Ball Joints after a year with Bilstien at 2.8

[BoldAdventure]

Hey guys, I've got play in both the upper and lower ball joints, and just wondering if this is a result of running the Bilstiens at 2.8 for the last year. In the past month we've also noticed what might be considered the "Death Wobble" at speeds above 65mph with the truck on the highway.

Since I'm on the road fulltime, I can't replace these myself. To me it seems this job should cost me maybe $150 per side, anyone have any thoughts on that?

Any help is appericated.

 

[sausec17]

I could be wrong, but I thought the "death wobble" was only in 4wd?

Just weld them in to the UCA or get new UCAs

 

[DannyMK2]

how many miles do you have? its tough to say if the bilsteins directly caused them to fail prematurely given the age of the truck. it may have sped up the process. i know lots of guys on here run them at 2.8, but i personally wouldnt run them past 2.1. you cant get death wobble on an IFS truck. if your experiencing a bounce in the front end it could very well be play in the ball joints and/or tires. shop rates vary depending on location but i would expect to pay more then $150 per side to replace the lower ball joint and upper control arm.

 

[BoldAdventure]

We have 110K on the truck. We've put a lot of miles on it this year. And we've done a far share of off-roading between Moab and Anza-Borrego and Yuma this year. So it might just be age plus abuse.

As for the death wobble, you're right, we have no problems in 4WD. So that has me thinking I need to go check the weights on the tires and make sure none fell off. That or possibly the universe on the drive-shaft.

Fun times in the desert.

I didn't realize the UCA was all one piece on the Ram. I can change that out myself. On my old Chevy it was part of the spindle and had to be pressed out. Can't do that on the road/don't really want to even try.

 

[CherryRed]

110K on the OE ball joints is none too bad, given Dodge/Ram past history of fast wearing front suspension parts. The additional spring preload the Bils do at 2.8 probably did accelerate the wear a little.

 

[R.L.K.]

Go to www.rockauto.com, the Mevotech UCA'S are only $49 per side and imo much more durable than the OEM ones , and the ball joint is a greasable one !
As far as doing it on the road , purchase the Mevotech UCA'S and take them to the shop for them to do it all , I'd say both sides with an alignment about $300 - $400 at a shop with you providing the UCAs .
If you have the opportunity to install the UCAs yourself ( easy if the ball joint removal cooperates ) you could save yourself some $ $

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[Pull Ya]

Another option would be Zone UCA. They are really beefy and if you do a lot of off roading they might be something that would take the abuse. They ain't cheap however. I think their in the $400-$500 range. You can tell the difference just by looking at them.
Jay

 

[Csanders1992]

Or you can go icon. They are pretty well top of the line


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[BoldAdventure]

Probably just get the Mevotech's as I plan on upgrading to a PW this fall. I'm not investing money anymore on mods on this particular truck.