After getting a failed state inspection for a supposed loose upper ball joint I'm just curious if their lifespan is really so short, it's only got 40k miles on it. Also, can the upper ball joint not be replaced instead of the whole control arm? I see that MOOG has a replacement for it. Anyone?

 

Just do the whole arm. They're cheap

 

I know, I'm trying to avoid getting an alignment and just messing with taking all that apart and if I do one side I'm doing both. The stock control arms are junk anyway so will likely go full replacement but would be nice to keep more of my $$$$ in my pocket ya know?

 

Sounds crazy to me that it is gone with such low mileage.

 

pretty typical nowadays that the ball joints on stock UCAs aren't replaceable. gotta go new arm, and then you should do that on both sides.

 

Yes do both sides not just one!

 

Isn't that a drive Train warranty issue.

 

no, this isn't a powertrain piece.

 

That's my point. It seems like they are trying to build potential profit into parts by building in a short lifespan and making what were previously serviceable items not. Makes me wonder about the durability too. If I drove off road I would be a little more understanding but this is a 99% street driven truck with less than 41k miles. The roads do kinda suck around here through.

 

Maybe the shop is just trying to make some money. I highly doubt stock truck ball joints have gone bad in 40k miles. Most OEM vehicles have had unserviceable ball joints for many years, so that's nothing new. I personally would get a second opinion, as well as researching the correct procedure for checking for excessive play. If you completely unload the ball joints you can probably get excessive measured play in brand new ones.