BALL JOINTS AGAIN...WATCH THEM

jsstover · **Posted:** Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:31 am

Spoke with DC and they will be picking up the repair costs. And per you recommendation I also opened a case with the NHTSA. Thank you for all of the good info!

lilmatty · **Posted:** Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:35 am

Adam: Did you happen to get the total hit count for this for all model years. I did this back in October and it was stunning. Am wondering what it has grown to.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:54 am

No. I just went as far as what you see here (cut & pasted above). Mine were replaced last Fall.

Where is the total hit count?

Maybe I'll go in and log my complaint again just to be sure. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I filed a complaint after the second time I had issues.

lilmatty · **Posted:** Mon Apr 03, 2006 12:02 pm

I recall having to count each search return for each year.

winkelhawk · **Posted:** Mon Apr 03, 2006 4:53 pm

I am supposed to get my truck back tomorrow, I'll post a complaint tomorrow night. I agree with Adam completely, everyone needs to make a big deal about this issue even if their LBJ's were replaced under recall. It is proven that they can still fail. I am going to replace these with MOOG parts next month, I just don't trust them at all. Also, don't let the dealer deny this work because the truck is lifted. I heard the Chrysler rep say all recall work is covered under a lifetime warranty, I just wish I got his name.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Tue Apr 04, 2006 8:12 am

Briefly, can someone tell me, are the moogs a drop in replacement? Is Jeepin Al the best source? Cost?

Winkelhawk, I'm thinking we should both get them and have my mechanic in Huntington Station install them. He'll likely get good and faster if he does more than one. Steve Gerhard (Garhard's) on Jericho Tpk just east of Rt 110. What do you think?

lilmatty · **Posted:** Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:29 am

I found Al had the best price for the Moogs. And we should support Al anyhow.

They were a drop in. Not a bad job really. About 25% on the cuss scale. Ted (USAFCop) has an excellent write up on the job elsewhere in this forum.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:33 am

great. thanks. Yes, I'm all for supporting Al and all he does. I sent him an email.

I did a quick Google on them and check this out, Amazon has 3 on hand for 57.18 each. I don't know if these are hard to come by. I'll post this to Al in case he needs to get his hands on more.

Link is http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C5 ... n=15684181

winkelhawk · **Posted:** Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:12 pm

That sounds like it could be a possibilty Adam. I was going to do it my self, but I have to see how much the ball joint tools are going to cost. Let me know how much he is going to charge when you talk to him.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Wed Apr 05, 2006 5:21 pm

he's gonna call me in the morning with a price.

He said he didn't think the Moogs were much better, FWIW. I still like the idea of grease fittings.

Can you actually change the grease? Maybe if you over fill it?

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:40 am

Steve Gerhard (Garhard's 631-271-7744 on Jericho Tpk, just east of Rt 110) said he'd install them for $290 per set with me supplying the parts. Normally, he does NOT let customers supply parts unless they're specialty parts like a lift kit. But he said the best price he could get on the Moogs from his local supplier was $90 each. So I told him to make whatever profit he'd like to make (ie, to make up for him not getting a few bucks on the part) and come up with a price.

So like I said, a few hours labor comes up to $290+tax.

I'll wait a little while before doing mine but I will keep a very close eye on them. Since these only have 9k on them after the last replacement, I figure I've got time before I spend $400 on this fix. Who knows, maybe by then DCX will actually MAKE a better part.

One last thing to keep in mind is that if there is a part failure or crash resulting from the LBJ and we've got a Moog in there, DCX will certainly be able to wash their hands of any responsiblility. Not that I want to get to that point. But it's just a thought.

winkelhawk · **Posted:** Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:55 pm

I think I am going to have to wait abit to do it. The truck is back in the shop for more problems because of the ball joint. I picked it up last Wednesday and the ABS light came on the next afternoon, it now pulls to the left, the washer fluid tank doesn't hold fluid, and they did not replace the wheel that was damaged. The Chrysler rep said that it is an aftermarket wheel and they will not cover it. Weird thing is...I bought the factory Mopar chromeplated wheels from the dealer when I bought the truck new. So I think I am going to have a little battle about that.

aMiLL · **Posted:** Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:15 pm

i just had mine replaced i first went in complaining that my jeep was pulling to the right and a week after the appointment i noticed it really hadnt changed so eventually i went back to fix the alignment problem which turned out to be bad balljoints

Guyute1210 · **Posted:** Tue Apr 18, 2006 12:54 pm

aMiLL wrote:

i just had mine replaced i first went in complaining that my jeep was pulling to the right and a week after the appointment i noticed it really hadnt changed so eventually i went back to fix the alignment problem which turned out to be bad balljoints

Make sure you report you ball joint replacements to the NTSB.

