I replaced my upper control arms, lower A-arm bushings and ball joints on my truck at 150,000 miles. Boy did that need to be done much earlier. The rubber boots were the only resistance the ball joints had. What a pain in the *** job it was. Everything needed to be pressed out and a 6 ton jack wasn't enough. Wound up borrowing a neighbor's car to take the parts to a machine shop, then they called to say the parts I had gotten from the dealership were wrong. Hopped on the bike, picked up the parts, went back to the dealership ordered new parts, wait a day, those were wrong too. If I had a "Do Over" I'd consider the $2 grand.

 

What kind of truck and how many miles?
Worn tie rod ends would cause noticeable play in the steering. Jack it up and check for side to side play by gripping the tire at 3 and 9 o'clock. No play=tie rods are okay, unless dust boots are torn, which can lead to future wear.
For ball joint check, jack up under lower control arm as close to the lower ball joint as possible (make sure it is secure or you could die), then check for axial play (up and down) using a long pry bar under the tire. Also check for radial play (side to side) as with the tie rods. If there's no play you are good.
Do not get under the truck to check, it can all be checked as described above facing the wheel. Many die or are injured working under improperly supported trucks.

Most shops are honest, but there are exceptions.

 

It's a '99 dodge Dakota with 139,000 miles. I'll checked all that myself and the only thing that i saw that needed remotely any attention was the tie rod ball joints. They are a little loose, but nothing to be worried about and definitely not worthy of replacing. It does need a little bit of an alignment, but it drives pretty darn straight. Thanks for the advice!

-Miles

 

"Rotational" play of the entire tie rod is ok. Side to side play will cause tire wear and, if it gets bad enough, steering failure.