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ChuhBaca
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
10/05/2004
17:16:44
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 Subject: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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Hi guys. I'm going to look at a Dakota Quad cab tonight. What is a quick way to check if the ball joints are bad? Thanks
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asdf
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
10/05/2004
18:29:10
|  RE: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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Message:
you should be looking for other things besides the ball joints. if they are busted you can put moogs in and never have to worry about them again. If they arent bad you are most likely going to need to replace them anyway. Sorry i couldnt give you an answer to your actual question. I just figured i would give you some input rather than none. I get no response on my posts all the time, it sucks lol. Good luck with the truck. Check for stuff that they may have tried to cover up.
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ChuhBaca
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
10/05/2004
18:32:16
| RE: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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Thanks for the reply asdf. I will be looking at other things, but I don't think I should have to replace ball joints on a truck that I'm going to buy, or I can use it as a negotiating tool.
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scott1981
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
10/05/2004
18:48:29
| RE: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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Message:
you can grap the tops of the tires and rock the tire clightly back and forth, also check for unusual wear patterns along the outside edges of the tires. A visual inspection can also be done, check for torn boots on the joints. A test drive should reveal pops when the wheel is turned and the suspension hits a bump. As was stated they can be replaced rather cheaply yourself and you will never have to worry about them again
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TexasTodd
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
10/06/2004
10:12:06
| RE: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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Message:
I think you have to lift the wheel off the ground, with a jack, when its under the inside part of the A frame, to get the pressure off them, to really feel the play. I thought .
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Justi
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
10/06/2004
11:55:42
| RE: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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If you can actually feel play then they're beyond "bad", they're shot. The tolerance is thousanths of an inch, not hardly something you can feel..
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slopehead
Dodge Dakota
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10/06/2004
17:05:52
| RE: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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Message:
the way scott1981 said to do it is ABSOLUTLY WRONG! jack it up remove the tire and see if you can compress the joint by using a large pair of channel locks or other large pliers. Then see if you can pry the joint apart at all using a small pry bar. If the total movement in the joint is MORE then 1/16th of an inch the factory manual says to replace them. Personally I would do it at 1/32 movement.
Shaking the tire back and forth as Scott said is not a recommended way by any joint manufacturer. Also it can show bad wheel bearings or other worn or just plain loose as in ready to fall off suspension parts that are not ball joints.
The recommended tolereance before replacing is .060 or so little less then 1/16 that a normal person cannot see it, not thousands of an inch an amount even a blind man could see, or feel as the case may be.
Pops in the front end while driving and turning while the suspension hits bumps can also indicate a bad steering rack.
Torn boots on the joint is not an indication of a bad joint, only that it "could" be going bad due to water and grit getting into it.
To replace them "rather cheaply yourself and you will never have to worry about them again" would include having the cost of purchase of a large air compressor (over 5hp) and a hand held air hammer and an appropriately sized pickle fork, plus a set of acytylene torches plus the cost of O2 and acytylene gas tank rental, for those of you that do not already have such tools it will cost well over $700 to "do it yourself" I came up with this figure from the latest Sears Tool Catalog. Yeah you could buy a hand held fork and pound on it with a hammer but who wants to do that for however long?
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Scott1981
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
10/06/2004
17:54:16
| RE: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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ok, i stand corrected about moving the tire, but i stand behind the other things i have said. This guy is test driving new trucks, do you think they are going to let him take the truck apart in the parking lot and take a prybar to it? did you also miss the part where he said "quick way to check"? a popping on the front end on dakotas is one of the signs that the balljoints are bad. again i was listing things he could easily do from the cab while taking a test drive. and a torn boot means that water and contaminents have had a chance to get into the joint. i dont care if it has been torn for 10 minutes of 10 thousand miles it still has a greater chance of cuasing problems than one with a new boot.
an air hammer is not needed, a grinder can be used to grind the rivets out so there goes all that costly BS you just listed. Some people would rather take more time than buy costly tools, i have the tools but if i didnt i would sure as hell take the time. If you search around you can find plenty of members that have replaced these joints themselves in 1 day for under 300 bucks.
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ChuhBaca
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
10/07/2004
09:12:45
| RE: Shopping, how do I check ball joints?
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Message:
Hey guys, thanks for all the responses! Sorry, I should have been more clear about it. I was looking for quick signs that the ball joints were bad. I really don't have the right equipment or space to change ball joints myself. Anyways, I drove the truck and I was more impressed with the 5 speed auto than I thought I would be. I decided against it because it didn't have the gearing I want (3.92), I heard a slight droaning noise coming from the drivetrain when I let off of the gas, a slight pop from the front suspension somewhere when I took off quickly, and it pulled to the right. I'll keep looking. Thanks again!
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