2010 Ram 1500 Lower Ball Joint Spins In Control Arm.

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jws123

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2010 Ram 1500 5.7 4x4 I bought this truck as a project a while back rebuilt motor ect it was used and abused previous owner ran it into the ground basically. It has been a royal pain in my ****!! one thing after another had a front end clunk/noise when driving/turning. I finally found out the pass side lower ball joint Is spinning inside the lower control arm where it presses in even with a new ball joint it just spins/flops around it wore away the metal. Does anyone have any suggestions should I try to weld it in? its aluminum so not sure if it would work I really don't want to replace the whole control arm because I know every bolt is going to snap very rusty just trying to see if anyone had any suggestions before I just sell it as is.
 

Yardbird

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Go to junk yard and get a complete lower control off a lower mile truck, bolts and all, and replace the old one, after installing the new ball joint in the J/Y arm.
 

pacofortacos

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^^^^ this.

Also look on car-part.com if you don't have any near you.
 

crazykid1994

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Without welding the hole completely around and having it bored back to size there’s no luck. You would need to remove it to do that anyways. It is a 2010 so you can still buy replacement lower control arms. Go on rock auto. It’s your best bet.
 
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jws123

jws123

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Really didnt wanna change it all cause I am over this truck but the junk yard wanted $150 for a used arm... :laughing1:. I ordered cheapest one possible on rockauto for $130 I guess il just tell whoever buys the truck they need to get a alignment il try to mark it so its close I guess.
 

hemihustlin

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Really didnt wanna change it all cause I am over this truck but the junk yard wanted $150 for a used arm... :laughing1:. I ordered cheapest one possible on rockauto for $130 I guess il just tell whoever buys the truck they need to get a alignment il try to mark it so its close I guess.
take a picture and/or mark the alignment of the cam bolts on the lower control arm and put them back in the same position with the new control arm and you just saved an alignment, assuming it was good before
 

jettrink

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Morning jws123,
I had a similar problem with my 2005 Ram 3500, single wheel. Popping in the front end when turning. As I was backing out of the drive to go have the tires rotated and have the noise checked. The right front lower ball joint failed and dropped the front end on the ground. It only separated on the bottom leaving the truck in the street with the right front tire/wheel partially laying down. Long and short of it for me, I had it towed to the tire and wheel shop I use, and had the front end completely rebuilt with new Moog parts. I realize this may not be the best option for everyone, but we go RVing some and I sure would have hated to have this happen (if that is possible) towing the RV on the highway. I have owned the truck since new and plan to use it for a while yet (163k miles). Not sure what to make of the comment I heard from the shop. The machanics said Ram, Chevy, GMC, Ford all have some "weak" SPOTS. They told me on the RAM truck it is the ball joints. ??
 

Jeepwalker

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JB Weld...man!! :D I'd bet it would hold a new one in (if properly cleaned and 'prepped'. For a while at least. Or thread-locking compound, if the gap is real small. I could go on and on with JB Weld stories. But ultimately, replacing the arm is the best way, esp if you plan to sell it. Good call.

I wasn't aware that wearing bores was that much of an issue with aluminum control arms. Maybe that's why some UCA's integrate the upper ball joint with the a-arm (ball joint stamped as part of the control arm). Or has the truck been 'leveled' or 'lifted' and extended the reach of it's lower ball joint?
 
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