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V8 Dakotas
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magdakota
Dodge Dakota
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10/27/2004
21:57:55
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 Subject: RE: Ball joints failed on an 04!
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I have heard about the balljoint issue with the 4x4 Daks and I have listened to the news organizations and individuals point fingers and try and blame anyone who looks guilty for this problem...no one remembers that GM used this exact same balljoint design when they redesigned their truck line back in '88-'89....the failure rate of this balljoint design for GM then{I cannot remember how many of those things I replaced in my shop},was higher than the failure rate for the Dakota now....DC's vendor must have had some of these left over and finally found a place to dump them....the reason no one remembers this or never heard of it...who knows{I am not opening that can of worms}
Bearings need clearance for a lubricating property to protect the "wear surfaces"...."teflon" is not really a lubricant, but more of a non-stick coating or additive...the thought being that over time as the lubricant gets hammered out {or washed out from water/salt contamination} that it will require very little lube to satisfy the needs of a teflon impregnated "bearing" in the balljoint.....depending on whether you have a loaded upper or a loaded lower balljoint{ which one carries the spring load/vehicle weight} depends on which balljoint is made heavier duty than the follower....the follower is the one that the vendors figured they could manufacture cheaper by using the teflon impregnated bearing but they missed the main point that causes the failure....the follower requires almost 360 degrees of bearing surface because of the abuse that it is subjected to where the loaded balljoint carries most of it's load on only 180 degrees of bearing surface...gee I wonder who missed that little detail.....again?
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Slats518
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
11/02/2004
10:39:46
|  RE: Ball joints failed on an 04!
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Message:
I'm no mechanical engineer like DSW or Whip, but, there HAS to be some type of problem with these ball joints.
I have a 1997 Dakota Sport 4x4 clubcab 318. My Dak just failed state inspection because of the ball joints. This will be the seventh set. They were replaced previously as follows:
12,273 miles - lower ball joints
27,603 miles - lower ball joints
36,222 miles - lower ball joints
67,443 miles - lower & upper
104,662 miles - lower & upper
137,284 miles - lower ball joints
(Now) 173,356 miles - lower & upper
The first 3 times were covered under extended warranties. Between the 5th & 6th times it cost me over $2000.00 at the dealer. This time I've ordered the Moogs and will have them replaced at a suspension shop.
90 percent of my driving is done on the highway bewteen 65 and 75 mph. The other 10 percent is city driving. I average approximately 105 miles everyday to and from work. I have the truck serviced regularly, either at the dealer or a local garage.
I challenge anyone to find something that I've done (or not done) that would cause this type of wear on ball joints. My only mistake is keeping the truck this long.
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dERF
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
11/02/2004
22:01:48
|  RE: Ball joints failed on an 04!
IP: Logged
Message:
Hmmm, you have 173,xxx on yer Dak and you use it everyday. Your daily driver. If I may make an observation: The only mistake I see was that you didn't replace the balljoints with Moog balljoints at 67,433 miles. A bigger mistake would be buying a GM or Ford.
That is all
dERF
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