Four problems related to front suspension lower control arm have been reported for the 1998 Dodge Dakota. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Noises in front end, upper and lower ball joints on a 1998 Dodge Dakota 4-wheel drive defective. Lower ball joints replaced under warranty at 34,853 miles. Replaced lower joints again and upper ball joints at 59,629 at a cost of $1123. 55. Luckily it was caught before any serious accident occurred. Your recall indicates year 2000-2003 but problem was there prior to that.
1998 Dodge Dakota, upper arm ball joint defect. A story on cbs news last night has prompted me to submit this complaint. September 2000, noise on the right front side of truck prompted me to stop at a Dodge dealer to check it out, found the right upper arm ball joint was so bad that the service manager said I could have lost the wheel on the highway at the speed limit causing potentially serious accident. The arm was replaced under warranty (34853 miles). I recently purchased 4 new tires for the truck and asked the dealer to do a front end alignment (59423), he tried and said he could not because the ball joints were defective. I had no indication at this time there was a problem with the ball joints until I tried to get an alignment to protect the new tires, I got a second opinion with the same response. I went to the Dodge dealer and confirms that all 4 ball joints in the front end were bad, lower and upper. Dealer said it happens occasionally, but I have less than 60,000 miles on the truck and it is my third ball joint on the upper front. This time there was no indication of a problem and it cost me over $1100 to fix as it was no longer under warranty was lucky since the there was no accidents, the problem was caught in time. There is no doubt in my mind that the ball joints used on the Dodge Dakota are defective and do not last, in my case the replaced ball joint in September 2000 lasted less than 24,000 miles understand there is a class action law suit in progress, can you provide any information on this, Chrysler/daimler needs to stand up and fix the problem before there is a tragedy.
Advised by authorized Chrysler service to replace both left and right, upper and lower ball joints and left and right lower control arms for excessive wear at 46059 miles. Cost $1478 plus tax. One mechanic said this is same premature problem experienced on ddodge durango.
Lower control arm broke from vehicle because it was not welded to vehicle. Manufacturer has been notified.