Ball Joints

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OlDirtyJohn

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I need some new ones.

As some of you may or may not know, 3/4 and 1 ton trucks that are 2wd have independent front suspension that is very similar to that of a 1/2 ton. so when i leveled my truck, i used coil spacers. the lift placed my upper ball joints at a terrible angle.

controlarm170.jpg

due to this horrible angle, i have been through 2 new sets of ball joints. and also, as you know, dodge in all of their infinite wisdom made the upper ball joints permanently mounted into the upper control arm. so a new set of ball joints requires a whole new control arm. this requires entirely too much money to keep replacing.

the ball joints are at such a bad angle, with so much stress being placed onto them, that i am afraid of them snapping, and me getting into a horrible accident. also, the squeaking, grinding and clunking that i hear every time i go over a bump or make a turn is horrible.

so, after many hours of searching for a relatively cheap/easy remedy, i have come up with these.

X2-CAR-DOD-02-2T.jpg

Lifted Upper Control ArmsShip Raw unless upgraded to Powdercoat

these are upper control arms with ball joints that are mounted at an angle in order to accommodate for the lift, and bring the ball joint back to an acceptable angle.

hopefully i will be ordering these this week. i will let you guys know how they work out. i am using these in lieu of taking the level off which would look funny. or getting some lift spindles, which would be the ideal way to go, but for a 3/4 ton they are close to a grand, then i would have to get either new wheels or wheel spacers.
 

quietpeen

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nice find. Hopefully they work out for you
 
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OlDirtyJohn

OlDirtyJohn

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if i wasnt leaving so soon i might have gone with this setup. with lift coils and spindles.

Sell Adjustable Only Xtrm Up/Low See LineShip Raw unless upgraded to Powdercoat

but, i only have a month left till the truck is in storage. and i got offered $10k for it today from a buddy of mine. that might be a nice chunk of change to collect interest for 3 years and turn in to a nice down payment on a CTD 3500.
 

bigbadram1500

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Interesting. Hope they work out well for you. I'm going to have to replace my joints sometime early next year.
 
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OlDirtyJohn

OlDirtyJohn

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gave them a call this morning, and ordered the part. they even gave me a military discount.

turns out all of their stuff is fabricated upon order. so i should expect them in 5 days or so. cant wait.
 

ramhunter9

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Sell the truck , bank ... hello CTD ... you always talked about getting a CTD ... make that a home coming gift
 
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OlDirtyJohn

OlDirtyJohn

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all i have to say is: Independent front suspension........never again. not once, not never. too many god damned headaches, especially when on an HD truck.
 
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OlDirtyJohn

OlDirtyJohn

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GOT MY UPPER CONTROL ARMS DELIVERED TODAY!!! woo hoo. and i must say... holy **** these things are HEAVY DUTY. airbagit.com, i am fully impressed with the quality of these parts. i recommend those guys to everybody. great service, great parts.

i got them in bare metal, didnt want to pay extra for powder coating. gonna paint them up before install. on to some pics.

IMAG0324.jpg

IMAG0325.jpg

IMAG0326.jpg

IMAG0327.jpg

IMAG0328.jpg

hopefully ill have some time this weekend to install and align.
 

Oefootball_70

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That's funny, well not funny, but I know they have a really bad rep in the Heavy duty truck world for their poor craftsmanship with lowering kits. Hopefully these are a different story.
 
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OlDirtyJohn

OlDirtyJohn

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update on this project. they realized that they sent me a-arms for a 2nd gen. so they called me up, explained to me the situation, and had a prepaid UPS label in my email inbox all ready to go.

i slapped the label on their box and shipped it back. within a couple days i had my NEW new a-arms. this time for a 3rd gen, and with FREE POWDER COATING.

IMAG0345.jpg

now, airbagit did make a mistake. but they caught it, informed me, and did the right thing in the way they handled the situation. great customer service the whole time. i will not hesitate to use them again in the future. on my way out the door right now to install. was out of town for a while and didnt have a chance. more pics to follow, and the low down on how they work out.
 

ramin44s

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update on this project. they realized that they sent me a-arms for a 2nd gen. so they called me up, explained to me the situation, and had a prepaid UPS label in my email inbox all ready to go.

i slapped the label on their box and shipped it back. within a couple days i had my NEW new a-arms. this time for a 3rd gen, and with FREE POWDER COATING.

IMAG0345.jpg

now, airbagit did make a mistake. but they caught it, informed me, and did the right thing in the way they handled the situation. great customer service the whole time. i will not hesitate to use them again in the future. on my way out the door right now to install. was out of town for a while and didnt have a chance. more pics to follow, and the low down on how they work out.

thats good they hooked you up and took care of the situation, they look good to me, i wonder if they make some for my truck... gunna have to check into that
 
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OlDirtyJohn

OlDirtyJohn

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damn OE, think you jinxed me.

went to install today. everything was going perfectly.... then went to attach the ball joint to the spindle, ball joint is too long. ugh. took some pics, then took some measurements of both oem and airbagit parts. yup, these joints are 1/4" too long. give them a call, and shoot them an email with the pics and measurements. ill know monday morning what they are gonna do. most likely just send me the correct ball joints. they better hurry up though, i wont have my tools come Nov 9, they will all be on a ship on their way to japan.
 
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OlDirtyJohn

OlDirtyJohn

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this is showing that the ball joint shaft is too long. the nut was tightened down all the way, and there is still a gap.

IMAG0350.jpg

other than this problem though, the arms themselves fit great.
 

badfish888

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ODJ, ltiile off topic, but i looked at you DIY on another forum, and im gunna get the upper whole assembly, but ive never looked into the lowers, i can only find the ball joints, not a lower arm assembly. but its not clear how they come off........are they pressed in? or riveted? thanks bud
 
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