i have a 2011 and ive had around 90% of my suspension replaced under 60k miles. Replaced ball joints twice.

 

Did you notice any vibration or anything in the steering wheel? Mine still drives as smooth as the day I bought it

 

i replaced the whole front control arms with the ball joints in them.Its cheaper to purchase aftermarket control arms with ball joints in them already.The control arms bushings is what failed on mine both times but when removed the arms,the ball joints were on their way out too.Couldnt really say if there was any vibrations relating to the ball joint since it was my bushings making a clunking sound and the ball joints happen to be worn too when replacing the arm.Youll find real quick that the Patriot has one of the worst suspensions ever made and im sure youll be replacing more than ball joints in the future.

 

Here we go again!epper:

 

It's a simple test for ball-joint play when the vehicle is on the lift. They place a wedge-ended bar between the 2 ball-joint attachment points and look for vertical play. ANY noticeable play is a fail, so you may not even know it.

You can always get a second opinion, and if you must get new ones avoid the OEM or others that don't allow periodic greasing of the joint via grease nipple as this should help to extend it's life.

 

We had 1 of our ball joints replaced at 36k miles, covered under the new car warranty. Ours is also a 2011 FDII Patriot. The steering was slightly loose and the steering wheel shook slightly. Also had 1 rear wheel bearing at 32k. That was noisy for a long time; we just thought it was the tires.

 

I have a 2011 4x2. And I have had zero issues yet. Just had mine aligned and new tires. Ball joint passed inspection.

As for Firestone use caution going there. 10 years ago myself and family used them for mechanic work. Then we caught them bull****ting things that were wrong. We started taking it for a second opinon most things didn't need to be fixed when they said. And the other mechanic was close to half the price of what firestone quoted on what did need to be fixed ......I use Firestone for alignments and maybe tires on my gf car.