My experience has been the modern style of tie rod ends are better. The replacement balls you get today are not as hard as the originals were and will go "egg-shaped" faster. That's what causes problems with them, after all. The new ones have less play to begin with and are a completely different design. As for the pitman arm, I made an adjustable one and have had no trouble with it. I used modern parts for that also. But if you want your truck to be just like it was, then use the replacement balls and parts and rebuild what you have. It depends on how much you drive it and in what manner, I think. I get the feeling most people around here just don't drive their trucks too often. Good luck!
