I have a 2004 4x4 2500 QC diesel with 84000 miles on it. To date the only thing I've had to have fixed on the truck is the rear u-joint right by the rear differential. However, I think it's time for a new front end as there is a lot of slop in the steering and the truck pulls hard to the sides on bumps and what not and a lot of play in the steering wheel.

I don't want to put factory parts back on as they are crap. I would like ball joints, etc that are serviceable with grease fittings, but I don't know exactly what all needs replaced. I've looked at ball joints online and every place I look only lists the "upper" ball joints, aren't there joints on the "lower" as well? I will also be replacing the track bar as I understand these usually need replaced too.

What is a decent brand of parts to look for? I don't want the most expensive thing available (I've seen some ball joints for $150 and some for as little as $70, so somewhere in between would be good) and I need to know all the parts I should replace (I suspect the lower ball joints go by another name?).

I won't be doing the work, I'll take it to a shop, but I want to buy the parts myself.

I'll also be getting a brake job, shocks and tires. Does anyone know the largest tire I can put on the truck stock? I was wondering if 285/70/17's would fit? If so I am looking at the Nitto Terra Grapplers. Any thoughts on those?

I'm considering replacing all the other u-joints while I'm at it, or should I just wait till they start to vibrate?

I would love to lift the truck and all that, and have always wanted to but it's just a cost that I can't justify having just bought a new home that needs some work. Ah well, some day maybe.

 

Welcome to DF,

I have a 2005 and have the following swapped out/added to mine...

ThurenFabrication adjustable tracbar
Thurenfabrication heavy duty steering kit
steering brace/stabilizer
Thurenfabrication steering stabilizer kit

after swapping all that out, it put added pressure on my ball joints and they are toast. I am in the middle of swapping in Carli upper ball joints and Moog lower's. Cant tell you how it'll feel yet since only 1/2 of the truck is done (well almost, putting it back together today). I will be doing a diy writeup on it when I'm done and adding it to the diy thread if you want to check back in about a week.

As for brakes, my 1st time around I just swapped pads, rotors were fine. I took a sander to the surface to break the glaze on them and have had no issues in 30k miles since the swap.

Shocks... Bilstiens are good, Edelbrocks are also good but could not take the beating I give my truck. So if your not off roading edel's would also be good.

tires... 285's will fit no problem...

my opinion on the outer u-joints.... if your paying someone to do the work, have it done now and make them give you a break on the labor time... they have to remove the axle to get the ball joints out anyway.

 

Steve,

Saw your posts on the ball joint swap. The Carli upper ball joints were $550?????? That's just for 2 ball joints??? OUCH!

I can't afford that. I think I will go with the Moogs.

Still, I have the question, other than upper/lower ball joints and trac bar (and outer u-joints while axles are off), is there anything else that needs replaced so I can have a nice tight front end again?

I looked at the Thuren trac bar, $350. Might have to consider that.

I just ordered my tires and shocks last night. Ordered the 285/70-17 Nittos. Would have preferred the 295's, but could only find them in D load rating, no E. 305's were available in E load, but they bumped the price up too much to get those.

I ordered Bilsteins for the shocks, they're running the buy 3 and get the 4th free sale, so I opted for those. Was going to just do the rears, but for the price I went with all 4.

 

If your happy with getting 84,000 miles out of your ball joints get the moogs. I would be happy with that mileage. I have 34,000 miles on my truck and need new ball joints. I am seriously considering the carli's because I don't want to change them out every year and a half. My truck does get worked hard daily so I'm going with the best hopefully it will be worth it.

 

well the way I look at it, if it broke or wore out before 100k, it is a weak link. The whole front end of my truck is no longer stock... Thuren's heavy duty steering kit, steering stabilizer & tracbar are installed, and now the Carli upper ball joints. Once upon a time my truck had a rock solid steering feel where it would drive straight as an arrow down almost any road, I am close to getting that back. I only have to adjust the caster and re-do the alignment and I think I will be there.

why all of the expensive stuff? because I'm tired of swapping crap for more crap. I did that with my 2000 ram and learned a lesson... spend once and get it right. Sometimes however you need to figure out what is crap and what is not... some aftermarket parts are crap.

