BALL JOINT RECALL, WE DID IT!!!!

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 11:23 am

MoladoGuy wrote:

I feel confident that Chrysler will continue building the newly manufactured ball joints, and disperse those as needed for service vehicles.

Do you know if the part number gets printed on it somewhere that we'd be able to see?

I know DC would make an effort to do things right, but I can see an individual dealership saying "oh, we still have some new ball joints leftover in the stockroom, lets use those up first" or something equally lame.

I thought that happened sometimes with some less-critical parts when small things like door lock tips and trim pieces changed in a model year. That when they change out a part, the factory just keeps using the old ones until they run out. Then again, I suppose with the publicity this recall is getting, they will confiscate all the ball joints they can find to make sure they don't end up in the wild.

MP Jeeper · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 11:51 am

i'm one of those who wrote a letter and what do ya' know. . . . tha' thing works! i had already ordered Moogs for replacement when my LBJ failed (causing other damage). :evil:

So i had the boys at NAPA install the Moogs and wrote a letter to DC explaining the situation and requesting reimbursement. i just recieved a check from DC for the parts & labor on the LBJ's. Ironically, the check arrived same day as the recall hit the news! :shock:

For those who haven't yet replaced your LBJ's GET IT DONE! ! ! i was going 5mph when mine failed & it destroyed the fog lamp, bracket & put a nice dent in the fender. :cry:

DC won't pay for this as those parts aren't warrantied items (even though a failed warranty item caused the damage!). Imagine what would happen at 70mph or descending a rough slope! ! ! Not good.

Thanx to all others who wrote in. It's good to know that DC finally caved in on this one.

God Bless,

MoladoGuy · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 1:17 pm

MP Jeeper wrote:

i'm one of those who wrote a letter and what do ya' know. . . . tha' thing works! i had already ordered Moogs for replacement when my LBJ failed (causing other damage). :evil:

So i had the boys at NAPA install the Moogs and wrote a letter to DC explaining the situation and requesting reimbursement. i just recieved a check from DC for the parts & labor on the LBJ's. Ironically, the check arrived same day as the recall hit the news! :shock:

They paid for the Moogs and installation!! I want Moogs (greasable)!!

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:16 pm

if your skeptical that your dealership changes them. mark the with sharpie ad take pic or somethig.. just put x on them.. do like that news reporter did and mark on it and see if they replace them or not.. if they dont replace them.. first thing i would do is call a MAJOR news station.. then get ready for my brand new jeep cause i would sue

nyrican52884 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 3:22 pm

The dealership told me that if I take in my KJ with a lift the "technician" would take a look and decide if it was caused by the lift kit or the recall. I haven't put my lift kit on yet but if I don't do it next week then the next chance I will have to do it is winter break because I start a new semester at school. Who thinks I should put the lift on and then deal with the dealership later??

SavageUrge · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:34 pm

I just called my dealer and the service manger told me that there is nothing that they can do as of yet, because Chrysler usually starts the recall by spreading word via the media . He told me he has not received any information regarding the recall and that I would have to wait UP TO 2 MONTHS until I receive a notice from Chrysler/Jeep stating that my vehicle was one affected by the recall! I couldn't believe it! How can Chrysler make a press statement prior to informing the dealerships, then not expect a flood of calls and angry customers when they find out their dealer hasn't a clue? So now I have to wait until I receive a notice because they refused to do anything until I get it in the mail, or else they'd have to charge me full service price regardless if it is warranty work or not. :evil:

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:43 pm

nyrican52884 wrote:

The dealership told me that if I take in my KJ with a lift the "technician" would take a look and decide if it was caused by the lift kit or the recall. I haven't put my lift kit on yet but if I don't do it next week then the next chance I will have to do it is winter break because I start a new semester at school. Who thinks I should put the lift on and then deal with the dealership later??

What do you mean by "it" in the "if it was caused by the lift"? The ball joint is a recall, which means that DC has acknowledged that the part is not up to the required standards and are replacing it with a newly designed one. Even if there is nothing "wrong" with the ball joint, they still have to replace it. If your dealership refuses to perform a RECALL they will have some serious explaining to do when DC finds out.

If it's not ball joint related, though, you're right - the dealership has the right to determine if whatever problem you brought the jeep in for was caused by the lift. In my case, the torn CV boot really was caused by the lift, so they couldn't cover it. Some people have had better luck with that, but the bottom line is, if I hadn't lifted it, it wouldn't have torn, so they really shouldn't have to pay for it.

Now, if you get the new ball joints in for the recall and THEN they fail, DC can say "well, we did the recall, but the lift wore out the new balljoints, too". I wouldn't really buy that, but technically the lift is changing the angles, so the BJs are operating differently than they would on a stock vehicle.

