Forum Discussion

LMMNOCATS_EFI's avatar
LMMNOCATS_EFI
Explorer
Dec 26, 2017

Ball joint failure

So on Friday I took the truck in for an alignment and once done the tech was back it into a spot and the driver side ball joint snapped so they jacked it up and called me for an ok to replace it so they did .... fender was kinda jacked up from the truck falling on top of it. Worse part the very next day I’m going down the road at about 75 and pop the other side broke but as I said I’m in the carpool lane when this happened and had about as much time as it takes one to check you side mirror to look to my right for other motorist and pick my path ... so the tuck was riding on 325 60 20s and when it broke the tire somenhow stayed upright and I assume is what kept me from spinning around and stopping and being a sitting duck in the middle of the 57 freeway as you all that live out here know how fast plp drive ...’truck stopped maybe half a foot before the wall and no one hurt and only damage done was to my truck and morals


Warning to all I didn’t think these were cheap parts but clearly was wrong ... both sides of the ball joints were replaced 2 months ago and they failed this quickly and some
One could have been killed so just my opinion don’t skimp on these weak links on our trucks ... I could have been towing the hauler and would have been much worse. I have pics but can’t ever get them to load up but if I do I will
Tow Vehicles
  • Huntindog's avatar
    Huntindog
    Explorer
    Jan 08, 2018
    LMMNOCATS_EFI wrote:
    Nope didn’t get it back they totaled it, so now I’m searching for another one but this time will do the 3500HD lil more capacity and 4 years newer with 77k for 30 grand well that’s what they want but I’ll beat em up on that ....


    They totaled it for broken ball joints???:@
  • DirtyOil's avatar
    DirtyOil
    Explorer
    Jan 08, 2018
    BurbMan wrote:
    Moog or Raybestos Pro grade....everything else is JUNK....also be careful about Moog, they now have the new "value line" of cheap Chinese parts that compete on price...avoid Moog parts #'s that start with "C", the top quality Moog parts that we love starts with "K".



    Actually Moog had a run of bad luck with ball joints about 3-3.5 yrs, covering serval vehicle types from "wee" Hondas to our 2500/3500s and larger. Issue was quality of material used in manufacturing. Just as you would find in any thing made now a days... there's a percentage that will be junk.

    OH AND... LONG LIVE THE LIFTED TRUCKS!!! VIVA!!!
  • LMMNOCATS_EFI's avatar
    LMMNOCATS_EFI
    Explorer
    Jan 08, 2018
    Nope didn’t get it back they totaled it, so now I’m searching for another one but this time will do the 3500HD lil more capacity and 4 years newer with 77k for 30 grand well that’s what they want but I’ll beat em up on that ....
  • mat60's avatar
    mat60
    Explorer
    Jan 03, 2018
    Just wondering if you got your truck fixed..I don't have a lift kit but I have two sets of tires..One set of 245,s that I will be using when towing and the other set is 285,s that I feel look good on my truck. They are harder on the truck.. I just brought my TT home with the 285,s on and even though I aired them up there is a lot of sidewall flex and on the hills my motor had to work much harder using them.
  • BurbMan's avatar
    BurbMan
    Explorer II
    Dec 27, 2017
    Moog or Raybestos Pro grade....everything else is JUNK....also be careful about Moog, they now have the new "value line" of cheap Chinese parts that compete on price...avoid Moog parts #'s that start with "C", the top quality Moog parts that we love starts with "K".
  • LMMNOCATS_EFI's avatar
    LMMNOCATS_EFI
    Explorer
    Dec 27, 2017
    Edd505 there are engineers that designed the spindle as well to work with the correct parts , it was simply my fault for not installing them ... had I had the HD joints I should have this would have never happened. Soon as possible ill post some pics of the cheapos
  • LMMNOCATS_EFI's avatar
    LMMNOCATS_EFI
    Explorer
    Dec 27, 2017
    The truck in question is an 08 LMM Ex Cab LB 350k plus on the clock and the joints before we installed them looked ok to me and my friend that was there to help who has him self built several 14 and 1 class off road cars and all he said is that they were cheap but nothing more then that .....The shop Big O tire did a great job when the first one broke when the tech was reversing the truck into a spot to park for me to pick up , it was just plain and simple a cheap or all cheap parts so never again and the metal looks just like brand new metal after it beaks ? Not sure how else to describe it ... didnt see any pop metal type look so just looked like cheap metal that broke from china go figure .....ts materiel no one was hurt and thanks for the concern she will be fixed and or both ill be in another .
  • Grit_dog's avatar
    Grit_dog
    Navigator
    Dec 27, 2017
    jerem0621 wrote:
    mich800 wrote:
    Grit dog wrote:

    I try to learn from others and in this case I want to know who's parts NOT to put on my truck when I do BJs in the near future.


    Might want to say that aloud and make some edits. :D


    Context is everything. Thanks for taking this thread...there!

    Lol

    Jeremiah


    Hahaha, I said DO, not GIVE!
    Okay... What kind of ball joints are they?
  • Edd505's avatar
    Edd505
    Explorer
    Dec 27, 2017
    The manufactures pay engineers to design the vehicle, they have to be done right or they get sued. Why would anyone jackup a rig and defeat all the engineering? now you changed the center of gravity, load on other parts the were not designed to take, etc etc.
  • Acampingwewillg's avatar
    Acampingwewillg
    Explorer II
    Dec 27, 2017
    Just to add to the conversation, I have a stock '96 Dodge 1 ton Dually I bought new and it currently has 26,000 miles on it(yes you read that right, 26,000 original miles). A couple year's ago, I get this severe wobble on the front end thinking its that dreaded "death wobble"....long story short, my driver side spindle was shot. Thank God I found this out before running down the freeway at 70mph and losing the wheel. I played hell trying to get a replacement spindle for it....anyways its not always modifications or harsh use, sometimes it just dumb luck.

    Oh, truck has never been used for anything but home improvement projects, I ended up with a motorhome.

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