All the ball joints were replaced about 4 months ago, but the repair shop (which is in Germany where we are stationed) keeps telling me that the upper right ball joint is bad and I need to replace the passenger side inner tie rod (which I guess is also the "intermediate rod" since thats what they keep calling it). These repair shops have a tendecy to try to screw us over with our husbands gone so I don't know if I am getting taken for a ride by them or not. My husband (a mechanic) is in Iraq right now so he can't help me. Can anyone help me troubleshoot this problem? It is driving me NUTS!!!!
2006-08-10 08:16:36 · 4 answers · asked by Mandy G 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I used to own the exact same truck you have,,,they are real simple to repair,,,i would suggest taking the truck to another shop and ask them to do a front end alignment on it.
This will either fix the problem,,,or you will find out the truth,,whether you need the inner tie rod replaced,or ball joint,,in my opinion it is very likely that it may need replacement at that age of vehicle,,but it couldnt hurt to get a second opinion from another shop.
Best of luck from Canada and i hope your Husband comes home safe.
2006-08-10 08:25:50 · answer #1 · answered by Thunder 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your truck has four ball joint on the front. Two on each side on upper and one lower. Lower ball joints are the first to wear out. You've already replaced them. Upper ball joints and tie-rod ends tend to wear out close to each other. Both of these will cause you tire to lean in. Having one of theses bad does place stress on the other, so in turn it goes bad also.
It sounds like they are actually being honest with you. The problem shows up very readily on the way your tire sits. You will want to not drive the truck very far until the problems are fixed. there is a real risk of the tire actually falling off.
2006-08-10 15:30:07 · answer #2 · answered by soaplakegirl 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i tend to lean toward ball joints too. i suggest taking it to a couple places to get estimates. if indeed it is ball joints, go back where they were changed and see if they didn't maybe put the wrong ones in there....
2006-08-10 15:22:52 · answer #3 · answered by daddio 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From what you've described, I would tell you the same thing without even looking at it. There probably telling you the truth.
Now how much to fix it, is a whole other thing. They may try to screw you there!
2006-08-10 15:23:55 · answer #4 · answered by michael081278 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