I think the balljoints are bad on my '06 4x4 because I noticed some uneven tire wear- choppy treads. I havent noticed any slop in the steering and the truck goes down the road straight but I cant think of anything else that would wear the tires like that.
Ive never had the tires rotated and theyve been on the truck atleast 20k and I had an alignment done when they were put on.

How hard are the balljoints to replace? From looking at the ones on Advance Auto's website they seem like they can be replaced without replacing the entire control arm like '97-'03's.

How are they held in?

 

You'll need to replace the whole UCA.

But, not rotating is a dead giveaway. I'd bet that's the reason for the wear.

 

I didnt think there were upper control arms on these trucks, just lowers because of the struts but now I realize that I was wrong. Damn.

Advance does list the whole lower arm with the balljoint in another section but also shows this:

So it looks like the lower is serviceable.

Yeah, I get lazy and never rotate tires on my vehicles. Im hoping thats the only issue.

 

Yeah, lower BJ can be swapped out, just the uppers are permanent in the UCAs.

 

Sounds like shocks to me. Just sayin'.

 

That's kinda what I was thinking. Choppy as in cupping? Cupping in the tread sometimes means shocks.

 

I recommend swapping your shocks, and while you're at it, do the ball joints IF you notice any play. I know I had to do my UCA last year, and this year had to do my lower BJ (they can be swapped w/out needing a new LCA, but its a pain in the ***: unmount brakes brackets/calipers, unbolt UCA, unbolt LCA BJ and remove knuckle; this was the easiest for me to get the LBJ to slide out from the knucle).

 

Is it normal for the struts to be shot with 74k on the truck?
It seems to ride fine and still feels firm when I bounce the front end.
Ive had the truck since 48k and havent noticed anything changed in the way it rides.

Ive got an appointment for an alignment and tire rotation tomorrow (both free) so Ill see what they say at Firestone.