When replacing ball joints on front end, replactment ball joints may not fit properly in upper or lower control arms, parts department told me to weld the ball joint to the control arms.
1996 Dodge Ram: ball joint or control arm failure
8 of the 622 complaints about the 1996 Dodge Ram describe ball joint or control arm failure.
- owner complaints
- 8
- of this car's complaints
- 1%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 9 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Ball joint or control arm failure by model year
What owners say
There is a service bulletin number 020496, sequence number 49, date of bulletin 9606, the federal safety agency item number sb047743 out on this problem of the suspension;independent front control arm; ball joints being rusted and needing replacement. The dodge people told me it will cost me $880 to fix and the truck only has 26,000 miles on it. It is a defect that needs to be recalled. Thank you.
The ignition switch melted the plastic shroud under the steering column. The air conditioner was running when this occurred. The radio was on also. After this occurred, the radio no longer works right either. The dealer said there is a replacement switch, but did not cover it under the warranty. The dealer said they were having problems with the switch, that's why there was a new replacement switch. Cost over $350, including installation. This does not include replacing the radio. They did not know why the radio went bad. The dealer was fred beans in doylestown, pa. The original ball joints and front axle were never greased at the factory. There are no grease fittings to add grease. The dealer would not cover it under warranty. The mechanic said he could tell that they were bone dry & never greased at the factory.
Loud clunking noise and sensation in steering linkage while braking and turning corners. Dealer had same problem with another ram pickup. Dealer replaced upper and lower ball joints. Fixed problem. However, after additional 10,000 miles problem is re-occurring. Also, three of original five tires had defects including significant bulging and ply separation. Resulted in poor traction, excelerated wear, and bouncing. Owner replaced two tires. When third tire failed, owner replaced all the tires. Dealer stated they receive many tire complaints from new vehicle owners with goodyear tires.( dot number: tire size: p245 75r16 )
Inner tie rod truck goes out and steering goes to the right.
While applying the brakes the vehicle will move to the right lane unexpectedly. Has to release the brakes in order to move back into the orginal lane, which may cause an accident. Dealer cannot determine problem. Dealer replace control arms, brake pads etc. Please provide details.
Steering in the vehicle gets extremely sloppy when driving and makes it hard to steer. The steering column has been replaced and the upper and lower control arms.
While driving the vehicle experiences loss of steering control due to a defective steering tube which sheared off from the tie rods, cause the vehicle to crash into a tree.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Some customers may experience a situation in which the rear of the vehicle sits too high to attach their...
- Some customers may comment on a squeaking / clicking noise from rear leaf springs
- This bulletin mentions that the front wheel bearing grease is evident on the bearing seal area
- Experiencing squeaking noise from rear leaf springs
- Subject on the front wheel bearing grease is evident on the bearing seal area
- On some vehicles the front wheel bearings may incorrectly be diagnosed as faulty due to the evidence of...
- Vehicle experiencing a clunking noise being heard in the front suspension while driving on rough roads
- Subject regarding rear of vehicle sitting too low
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1996 Dodge Ram ball joint
Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 1996 Dodge Ram?
8 of 622 owner complaints about the 1996 Dodge Ram (1%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 2001.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1996 Dodge Ram?
There are 0 recalls and 9 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1996 Dodge Ram
ABS 70Brake failure 34No deployment 27Pulling 21Tire blowout 18Fire or smoke 15Headlights 15Transmission failure 14Stalling 12Won't shift 12Fuel pump 10Slipping 10Overheating 9Fuel gauge 8Loss of power 7Power steering loss 7Premature wear 6Sudden acceleration 6Adaptive cruise 5Grinding brakes 5Harsh shifting 5
VIN decoder
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