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boomer632
Dodge Dakota
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11/22/2003
22:12:14
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 Subject: RE: Bad Ball Joints
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JES
Glad they took care of you. They gave me the run around for my problem, then said no more work on my truck until Dan Krebs OK's it. They'll be happy when I take it in for the ball joints.... BTW..Im gonna try to stick it out because they are apparently replacing the bad ones with the same new part that goes bad in the first place. Im gonna try to wait until they have a recall and install better ball joints.
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Joe Doc
Dodge Dakota
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12/02/2003
19:51:39
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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Sorry to but in on the conversation. Ihave a y2k 4x4 quad cab, I replaced the uppers at 55 k with a set of aftermarket bolt on's since then ive put another 50 k on and went to the auto zone here in ohio and they told me that they had recalled the replacement uppers that I had previously purchesed. Iwon't go into the monies I have spent on bearings , seals and other suprises , but in all fairness I beat the piss out of that truck and just figured that the last 4k spent was justly due. If I save all my balljoint receipts do you think the dealer will reimburse me for them?
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Rock
Dodge Dakota
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12/07/2003
13:17:54
|  RE: Bad Ball Joints
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I Recently watched a segment on T.V. warning about Durango ball joints.
But,most of,The Dealer mechanics said they saw more Dakotas with that problem than Durango's !
I recently bought a 2000 which now has 60,181 mi. on it and,I have noticed a noise front right.
Anything recent on this ?
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JES
Dodge Dakota
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12/09/2003
10:58:50
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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I called Dodge Corp Customer service and they said that there is no intention of a recall, or even TSB for the balljoints. The worn-out balljoints will simply be replaced under warranty with the same crappy balljoints. The Customer Service Rep did take my info for the 'corporate file' ... whatever the hell that means; she also suggested that I open a ticket with the NHTSA (800-424-9393) ... which I did. Evidently the NHTSA is where recalls are initiated. I suggest EVERYONE with this prob give them a call. Would really be nice to have this fixed for real. :o)
Eric -- http://photos.yahoo.com/jes_96
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Michiel
Dodge Dakota
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2/28/2004
15:10:18
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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The ball joints on my 99 Dakota are rusted and sloppy loose. The shop estimated the repair at $1,000.00! Do I complain to the DOT or the NTSB, or does anyone know if the manufacturer will help with the problem THEY caused!
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Kevin
Dodge Dakota
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3/09/2004
06:12:41
|  RE: Bad Ball Joints
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Rockauto.com has Moog aftermarket ball joints for all years of Dakotas. They run about $45 for the uppers and the same for the lowers. I've already ordered mine...I'm not going to screw with the dealership here in town...I'm putting them on myself. I'm sick of hearing the "popping" sound in the front suspension and having to worry about my damn 3 year old truck self-destructing while I'm going down the road.
Good luck everyone!!!
Kev
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Todd
Dodge Dakota
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3/10/2004
18:09:17
|  RE: Bad Ball Joints
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I own a 2001 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab, and have been in regular contact with NHTSA on this issue. The lead investigator on the ball joint investigation is 'peter.kivett@nhtsa.dot.gov'& the investigation is Engineering Analysis EA03-023. Send him an email and help us all get this issue resolved once and for all!
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.
Dodge Dakota
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4/08/2004
12:39:57
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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Message:
.
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stic
Dodge Dakota
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4/10/2004
22:00:15
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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Message:
sent to "peter.kivett@nhtsa.dot.gov"
hope i got the address correct
Hello,
I recently purchased a 2001 Dakota QC 4x4 from a local dealer here in Erie,Pa.
I am writing this because I have learned of the ball joint problems that plague this truck.I have a knocking noise in the front end whenever I hit a bump.(I know,don't hit the bumps)..I took it in to my dealer from where it was purchased and they said they could find nothing wrong.I believe(because its under the 3k/3mo warranty)they wont be bothered with it.They will be bothered with it if my tire falls off when im doing 65 in the interstate.Heaven forbid my kids are in the truck if/when it happens,and it has I've read.Numerous times I might add.
With all of the complaints out there concerning this issue,its a wonder someone hasn't been sued.
Does it really take death to wake people up?Let's hope not.Even if a recall was issued and it cost a few million dollars.Isn't life more valuable?
I think it is.Especially when Its MY life or MY loved ones.
Thank You for reading this.
Mike C.
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Bill Lubak
Dodge Dakota
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4/10/2004
22:37:15
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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I would have it checked out by aother mechanic if I were you just to be sure. I have always advocated for Dodge because they were always the "underdog" behind Chevy and Ford. I even was one of the first around here to put a lift on an early Ramcharger before they made the parts to do it! After seeing that Dodge could give a s..t about the safety of their customers, thia will be my last Dodge! Haven't they ever heard the importance of retroactive sales? And they are willing to let customers go for a couple of hundred dollars in repairs! Thats just DUMB buisness! Good luck! Bill
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K Gibson
Dodge Dakota
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4/11/2004
10:51:52
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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I own a 2002 Dakota Quad Cab. I now have around 40,000 miles on it. It has been in Dodge Dealers five times for popping sounds. They have replaced two items that were damaged by what ever is causing the problem. It doesn't pop when they test drive it. I have spoken with Service Managers and Chrysler Daimler. Their position is "if they can't duplcate a problem, they will not spend time to find and repair". I have asked the following question several times with no reasonable answer. How can you duplicate a road problem with a truck in the service bay? Even before the story about the ball joints came out, I told them I thought something on the front end was binding and it was causing the pop. All I ever got was the deer caught in headlights look.