I hope to never have to change the upper ball joints again... It's my goal that this truck be my last. I expect I may need to do the lowers again at some time however I'm hoping that the solid uppers will minimize the wear on the lowers. Plus they are greasable.

 

Bass Hunter,

Are you saying the moogs will wear out in the same miles as the factories, even though they are greasable?

Steve,

I won't argue your logic. Believe me, I'd rather get nothing but the best, but my finances just wont' allow for it right now.

If the new Rams were as good looking as the '04 I'd trade this one in to buy time until I can afford the parts I want, but the new Rams are butt ugly in my opinion. I hate what they did to the front design.

 

It's hard to say they may last longer. I was just pointing out that 84,000 miles on ball joints in these trucks is pretty good. Steve's truck has more miles on it than mine, Im sure, and I'm starting to see my truck is going to need alot of the fixes hes done to his. I have been reading all of his posts on his front end closely It's nice to watch what someone else is doing before spending the money. I think my next truck purchase is going to be the carli front upgrade. It comes with the upper ball joints, adjustable track bar, and steering stabilizer.

 

Lance, the cost of a new truck is far more expensive than fixing the one you have. You do not have to get all of the parts at the same time either... the lowers were relatively cheep at $135 for both, if you got the moog uppers, they'd also be close to the $135 cost as well. By fixing it yourself, you are liberating yourself from having to go to the dealer for the repair, also saving you $. if you buy new, then you'll be freaking out about warranty issues, down time when its at the dealer etc... by taking ownership of the repairs, you can fix it your way, when you want to.

Granted not everyone is prepared to take ownership of the repairs as it is not always easy, but the more you know, the more you'll save. One of my girls has a vw jetta 1.8t and I recommended to her that she get the bolt down coil packs for it... she did the install herself and was damn proud of it. She has from time to time co-workers asking simple questions about their cars. makes her feel really good that she knows how to answer them (most of the time... simple questions).

On my truck... I have beat it several times and have taken it on some fire road type of trail runs and have not been kind to it there either. I just draw the line at anything that will cause me to bring it home with a scar. I would expect the trucks that stay on the pavement most of the time would have these parts last longer.

 

Steve,

I understand what you are saying, but the issue is the $$$ up front for the parts. We just moved into a new house right before Christmas (after moving from another state) and this house has some expensive things it needs (a water well, a new roof for starters). It's just all in the timing really. Had this been last year and we weren't moving, no problem.

In reality the truck is still drivable, it's not so severe I can't drive it, I just hate driving it the way it is. It's a hand full on some of the twisty, bumpy roads I have to take to work, but on the highway it isn't too bad.

The plan for now is to have the tires done (have to as I still have my studded winter tires on it, hope I don't get caught by the cops before I can get them changed), a brake job, and the shocks done. I'll look into the front end parts in the next couple months once I get my bills paid down a little more (I just hate to run up a lot of charges on the credit card). Still need to know if there are other parts I should change besides the track bar, upper and lower ball joints (and the outer u-joints while the axles are out)?? Should I be looking to change out tie-rod ends too? Any other front end parts in that mix? Still trying to find out if the steering box can be adjusted, I;ve been told by a dealership that it isn't adjustable, but other say it is. There's definitely play in the steering box as far as I can tell.

Speaking of tires, my new ones were delivered yesterday. I got an e-mail from Discount tire on Tuesday that my tires were packaged and ready to be shipped out in 1-2 business days, but I came home from work yesterday and there they were. Wow! That was fast for free shipping! Discount tire did a great job, I'll definitely be looking toward them in the future for new tires.

As for doing the work myself, it's an issue with time, place and tools. I have a lot of tools and used to do the work on all my vehicles myself years ago, but I don't have the tools I need to do this work and not really a place to do it. Gathering the tools is just another cost obstacle.