Pablo · **Joined:** Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:06 pm **Posts:** 1201

I went to the stealership to get my tranny looked at. As I looked at the service advisors desk I saw a work order sitting there-- here was the description:

"Customer complained that left front wheel came off of the vehicle while backing out of driveway causing serious vehicle damage. Vehicle towed." Cause: Lower Front ball-joint failure.

While talking to the tech-- he stated they had two Liberty's in for that at the moment. And one Liberty in for the dreaded front differential "grenade" while 4-wheeling.

:shock:

DC certainly knows about the problems-- they are getting the warranty and service claims in left and right. To cheap to pay the cost or they would have recalled these things already. It can't be much cheaper to keep putting crap parts on there. I am thinking they know that the design is faulty and can't be fixed without spending alot of cash. I can't beleive they have the guts to rerelease this KJ platform as a Dodge without addressing the ball joint issue. Especially after what happened to Ford with the Explorer and the Firestone tires. This has to be as dangerous. I say stick it to them and teach them to not let accountants override engineers/customers to save $50.

bh120 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:38 pm

Just got home from the dealership. The service advisor told me my 2003 Liberty was UNSAFE TO DRIVE!!!! And was told I REALLY should not drive it!! :shock:

I was at my local dealer for the "free oil change for life(customer pays for the filter though)" and the technician checked the front end. When he pulled on my pass side front wheel he was suprised to see the front passenger side ball joint was B A D! ! ! The driver side was bad too, but he wrote on the service slip "NOT SAFE TO DRIVE" because of the passenger side. I was told all it would have taken, would have been a good sized pothole or bump to pop the wheel out!!!!

The service advisor broke the news to me and told me that DC hasn't even set up a protocol for the recall yet. That DC only sent out an advisory to the dealerships that there WILL be a recall. Recall is supposedly scheduled for LATE September!!

I had to leave my Liberty at the dealership. The service manager has to contact DC on Monday morning to find out what they should do. Will DC FedEx them the new balljoints ASAP since the vehicle is down? Will they authorize aftermarket parts in the interim? Or will my vehicle be layed up for weeks????

I'm just thankfull that the technician checked the front end today. I usually drive the Liberty when I go out with my wife and 2 small childen!!! (The baby is just over 2 months old!!!!)

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Sat Aug 12, 2006 10:11 pm

At the very least, they should replace them with what they have on hand until they're all set up for the recall in a few months.

Which dealership do you use? I'm originally from Spring Valley.

stuntz · **Joined:** Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:12 pm **Posts:** 4

I was just told today that I have some serious deterioration in my upper ball joints. I have a 2002 Lib with 60k and I already had the lower ball joints replaced under the infamous recall. I was under the impression that the lower ball joints were the only problem that was under recall. I had the same steering wheel vibrations and thought it was an alignment issue. The alignment shop gave the grim news.
Does anyone have experience with the upper ball joints that could pass a little guidance my way?

Thanks

stuntz · **Joined:** Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:12 pm **Posts:** 4

I was also told by a non-dealer mechanic that the upper ball joint can't be replaced independently. Instead, it is part of the upper A-arm and the entire A-arms must be replaced.

stuntz · **Joined:** Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:12 pm **Posts:** 4

Well I just got off the phone with Chrysler and they said that the new ball joint recall will go out this September (probably early in the month). They couldn't tell me if it was strictly for the lowers because my uppers are shot. They said all the information they have states it’s a recall for "BALL JOINTS."

Stuntz

BALL JOINTS AGAIN...WATCH THEM

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