Vehicle was taken to tire dealer for new tires, and the dealer indicated the front end was completely worn out. The vehicle had 49000 miles on the odometer. Took to dealer from whom puchased and told vehicle was out of 36000 miles warranty. Dealer authorized to replace parts at a total cost of $1555.24. Rack -steering gear, upper control arms and lower control ball joints replaced. Dealer indicated he talked with district manager to see if any recalls or problems reported.

- Austin, TX, USA

Load clunking noise from front axle, and noticable instabillity in steering on bumpy roads that only started when the front ball joints developed what I beleive to be excessive wear. I measured.033 verticle free play of the steering knuckle, but minimal lateral play. According to DaimlerChrysler, the -quote- "new way of checking play" only registers.010 freeplay, and the ball joint has to have.060 to be declare defective. As such DaimlerChrysler denied my repair. In my opinion by the time the lateral play measures.060, the verticle play will dangerously close to catastrophic failure. There have been numerous complaints about these ball joints on 2003 and later "3rd generation" 2500/3500 4 wheel drive Dodge Ram hd pickups on the various internet news groups, such as turbo diesel register.com.

- Glenville, PA, USA