2006KJSPORT4x4 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:46 pm

With my '06 we had the tranny recall earlier this year....I never received a notice about the recall and checked my VIN# at the jeep.com site and saw that the notice was there...I then proceeded to e-mail Jeep for a letter or something I could take to my dealer and then have the work done. Maybe if we start checking our VINs right when September hits at jeep.com and it shows the recall notice we'll all e-kmail them and have them e-mail us back a letter stating we are cleared to make an appointment with the dealer...pretty much what i did when I heard about the tranny recall....my .02

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:47 pm

SavageUrge wrote:

I just called my dealer and the service manger told me that there is nothing that they can do as of yet, because Chrysler usually starts the recall by spreading word via the media . He told me he has not received any information regarding the recall and that I would have to wait UP TO 2 MONTHS until I receive a notice from Chrysler/Jeep stating that my vehicle was one affected by the recall! I couldn't believe it! How can Chrysler make a press statement prior to informing the dealerships, then not expect a flood of calls and angry customers when they find out their dealer hasn't a clue? So now I have to wait until I receive a notice because they refused to do anything until I get it in the mail, or else they'd have to charge me full service price regardless if it is warranty work or not. :evil:

Do you have a problem with your ball joints? If there's no problem, just keep an eye on them and wait it out. DC has a LOT of work cut out for them if they are going to replace the balljoints on every Liberty produced from 2002 all the way up to March of 2006. I'd cut them a little bit of slack in the early stages. The 2 months is pretty much stated. All the articles about the problem pretty much state right out that the recall will be issued in September. Things like that take awhile, and I for one don't want to rush them into forgetting something.

Why not Ask Dr Z? (HAHAHAHA)

Bluesman001 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 5:49 pm

shadow wrote:

I'd be willing to crawl around and take some pictures but I am not entirely clear of what I need to take pictures of... :roll:

Someone send me a PM with some instructions and I'll see what I can do!

Since mine is a used Libby, I will probably not get a recall notice. I'll just have to make some calls.

Someone please post a pic with like a dummy proof arrow or circle showing the part, so I can mark the LBJs like ya'll suggested. Also, does anyone know if there is a brand name or some way to identify the part - pre-replacement?

Thanks

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 5:56 pm

I thought DC has it bad, just look what ford has gotten into.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinside ... 307765.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14166291/

:shock:

2006KJSPORT4x4 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:05 pm

It's funny that the first link is dates Sept 2005 and then the 2nd link is dated today....man those wheels turned slowly...must of been some faulty Firestones in there somewhere??

jpzkj · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 9:33 pm

Dont know if anyone has suggested this yet but.....

Now is the time to go get your MOOGS on. When you recieve the recall notice...go in and give them the reciept for reimbursment.

Get your moogs for free and be done w/ it.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 9:52 pm

RockyMtEditionKJ wrote:

It's funny that the first link is dates Sept 2005 and then the 2nd link is dated today....man those wheels turned slowly...must of been some faulty Firestones in there somewhere??

Thats the bad part, those are two different recalls!! :shock:

So thats 6.2 million vehicles total!!

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Thu Aug 03, 2006 11:00 pm

jpzkj wrote:

Dont know if anyone has suggested this yet but.....

Now is the time to go get your MOOGS on. When you recieve the recall notice...go in and give them the reciept for reimbursment.

Get your moogs for free and be done w/ it.

I was thinking the same thing. Hmmm

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Fri Aug 04, 2006 1:51 am

Are Moogs lifetime warranty?

corwyyn · **Posted:** Fri Aug 04, 2006 3:41 am

Bluesman001 wrote:

Someone please post a pic with like a dummy proof arrow or circle showing the part, so I can mark the LBJs like ya'll suggested. Also, does anyone know if there is a brand name or some way to identify the part - pre-replacement?

Thanks

Heres a pic:

The yellow highlighted item is the ball joint. It is pressed into the back side of the steering knuckle, then gets bolted into the lower control arm. The heat shield should be present if your KJ went thru the previous recall. As to brand name, I don't know but if someone has one of theirs left after replacing with Moogs then maybe they can post up some info that should be unique enough to identify if they have been replaced (brand name, manufacturers logo, etc.). I think I may put some nice florescent paint on the tops before I take mine in as a marker

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:48 am

Great pic.

Do all new KJ's come with that heat shield or is that just a fix on our older models?

alljeep · **Posted:** Fri Aug 04, 2006 8:56 am

AdamIsAdam wrote:

Great pic.

Do all new KJ's come with that heat shield or is that just a fix on our older models?

That "heat shield" is on my '05 CRD.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Fri Aug 04, 2006 9:04 am

Is it possible that the heat shield is the "redesign" that the recall refers to?

BALL JOINT RECALL, WE DID IT!!!!

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