front end rebuild

[ram15]

the other day i went in to get my truck aligned because i recently got new tires, when i got there they didn't align it because they say it needs new ball joints, pitman arm and idler arm. the quote they gave me was over a 1000 bucks so im gonna try and do it myself. can you guys tell me how difficult this would be, some tips, what special tools i need and what are some decent brand parts to put on the truck, thanks.

 

[TexasRammer]

youll need a way to get the ball joints out, and the pitman arm( pitman arm puller, and ball joint seperator). they rent tools at autozone or oreillys if you dont have them. ive always heard moog makes good replacement parts. and youll also need a grease gun to grease all the joints

 

[Bigtman07]

I just went through the same thing. If you have access to air tools it is considerably easier. An air hammer with a joint separator helps separate the pitman arm. For the ball joint a ball joint press is needed. its a giant heavy duty C clamp really. Press out the old joints then in the new ones. May need to heat the old ones to get them out. but you never know.

For me and a buddy to do my upper and lower ball joints it took about 3 - 4 hours. Moog is the brand that I used.
Good luck!

 

[DOAX]

Pitman arm bad????????? your truck must have some crazy worn out parts to ruin a piman arm

also i just did my ball joints there a pain to get out and a pain to get back in lots on pb blaster and coat the new ones good wih never siez

 

[WhiteExpress]

Nah, Pitman arms wear out just like any other part on a 2WD.

I think the shop is telling you right. I'd just go in and replace every one of those joints. Do it all at once. It costs a lot, but the reward is amazing. I did that on my '99 Ram. Handled like a race car afterwards!

 

[DOAX]

Nah, Pitman arms wear out just like any other part on a 2WD.

I think the shop is telling you right. I'd just go in and replace every one of those joints. Do it all at once. It costs a lot, but the reward is amazing. I did that on my '99 Ram. Handled like a race car afterwards!

sorry my bad i didnt relize your truck was 2wd.

 

[Hotroder383]

A bit of advice, mark the threaded parts you take out so you can mark the new parts going in. This will keep you in the ball park for alignment, and only replace 1 part at a time don't pull everything out at once. If you can get someone to help that has some exp that is always helpful!