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20:34:07 - 05/05/2024
General Dakota Board
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daknblk
GenIII
 
6/30/2004
22:40:22
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 Subject: Is this bad? (ball joint)
IP: Logged
Message:
So, I'm driving home from work the other day, and I start hearing this little "squeak, squeak, squeak" coming from the front end over ever little bump. Since I'm already half way home (on a big three-mile commute) I kept going. By the time I backed into my driveway, it was sounding pretty bad. Took a look over on the passenger side and found this...
Don't know if you can make it out in the photo, but the boot is actually split open about for about 3/4" to 1". That's so I can grease it...right? lol!
Well, if it weren't still onder warranty (only 4800 miles so far), I'd be on rockauto.com right now, but I guess that its another trip back to the dealer...
(already replaced cat at 4600 miles)
Guess my Dak was made on a Monday morning.
Actually, I know it says when on the door, I'll have to check in the morning.
John
03cc w/ 3.9 V6
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daffydak
GenIII
7/01/2004
00:41:30
| RE: Is this bad? (ball joint)
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Message:
yuk!! that looks pretty bad! i use a grease injector needle , on my 00 cc 4x4 4.7L. i have the extended warranty (good for another 3yrs/30K miles) so maybe i shouldnt grease them... i didnt think of that, until after the fact. now with my "maintiance" of the balljoints, they will likely outlast the warranty and then crap out!! thats my kind of luck :-)
Dan
MOPAR=More Power!!
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daknblk
GenIII
7/01/2004
11:05:58
| RE: Is this bad? (ball joint)
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Message:
Yeah, its bad alright! I didn't get a chance to actually pull the wheel off and see how bad the joint was... if there was any significant "looseness" or play there. It sure started sounding awful out of nowhere, it the course of a couple miles it went from a little intermittent squeak to a major groan with every bump & turn. I don't know how long the boot's been like that, don't know if I would have noticed it. Never really looked at them since I knew that there weren't any grease fittings on there. Although, I had heard of the needle trick and was considering trying that out... I think that I'll wait for the warranty to run out though. Like you said, Dan, its a catch 22.
Anyhow, the next day I (carefully) drove it over to the dealer, which is around the corner from my office so it wasn't a long drive, to make an appointment to get it fixed (it's there right now, probably just sitting on the lot- waiting).
I explainted the problem to them, and told them that I was going to try to get a little grease in there just to get me by for the next day or so since its my daily driver. Guy says "Ummm, I don't think there's a grease fitting on them". I tell him "I KNOW there's no grease fitting, but there IS an inch long split in the boot (which i JUST explained to him) don't think I'll have any problem getting the grease in there!". Still don't think he got it. That's why I took pics.
Joke WAS on me though, I didn't have the proper fitting on my grease gun, and the boot's all twisted and bunched up. I had a hell of a time trying to grease it and stop that damn groaning.
You know, I can just hear the mechanic now, "Hey guys, look at this, the idiot cut the boot open to grease it!"
ARGGGGHHHHH!
Sorry for the long post. No one reads these members boards anyway, right? lol.
John
03cc w/ 3.9 V6
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daknblk
GenIII
7/01/2004
11:17:26
| RE: Is this bad? (ball joint)
IP: Logged
Message:
BTW Dan... you've got mail (re: throttle body).
I have to start another TB post on the open board...
John
03cc w/ 3.9 V6
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Kowalski
GenIII
7/05/2004
11:37:48
| RE: Is this bad? (ball joint)
IP: Logged
Message:
While a torn boot will lose grease and lead to failure, I don't think putting grease in the boot does much if anything to get grease into the joint. Once grease is pushed out of the joint under pressure in normal use, there's no pressure in the surrounding grease to force it back into the joint. It might not be so much that the mechanic didn't get it but rather that many mechanics don't believe that does any good. I think it mostly just makes people feel like they are doing something when the real solution is a greasable joint.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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daknblk
GenIII
7/05/2004
21:39:15
| RE: Is this bad? (ball joint)
IP: Logged
Message:
Yeah, it made me feel like I was doing something at least. Damn it sounded awful!
Anyway, got a brand new passenger side upper ball joint now. Oddly enough, they ended up drilling out the rivets and bolting the new one on to the existing upper control arm. Tech guy said that DC won't let them replace the whole assembly anymore (it was getting too expensive I guess). Of course if it wasn't still under warranty they'd probably tell me that they HAVE to replace the whole assembly!
John
03cc w/ 3.9 V6
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Blckdak
GenIII
10/31/2005
18:31:18
| RE: Is this bad? (ball joint)
IP: Logged
Message:
If they replace the upper control arm, they then have to do an alignment and that cost's the shop MONEY! Either way though it got fixed!
Erin
2000 CC 4x4 Sport
Magnaflow Exhaust, Z-Tube, Runnin AMSOIL
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