Replacing Ball Joints

im planning on replacing the upper and lower ball joints on my wifes 98 D. 4x4 i was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of any special tools i may need.i have a decent assortment of sockets,wrenches etc...
do i need any kind of pullers or will pickle forks work? any help would be appreciated thanks in advance. Gary

im planning on replacing the upper and lower ball joints on my wifes 98 D. 4x4 i was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of any special tools i may need.i have a decent assortment of sockets,wrenches etc...
do i need any kind of pullers or will pickle forks work? any help would be appreciated thanks in advance. Gary

A BALL JOINT SEPERATOR WILL BE FINE. NOT SURE OF THE EXACT SOCKET SIZES YOU WILL NEED. THE UPPER BALL JOINT HAS RIVETS, SO YOU WILL HAVE TO DRILL THOSE OUT. A GOOD TITANIUM DRILL BIT WILL WORK WELL.

Basic tools should do it. I recommend using moog lowers, thy have grease fittings. Question-- Didn't you recieve a recall notice on the upper ball joints?

Basic tools should do it. I recommend using moog lowers, thy have grease fittings. Question-- Didn't you recieve a recall notice on the upper ball joints?
The recall was for 2000-2003 Durangos only.

Ya it is 2000 - 2003 but they wont send out a recall notice to you ,they say it isnt a recall it is a 160000 km guarantee,if you take it in they will fix it only if damged - if they arent the problem you took it in for you have to pay for the service check.
I took mine in to check joints and they said they were fine,tie rod was the problem.

Ya it is 2000 - 2003 but they wont send out a recall notice to you ,they say it isnt a recall it is a 160000 km guarantee,if you take it in they will fix it only if damged - if they arent the problem you took it in for you have to pay for the service check.
I took mine in to check joints and they said they were fine,tie rod was the problem.

My 98 Durango's ball joints went about 3 years ago at 80k miles. Cost me over $700 at an independent shop. Any chance of me recuperating my costs from Dodge?

No it was only for 2000 - 2003.what symptems did you get with bad ball joints.

this was also a problem with dakotas 98+ too. Tires wearing funny was the syptoms here. lot more road noise too.
My uncle had Dodge do the work and they didnt even mention it was a recall issue, $800 to fix it!
Good Luck jazzdog and ace3 .

um top ones are easy...just take a good sharp chisel and cut the heads off and punch em out...or drill em...bottom ones can be a son-a-bitch, no quite for sure if the 98 has a snap ring on the top, but if it does take it off and just beat the s**t outta it...i know my 2002 dakota took me about 3hrs to do both sides top and bottom and yes get moog ball joints they are greaseable and have a lifetime replacement on them....smart call

I just bought an 02 Durango,made dealer give me a Carfax and got mine replaced for free after going to Dodge website.

Whats a car fax.

jdq, Carfax is a company which specializes in the complete sevice and repair history of a motor vehicle. the vin# is entered and any data on that vehicle is displayed. Thats if, and a big if, all work was done by someone who entered the data and reported the repair or service completed. If anyone does the work themselves, then probably there is no record of it. Hope this helps.