2001 Dodge Ram 1500 lower and upper ball-joint replacement, 2 wheel drive, how to replace upper and lower ball joints on 2001 Dodge Ram 1500.
2001 Dodge Ram 1500 lower and upper balljoint replacement
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@RandallW I did not have access to cutting torch and I also worried about
damaging the upper and lower control arms. One of the toughest thinks I
ever had to do, I really thought it would be an easy job, those rivets are
really thick and hard to pound out.
Good stuff bro
@SeanHoover- I have a friend who has same truck and he took it to a known
named auto repair shop, it took them 2 days to change them all out and they
charged him $2,500.00, and they had a car lift.
14 hours to just remove the rivets is quite an investment in time. Wouldn’t
it be better to just replace the control arms with new (bolted) ball
joints? At least the uppers, since they are a relatively easy to do (only
$60 – $70 a side)
@mobyman, no I did not, but never done a diesel suspension before and not
sure if its the same or not. If you follow my directions, you can get er
done. Just have to be patient.
I have a 2001 diesel 2wd. Looks similar. Did you need a spring compressor
or are the springs relaxed when not under load?
I noticed on a 1997 Dodge Ram video, that the ball joints are not riveted
in like they are on my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 truck, so disregard my comment
on the years 1994-2002, apparently a change to the suspension was made, so
look to make sure. Perhaps its just years 2000-2002, all you have to do is
look and you can tell whether yours are pressed in or riveted in. I assumed
since the body style was the same, so would the suspension,
Just a point of interest: The original fasteners are rivets. Rivets are
best removed by drilling thru the tail and not the head. On factory
installation the rivet body expands as the tail is compressed and slightly
mushrooms. Once you have drilled most of the center of the tail out (bit
size +1 from hole size is best), a cold chisel can be used to remove the
rest. Drill a little more in the center to relieve the tension of the
rivet. Then you use a punch to push the rest of the rivet out.
@Sean Hoover – No, I added it up which meant, it would have been more
expensive. I forget the price difference, but I was determined to remove
them.
Best way to do this is to use a cutting torch and cut the rivets out.
Drilling these out is too slow. I’ve done a few of these. Just make sure to
be careful not to cut into the control arms. Cutting them out only takes a
few minutes instead of hours and hours. Plus you will still have your
sanity.