All from Rock Auto.


I didn't think there was ANY real wear on the components, but I had no rubber whatsoever left on any ball joint and an inner CV boot tore, throwing grease all over.


BOY was I wrong, after replacement and an alignment I was amazed at how tight the truck drove. I guess when components gradually wear instead of just fail, you get used to a poor ride and don't notice it (until you fix it)...