[ColeridesMX]

Hey y’all.
Really need some insight & opinins.
Last April I was finally able to buy my dream truck. A 17 lifted Cummins ( 6in pro comp lift. 37x12.5 Toyo MT. 20in rims.). I bought it from a local dealer that installs lifts on many of their trucks. They have a 1 year warranty & feee service. . Any how. I bought it at 11k miles. Now have 56. Around March I was in for service & they said I need new tires. I was around 29k miles on the toyo open country MTs. Manger swore it was normal. I decided to leave & her other opinins. I went to every tire shop. No one agreed. Not even Toyo. Once it was on a lift at another shop, they found out the upper & lower ball joints were bad. I went back to the dealer, & after a bit of back n forth they installed Moog joints & a new set of front tires. Now, come October I went to a 4x4 tire shop to get an alignment & rotation done. Guess what, ball joints are bad. With 16k miles on them. Now I’m in a pissin matchnwith the dealership. They have pretty much told me sorry bout your lucky. I’ve posted my story every where & a manger agrees to look over the truck tomorrow. I don’t trust these people. All they say is I drive a lot. . & I’m no where newar a mechanic. I’ve spoke with shops & other owners. & they’ve never had any of these issues in such a short time. I don’t tow at all. Except for my dirtbike in bed every chance I get. I don’t go mudding. I bought the thing cash & it’s been nothing but a problem. I’m not a rich man, I can’t afford tires & ball joints every 6 months. n I appreciate y’all reading all this. I’m hoping someone can tell me what Is causing all this. Thanks again.

 

[Danderson]

Get some Carli's or Dynatrac BJ's and be done with it.

 

[gsbrockman]

How many times were the tires rotated between 11,000 miles and 56,000 miles????

 

[ColeridesMX]

How many times were the tires rotated between 11,000 miles and 56,000 miles????

Supposedly every 5k with service when they went out the first time around 39k. Now 16k miles later they need replaced & ive had them rotated twice. Within that 16.

 

[ColeridesMX]

Get some Carli's or Dynatrac BJ's and be done with it.

definitely would. I just don’t want to spend that kinda money if there’s an underlining problem causing them to wear premature.

 

[HFolb23]

What is the is offset of your wheels? Wheels with a very low offset can cause some extra stress on ball joints.

Also is it really a Cab and Chassis truck or just wrong forum? Not to many lifted C&C trucks out there and would love to see some pics if you have one.

 

[NIsaacs]

Get some Carli's or Dynatrac BJ's and be done with it.

That won't help when you rely on a dishonest shop. All they want to do is sell you parts. I guarantee at 16k miles, yours are NOT bad. I will say that lift kits, big tires and weird offset wheels do add to tire and front end wear. If your tires are worn bad then you have other issues, not ball joints.


My '01 is considered to have one of the worst front axle/ball joint designs ever. This is due to only one ball joint that carries the weight, most axles use both. Yet, mine are original, with 326k miles on it. I do all my own work. It never sees a shop other than new tire installs. My middle son has a diesel repair shop.....I don't let him near my trucks:smile2:

 

[gsbrockman]

That won't help when you rely on a dishonest shop. All they want to do is sell you parts. I guarantee at 16k miles, yours are NOT bad. I will say that lift kits, big tires and weird offset wheels do add to tire and front end wear. If your tires are worn bad then you have other issues, not ball joints.


My '01 is considered to have one of the worst front axle/ball joint designs ever. This is due to only one ball joint that carries the weight, most axles use both. Yet, mine are original, with 326k miles on it. I do all my own work. It never sees a shop other than new tire installs. My middle son has a diesel repair shop.....I don't let him near my trucks:smile2:

I agree.

The only TRUE way to condemn bad ball joints is with a dial indicator, and knowing the proper specifications.

 

[NIsaacs]

I agree.

The only TRUE way to condemn bad ball joints is with a dial indicator, and knowing the proper specifications.

