Front Suspension Lower Ball Joint problems of the 1998 Dodge Dakota - part 2

1. Excessive drifting back and forth in the lane I was driving in . Uneven tire wear. 2. Service tech said that I was lucky a wheel didn't come of while driving. 3. Replacement of upper and lower ball joints on my 98 Dodge dokota sport.

Upper and lower ball joints wore out prematurely.

Premature wear on both upper ball joins and one lower ball joint.

The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection after a road trip. Dealer determined that upper ball joints were about to separate, and the lower ball joints were worn out. Upper and lower ball joints were replaced.

While driving and turning left or right at lower speed consumer heard a noise coming through the front end. Vehicle was taken to the dealership and the mechanic determined that the ball joints wore out and needed to be replaced.

The driver took the vehicle to the garage for tire repair. The mechanic noticed that both upper and lower ball joints needed replaced due to the excessive wear on the inner side of tires and wheel are loose.

Dealer replaced the lower and upper ball joints at 90000 miles.

The upper and lower ball joints failed. The consumer was concerned that the front end would collapse while driving. The vehicle was still under warranty.

I hear a popping sound when I turn left. I took my 1998 Dodge Dakota to a mechanic and he said all four of my ball joints (two uppers and 2 lowers) are shot. I have an extended warranty so I contacted the local dealer about getting new ball joints. The parts dept. Manager told me there is a nationwide back order on the lower ball joints and he expected to get them in within a few months. As for the uppers, he said he could get them within a few weeks. It sounds to me like Dodge knows the ball joints are defective so they pulled everything from stock and are having new ones made up. I think Dodge might be doing this to avoid a recall.

My complaint is in regards to the ball joints on my 1998 Dodge Dakota truck. My truck has 80,000 miles on it, but I baby it, have never been in an accident, and can remember just about every pothole I've hit on the road because it makes me cringe every time. I brought the truck to the dealership to investigate the loud noises I could hear, and feel, when I drove. I don't understand why all four of them had to be replaced. I believe the ball joints were faulty upon manufacture, and hope to be reimbursed for the parts and labor. Granted this is probably a low priority issue because there have been a relatively low number of fatalities attributed to ball joint failure, and it generally does not involve fire, or emergency situations. I would like to make the point that my truck is much more responsive, and the steering feels much tighter, and attribute this to the new ball joints. Whether this is just in my head, or I really do feel a difference, I am relieved to say that I got it done. But I did consider not doing it and waiting to hear more about potential recall status. I would like to urge people not to wait if they are having problems, and keep your fingers crossed for a future recall. The bit of sloppiness, and potential failure of the ball joint, is a large risk, and if you correct the problem now you can mitigate the risk that will become an issue as the automobiles with faulty ball joints grow in age and severity of defect. Please do what you can to push for recall.

Front suspension, ball joints, & stabilizer bars were all replaced due to unusual wear & tear. The steering was popping and my front tires were loose. My vehicle was deemed unsafe by the dealer & needed immediate repair. According to the dealer this is a common problem with the Dakotas & durangos & daimler Chrysler is fully aware of this issue. I was told it would be in my benefit to bring my particular vehicles problem to NHTSA's attention as well as daimler Chrysler.

While driving at any speed consumer heard a clicking sound coming from the front wheels when turning corners. Also, consumer needed to compensate for vehicle pulling from one side to the other side. Vehicle was taken to a mechanic, who lifted the vehicle and one of the front wheels fell off. Mechanic determined that front ball joints were worn out. Mechanic replaced upper and lower ball joints, inner tie rod ends and performed front end. Alignment.

While driving consumer heard a loud noise coming from the front end. Dealerships mechanic informed the consumer that the problem pertained to the front lower ball joints failure. The consumer viewed film where the wheels had fallen.

Upper and lower ball joint are bad.

Bought used 1998 Dodge Dakota in July 2002. Vehicle had 45,000 miles. Was told by dealer that lower ball joints had been replaced. Vehicle started making popping noises in October 2003 and continued to worsen. I could not locate the problem. Finally took it to dealer in Dec 2003 and was informed that both lower ball joints were shot. Vehicle had 61,000 miles at time of replacement for second set of lower ball joints. Deal er advised that at time of first replacement after market ball joints were not available and that they were factory replacements.

1998 Dodge Dakota has worn lower ball joints - manufacturer did not install grease fittings to allow for proper preventative maintenance.

