Ball joint woes

I had my '01 Dodge 1500 at a shop recently to have some deeper gears installed.  When the truck went up on the lift, the ball joints were loose as hell!  The shop said take it to the dealer and complain.  The dealer said they were within tolerances (30 thousanths) and sent me packin'.  What is the point of engineering sloppy ball joints for new trucks, is there a reason?

they didn't build them that way. they just don't want to fix it. GM does the same thing except their spec is .25". if you have big tires on your truck, they are going to wear fast. they guy who installed the gears should have changed them, since he was already there. that would have saved you some money on labor.  

do you run stock tires?  if so thats ridiculous.  if you have larger tires then thats normal and to be expected and get use to it.

The tech at the dealer said "I could replace your balljoints but the new ones have 30 thou slop out of the box".  I do have over size tires (32s) but they've only been on the truck for 2200 miles.  I also bailed on the gears until I get this warranty stuff figured out.  I may have the ball joints changed with Spicers when I do get the gears in...

the dealer is biving you a bunch of bull. there are no slop in any new ball joint. my suggestion is to get the gears installed and put spicer joints in it. they are the best ones made. they are all steel, self lubricating, and have a synthetic boot. they are also sold under the fleet tuff brand name at napa.  

Fleet Tuff 'eh?  Do you know if they carry a lifetime warranty?  My mechanic told me his supplier warrantys the Spicers for life, sounds too good to be true but that's what he told me.  Are the Fleet Tuff parts less expensive than Spicers?

it's the same part so it also has a lifetime warranty,and may be a bit cheaper.