Exactly, then when you multiply that movement allowance with a 20" wheel.....A lot of shops just flat out misunderstand a ball joint.


OP, read this first post of this thread: https://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/2504358-post1.html

 

[Danderson]

I know a guy who swapped out his 37's for stockers before going in for BJ's and Hubs.
Went right through the process. They would have flagged his truck with the big tires.

 

[SRich12]

The good ole' pry bar under the wheel con job!!! A lot of questionable shop use this method to sell ball joint jobs that are not needed!! Your truck should not need ball joints that often and yes these trucks with the heavy Cummins are hard on tires but if they are rotated every 5000 miles you can get decent mileage out of decent tires!!

 

[bigfish95971]

Something for you to consider. If tire wear is relative even, so be it, not hard to see for yourself. Tires that big and wheels with the offset to make them fit put a lot of extra stress on ball joints. Now the ball joints should have Lifetime warranty from Moog. Other than that i doubt there is any warranty on tires at all or suspension beyond 12/12 for whomever first had the lift installed. unless it was installed on a NEW truck from the dealer there is now longer any factory on the suspension, lift parts, or differentials unless the lift installer did it for the dealer and then it would most likely be 12/12. You want warranty buy a stock truck and keep it that way. Moog(parts store they got them from) will probably cover the ball joints because they don't know any better. They should be listed on your receipt from the dealer when they installed them, whether you paid for them or not. Welcome to lifted truck Territory.

 

[krs]

I wouldn’t warranty any chassis components either if I ran a dealership and saw a truck with a lift and big tires either. With all that money you would’ve saved in fuel without having ridiculous tires on it you could afford to pay a shop to replace them with some EMF ball joints.

 

[bighorntactical]

ball joints

The good ole' pry bar under the wheel con job!!! A lot of questionable shop use this method to sell ball joint jobs that are not needed!! Your truck should not need ball joints that often and yes these trucks with the heavy Cummins are hard on tires but if they are rotated every 5000 miles you can get decent mileage out of decent tires!!

I had a shop recently do this on mine however the truck has close to 100k miles and stock tires and wheels is this just a piss poor way of understanding how to determine the cause or just a completely bogus way to get someone to spend cash?

 

[Danderson]

That procedure indicated that my passenger side was worn @ 70K.
You would hear a metallic,metal on metal sound. Dynatracs to the rescue.

 

[bigfish95971]

To check the ball joints that way you should raise the tire just off of the ground 1/2 inch. Then lift the wheel/tire with the pry bar. If everything feels tight and no movement is detected, all is fine. If clunk or movement is detected further investigation is needed. First look yourself at the ball joints or kingpins and have somebody else or your self pry the tire to cause movement again. If you see movement back and forth or up and down in the two sections of either ball joint it is bad. If you hear or feel movement but can't see any in the ball joints you probably have a bad wheel bearing set or bad other control are bushings(2x4 usually). After any play is found remove the tire and wheel and continue to investigate with the pry bar and by hand. for confirmation
Simple movement of the tire causing a clunk is a very sure indicator of a problem, but further investigation is needed to confirm ball joints or wheel bearings etc. Ball joints should be replaced in pairs, at least both on side and all four if possible. They range from $15 to 60 dollars each depending on brand.

Other bushings and tie rod ends or track bars can be checked in similar fashion with a pry bar looking for any play.

 

[bighorntactical]

good to know I did have a shop update the steering components and ball joints and the steering never felt better

 

[troverman]

A 37” tire is much wider, taller, and heavier than anything that came on a stock truck. I would absolutely expect ball joints to wear out a lot quicker.

 

[7492]

I agree.

The only TRUE way to condemn bad ball joints is with a dial indicator, and knowing the proper specifications.

Yes, and at those specs or even half the spec, and big tire wheel specs, there is going to be a lot of movement to ruin just about anything.
https://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/2013-general-discussion/1713306-balljoint-allowable-play-now-090-a.html