1 - took the Dodge Dakota truck in to have the snow tires put on and was told that the upper & lower ball joints where ready to fail. The automotive shop then replaced the upper & lower ball joints.

I've got a 1998 Dodge Dakota and just had the ball joints replaced. The vehicle only had about 65000 miles or so when I noticed the problem and I finally had them replaced at about 73000 miles. I emailed Dodge about it and they gave me no worthwhile answers except I didn't qualify for any recalls or reimbursement. I know ball joints shouldn't go out this soon and wanted to send this information to you because I saw where you are looking into this matter. If you need any other information please feel free to contact me. Thanks, gregory thomas.

I own a 1998 Dodge dokota truck and had to have the ball joints replaced in November, 2003. I have heard they are recalling the dokota's starting in year 2000. What about the ones before that year. I have receipts where it cost me $753. 71 to have this work done.

1998 Dodge Dakota XLT truck upper and lower ball joint failures. Mileage: 40,000 v8 (318ci) engine highway driven bought new experienced intermittent front end shimmy from day one. Total of 12 tires tried resulting in no improvement and marred rims from tires being mounted and over 18 balancing.

While driving at any speed, the consumer heard a subtle noise coming from the front wheels. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined excessive upper and lower ball joint wear.

The upper and lower ball joints on both sides broke, causing the greasing fit to leak. Consumer was concerned that the front end will collapse.

I have a 1998 2wd Dodge Dakota that has suffered from excessive front tire wear since new. The dealer could never seem to find a cause for this and the vehicle has cost me a fortune in replacement tires and front end alignments. With the vehicle out of warranty, an independent front end shop recently replaced the lower ball joints, inner tie rod ends and right-side upper control arm bushings. It is too early to tell if these repairs have corrected this long-standing (67,000 miles) problem, but because this truck has the same front suspension as the Dodge durango currently under investigation, I am submitting this complaint.

1998 Dodge Dakota upper ball joint failure dealer diagnosis.

During a routine inspection mechanic informed the consumer that front ball joints were wearing out.

1998 Dodge Dakota 2wd standard cab pickup with a 3. 9 liter v6 engine. At 48,000 miles the drivers side lower ball joint required replaceing and now at 52,000 miles the passenger side is making popping sounds. I am probably going to have the upper and lower ball joints replaced with aftermarket parts as Dodge prices are double to triple the cost.

Noise from front end, had checked out and mechanic found left side ball joints (upper and lower) were prematurely worn. I had them replaced at my expense. I saved the old parts. Now the passenger side nedds to be replaced. Again the dealer tells me the recall does not apply to my car.

Lower passenger side ball joint failure.

Lower driver's sider ball joint failure.

While turn a corner in my 1998 Dodge Dakota I heard a bang. Looked around under the truck I did not see anything broken. Took truck to tire shop to have front tires rplaced and they told me that the ball joints need to be replaced. I have found out that there is an ongoing investigation by your staff intop the Dodge durango (pe03032). The durango and dakaota have the same front ends underneath them. If there is a finding of defective parts in the durango is should also apply to the Dakota.

(1) events leading to the failure were simply normal driving. Nothing special or out of the ordinary was done or attempted. (2) the ball joints on both of my upper and lower control arms have failed. The joints were original equipment and are permanently sealed supposedly requiring no maintenance. However the rubber boot surrounding the joint failed, thus leading to water and other road grit to enter the joint. Thus the joints did not remain lubricated, eventually leading to mechanical failure. (3) due to Dodge not selling the individual ball joints, I opted replaced both of the entire front control arms. Due to the cost of that repair I opted to purchase and install aftermarket ball joints for the lower control arms rather than replace the entire arm as had been done with the upper. The repair was very labor intensive; especially on something which should require minimal if any maintenance.

Failure of all ball joints in March of 2003 and then a subsequent replacement of 2 of those ball joints in July of 2003. Currently 1 more of the ball joints is going bad.

Technician serviced vehicle and determined that ball joints needed to be replaced. Part was replaced in January 2003. Vehicle was serviced January 2004, technician installed new ball joints.

Lower ball joints had to be replaced at 42, 000 miles on my 1998 Dodge Dakota due to the repair shop being unable to perform a front end alignment. Mechanic told me that the upper ball joints will most likely need to be replaced within the next year or so depending on mileage put on the vehicle in that time.

Upper and lower ball joints wore out prematurely.