My parents needed an axle u-joint ('01 ram 1500) and I didn't have time to do it my self so they went to a local shop. They said it needed new ball joints, pitman arm, and some rod ends... ended up costing around $2000!

So now my 2000 ram 1500 4x4 needs ball joints. I knew that my axle u-joints are loose (you can grab them and wiggle them and they are just loose!) and when I had it in to get new tires (last year) they said my ball joints were loose and my brakes were down to close to metal on metal. I am going to have to do this my self as I can NOT afford $2000! I just ordered a ball joint press from harbor freight. I know I asked this question last year and there was a link somebody gave me to a tutorial with pics on how to do this.

I'm planning on:
Ball joints
wheel bearings (cause I'm in there)
u joints
brakes.

I think I'll most likely just take it to an alignment shop afterwards and let them look at all the rod ends since they are easy to get to, or maybe do those my self to.

Youtube is your friend.

I just finished replacing the ball joints on my brothers 2003 3500 Doge. Here are the basics.

Jack up front end.
Pull wheel and tire.
Pull caliper and rotor.
Pull axle nut* you can do this with the front end in 4wd or jam a screw driver in the rotor that braces against the caliper before you pull the caliper and rotor, up to you.
Pull the hub/bearing.
Pull he axle shaft.
Pull the tie rod end from the knuckle.
Remove both upper and lower ball joint bolts.
Beat the knuckle loose from the tapered shafts on the ball joints with a pickle fork.
Press out the ball joints. You'll probably need to take out one to get the other out. On my brothers truck the top have to come out first to allow room to get the lower out.
Press in new joints.
Put everything back on and torque it all down.
Done.

Pressing out the old joints was a pile of ass. The top came out way easier than the bottom. And pressing the lower one back in, the new one, was way harder than the top. Be sure to have and impact gun, a breaker bar, PB blaster, a cheater bar, and the right sized sockets. The hub will most likely need a hub puller to get out, and the ball joint press is an absolute must. Both should be rentals at your FLAPS.

Let me know if you need any other pointers. I had never done it before yesterday, and hell if I can do it, you can. It just takes some time. And the right tools.

Oh, and get a decent sized C clamp. You may need to compress the caliper pistons to be able to fit the caliper back over the rotor. Don't muscle it, just clamp the piston side and the pad closest to the pistons and open it up enough to get it back on.

There is a trick to getting the hub off by removing the two front bolts.  Back the rearones out a bit and using a socket and extension wedged between the frame and the bolt turn the truck on and use the power steering to press it out.

If you can borrow the otc kit to do the ball joints it will save you a lot of headache.  We did my 3/4 ton dodge and it was dine in a morning.  

Put the ball joints in the freezer for a few days before the job

Also got my ball joints on amazon fir a hell of alot cheaper than parts store

What's this?
I've got the harbor freight ball joint press on the way. Got 2 pickle forks (think I know where 1 is) I got lots of wrenches and stuff.

What holds the ball joints on? Are there E clips or something?

Do you pretty much have to replace the rod ends after you beet them off with a pickle fork?

OTC was the brand who made the ball joint press my brother rented from Autozone, some of there other tools are branded OTC too. The upper on his truck was pressed in from the top, and held into the axle and attacthed to the knuckle with a castle nut and cotter pin. The bottom one has a C clip in the top of the ball joint, and a castle nut on the bottom. You'll need the pickle fork to separate the ball joints and the tie rod ends because they have tapered shafts. You MAY not need to replace the rod ends, but in beating them out you might destroy the rubber dust covers.
Not my pic, but this is what you could end up with when you remove them.

LInk to OTC press

This is the one I have.  Wish you were near by, Id give ya a hand with it.  Figured I might as well own it and if I need other collars I can order them,  Woth the weight in gold and let me tell you its a heavy MFR.  

Top ball out, bottom ball out, bottom in, top in in that order.

Freeze the joints so they fit in better.  Works like a charm.  

The press is huge.  You wil lhave to have the truck pretty high off the ground to get it on the lower joint... I ended up diging a couple holes in my driveway to get the clearance.  (just a few inches but it was easier for me than messing with the jack stands.

ETA the press makes easy work of u joints too.  No beating them or ruining a socket to drive them out.

Tie rods can be poped out if you back the nut out and hammer to the end of the nut and you may be able to get away without using the fork.  Ive only used the fork to seaparate the steering nuckle.  You will need the socket to get the axel nut off and maybe a cheater bar.  One of mine required splitting the nut becasue it was on so tight and the other I had my friend stand on the cheater bar while I hit the socket with a large hammer and it broke loose.  My impact wouldnt touch it.  

Used a motorcycle strap to tie up the caliper to the coil spring.

Lots of PB blaster.

Get some anti sieze for when you put the hub back in or replace (I put it on the surface between the hub and the knuckle after sanding it to clean the rust up)  

Careful with your ABS sensor.  

Careful with your axel shafts so you dont fk up the seals.  That requires a diferintial tear down to repair.  

With the right tools its not a big deal at all.

No, do not beat it out. Back the nuts off the ball joints all but 1 or 2 threads, then hit the axle ear with a BFH several times to shock the spindle loose. It usually takes 5-6 whacks at most - don't be afraid to hit it HARD. The nuts you left on by 1 or 2 threads will keep it from falling to the floor.



This is a tutorial I wrote up a while ago, it's for a 2WD F350 but it's a generic enough process to use for nearly any pickup. I'd remove the axle nut before jacking up the front end and removing wheels, rotors, etc. Use the vehicle's weight to your advantage.

Didn't work on my brothers truck, the tapered shafts pointed down, not up. Trust me I tried the BFH before the pickle fork. For whatever reason it wouldn't let go. A couple of whacks on the fork and it popped loose.

Well I hope I did the right thing. I just went to Napa, they triedto sell me shitty chinese parts!!!! I objected and was told that the other option was Dana Corp parts mucho denaro! I didn't want Chinese garbage  on my truck! They had none of those parts in stock. So I spent $700~ on upper & lower B.J.s brake pads and wheel bearings. Haven't even ordered rod ends yet. I already had u joints because I knew they were bad a year ago.

Picklefork will mar the shit out of stuff, I don't like them much. Rent the balljoint press and follow the directions on it. It's really easy to do as long as you don't try to use the wrong tool for the job.