rebal

alot of the parts we buy now days are junk ..even if you buy good brand name parts. I have had ball joints fail after 1 year, I do all my own work so I know it was installed right. with that said .Is your front axle stuck in 4x4? sounds like the front end is under a lot of strain or I would really examin the install real close . for damage at install. what ever the case its not normal

bjdiesel

I have been reading alot on this and this thread brings up a few questions for me how do you check to see if the front end is locked in FWD(mine binds when turning after I lock the t-case into 4WD but seems to go ok when shifted in to 2wd) and when I look at the front of my truck the passanger tire sticks out farther than the drivers tire(in relation to the body lines) I measured from the spring to the ouside of the tires and found the the top of the drivers side tire is in about a half inch more than the pass. side? I have a 2002 2500 auto. any input would be helpful thanks

AlpineRAM

If I recall it correctly the 2002 has no CAD- but if you notice a major difference between 4H and 2H in tight turns it should be disconnecting the front driveline.

The pass. Side stricking out more can have 2 reasons- either the track bar and spring geometry stuff, or, more likely a spacer behind the pass. side wheel- this spacer was installed by Dodge to remedy a brake pull problem.

HTH

AlpineRAM

Joe Diesel

No the 4x4 isnt stuck i take it in & out of 4x4 with no problem.

I bring my truck to a friend thats a mechanic & we do the work together so I know it was done properly. But I never though of the parts being crap good point. I'm hoping the warrenty parts come in soon so i can resolve this.

nice list of rigs you have there

Joe Diesel

k heres the lastest. Spicer wont warrenty them so I'm to square one. So the questions are:
(I though Spicer were the best) So do I stick with them or another brand, suggestions?
Do I stick with the greasable U-Joints or go back to non-greasable?
Do I stick with the adjustable Ball Joints that corrected my front tire wear or go bad to stock?

Cost doesnt matter at this point I just want it fixed right and not do this again in 50K

Joe Diesel

K now the 4wd light on the dash isnt working when 4x4 is engauged, now what ?

J OOPS

I had a farmer come to my shop that was having to cross a river all the time to get to his property on the other side. He was having to replace his wheel brgs every 6months and all the tie rods, ball joints and u-joints once a year. I replaced his bad parts and used Lucas grease (water resistant) also sold him a tube of Lucas grease. He has never had to replace any of the parts since. Since that episode I've done the same with other people who have the same problem. I've seen trucks that drive on the highway only and have the same problems you have described. I took the u-joints apart, and all rusty. Sawed the ball joints in two, all rusty. Sawed the tie-rod in two, all rusty. I think its a combo of water and salt on the roads. Since replacing these parts and using Lucas grease (water resistant) I've never had a customer come back as long as they used water resistan grease.

metalmellinium

Change your front axle. If you talk to any truck owner that has a smaller front axle that happens all the time. You need a 1 ton front axle to hold up.

Joe Diesel

thanks for that info J Oops, sounds like that would cause them to fail, they salt heavy up here in winter. I do have to check what kinda grease I'm using. Guess I'll see when I remove them & send them to splicer.

I did decide on the greaseable U-Joints & stock ball Joints hopefully they should be in next week.