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Patrick
Dodge Dakota
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4/11/2004
11:58:27
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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Bad ball joints? Try a small town outside the big city. I was getting quotes between $900 and $1100.
Then I spoke with a shop in a small town (pop. 5000) He quoted me $392 for doing the upper and lower ball joint. So I scheduled an appointment with him.I picked up my truck and this is roughly how the bill broke down. 4 hours of labor $180, 2 upper ball joints $100 (NAPA- grease fitting), two lower ball joints (NAPA)$100 and of course money for Uncle Sam $12.92.
I thought it was possible a gimmick to get me in there for $392, but it was still cheaper than all the other quotes I got, evan if He doubled it.
I spoke with Him about the other quotes I had recieved and his response was that "The gray book they uses for estimating was wrong. That it should ONLY TAKE 1 HOUR per ball joint not 2 1/2 hours on the upper."(4 hours not 7 hours) The book had a misprint and that is what most shops quote on and charge by. So ARGUE if they try to charge you for more than one hour per ball joint. They are only trying to pad there bottom line with this scam. They know from experience on most vehicals it take about the same amount of time.
Other thing is in small town they don't have the great overhead that large towns have. The shop I went to charged me the actual cost of the parts not and not doubling it to cover the cost of there shop.
I'll I can say is Thank you to the small town honest Mechanic of Minnesota.
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Joe
Dodge Dakota
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4/11/2004
12:13:29
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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glad to know there are still some honest working men and women in this business. the problem im having is trying to locate the stupid ball joints, everywhere i look says not available or on order. anyone else have a better suggestion on places to order/buy? (2000 QC 4x4 dak)
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MY H3RO
Dodge Dakota
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4/12/2004
09:15:43
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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Where in Minnesota???????????
I live in Stacy
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Skeletor86
Dodge Dakota
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4/12/2004
09:16:35
|  RE: Bad Ball Joints
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I think that alot of us with the quad cabs are getting a knock in the front when we take turns not because of the ball joints going bad, which they do and I have had already fixed once under warranty. I think the big problem is that the quad cab suspension is not designed for the extra weight that we carry being the quad cab. The suspension only got an upgrade of nitrogen shocks. The rest is straight from the standrad and crew cab truck. The torsion bars are not strong enough and the front end does not have that much travel so what is going on is we are hitting the bump stops when we take turns. I have tried to get a group buy to get stiffer torsion bars made by Sway A Way but they wanted 50 people, and I only got about 6 people to do it. I think what we need to get is this peter.kivett@nhtsa.dot.gov to address the quad cab problem that the trucks do not have a suspension designed for their weight. I am going to try and upgrade my front end with some Doetsch Enterprises Twin-Tube Nitrogen Gas Shocks and low profile bump stops, to see if that makes the noise go away.
Rich
2001 QC 4x4
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MattMan
Dodge Dakota
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4/13/2004
11:44:10
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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stic & Skeletor86
Just wrote peter.kivett@nhtsa.dot.gov and will keep everyone informed if I get any word back from him. Replaced right side ball joint on my Quad Cab. ALSO, torsion bar bushings were bad and needed to be replaced as well. Popping can come from torsion bars too.
Matt
2000 QC 4x4
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Todd
Dodge Dakota
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4/13/2004
18:45:22
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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Message:
Peter Kivett's boss contacted me recently, and there is a one year timeframe for the investigation to occur. That means it should be over by Octoberish this year. It sounds likely NHTSA will force Dodge (DaimlerChrysler (DC)) to take action in favor of the consumer. One year must go by to prove NHTSA did a fair investigation, should DC take legal retailiation. Stay tuned!
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Skeletor86
Dodge Dakota
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4/18/2004
21:39:25
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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One thing I have happen every once and a while is when I do a full lock turn from a stop, the Dak feels like is going forward for a few inches before the truck starts to turn. Anyone else feel that?
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Doug4.7
Dodge Dakota
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4/21/2004
09:54:55
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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I just took my '03 QC for its 27k service at the dealer. I complained about a 'popping noise' in the front. When I got it back, they had replaced the upper ball joints. I guess they are going to wait until 36k + 1 to find the lower ones bad. That means I should have to replace them again at 54k.
BTW, when I went to the Rockauto.com web site and entered '03 Dak QC ball joints', the response was 'no such item'. Hopefully by then someone will carry ball joints for the '03 that actually will last.
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shockwave
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
4/22/2004
14:06:03
| RE: Bad Ball Joints
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hello just recently purchased a 98 dakota 4x4 5.2 ,67k,had the tires rotated and found a lot of up and down play on the driver side which i was informed as a bad upper ball joint,went to local dealer here in space coast, fl area, and got the same deer in the headlight look from the service dept, being an exp. tech i have seen a newer revised ball joint with grease fittings not the sealed end cap type which is not maintainable,but it requires to drill out the rivets of the factory one, all of this is b.s. why did they not recall or revise the suspension instead of just trying to replace the whole upper control arm?i will never take my car to this dealership again for their incompetence, what does over 1/2 inch play up and down(good bearing) have to do with an intermediate steeringshaft they are saying is bad?shoulda known the dealership is not takign any action for junk,bt w anyone see how cheap the rear bumpers are and how as soon as alittle humidity in the air rusts these trucks out?also the tranny on this one seems to hunt excessively and i also hear problems about sludge in these motors?using 10w30 mobil1 since i have boought it,any problems i should be aware of?
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