Now that's funny :)
John
http://jndneff.home.texas.net/dakota/dakota.html
<snip>
All this banter about ball joints! What are you guys
worried about?! DC has known about the situation for
at least six years! I am confident that DC is
currently studying the problem,and is reviewing
customer feedback with the utmost diligence and
concern! Here is all I could find online about it,I
think it is a corporate memo regarding ball joints:
10/14/01
The company is now embarking on a bold new
"two-pronged" approach towards dealing with high
ball-joint failure. First,all service department
literature pertaining to these components shall be
updated from 1/4" allowable measured play in the joint
to a radical new 3/4" allowable measured
play,effective immediately. This will allay all
customer concerns,and most importantly,reduce cost!
The next step is the complete redesign of the ball
joints for upcoming models,with the earliest target
date projected to be around the fall of 2010. Although
some ideas for this redesign are still pending,one of
the more promising concepts involves the use of a
lubed-for-life copper/glass composite bushing,with a
high-strength flexible plastic dowel pin,to provide
the torsional dynamic,and to a much lesser
degree,structural integrity and durability. One of the
more daunting challenges with this particular design
will be the actual retention of the wheel assembly on
the vehicle,even in a standstill condition.
Nevertheless,the main goal is to greatly reduce cost
from our vendors,while at the same time,ensure that
the quality and dependability of all of our suspension
components meet some of the less stringent legal
requirements.
<unsnip>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Feb 06 2004 - 11:47:26 EST