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| ball joint failure (Page 1/2) |
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gregr75
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OCT 18, 10:14 PM
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as I'm typing this post, I just realized how lucky I am… this could've happened at 60 miles an hour on the highway…
I had been meaning to investigate some suspension looseness that happened soon after I did a rear suspension rebuild. the tail end would swerve left with sudden application of power. was driving like this for a couple months actually.
i replaced the cradle, put in poly bushings on cradle and control arms, new ball joints, new shocks.
tonight the looseness was so bad that within 1 minute of leaving my house, I decided to turn around. on the way back home, i gave it some power and then i heard a sudden screeching/rubbing noise.
the ball joint appears fine at first glancd and it just slipped out of the knuckle somehow... I got it towed so it's sitting in front of my garage but I can't get it into the garage with a cocked wheel.
assuming I can temporarily put the ball joint back in the spindle, can I turn on the engine and drive the car 10 feet into the garage?
I believe I ripped an axle seal too in the process as there was tranny fluid all over the road....Is it OK to run the car so I can pull it 10 feet into the garage? that won't hurt the transmission?
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87 GT Stock 2.8L[This message has been edited by gregr75 (edited 10-18-2024).]
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Patrick
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OCT 18, 10:33 PM
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Wow, that could've ended badly! 
| quote | Originally posted by gregr75:
assuming I can temporarily put the ball joint back in the spindle...
I believe I ripped an axle seal too in the process as there was tranny fluid all over the road....Is it OK to run the car so I can pull it 10 feet into the garage? that won't hurt the transmission?
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Automatic or manual? If the car will move under its own power, I doubt that driving it 10 feet is going to hurt anything that's not already damaged.[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 10-18-2024).]
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gregr75
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OCT 18, 10:43 PM
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it's a manual…
if I get the wheel straightened out, I wish I could get behind the rear bumper and just physically push it in the garage but unfortunately my driveway asphalt is sinking right before the garage preventing me from doing that. need some power to overcome that dip[This message has been edited by gregr75 (edited 10-18-2024).]
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cartercarbaficionado
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OCT 18, 10:57 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by gregr75:
as I'm typing this post, I just realized how lucky I am… this could've happened at 60 miles an hour on the highway…
I had been meaning to investigate some suspension looseness that happened soon after I did a rear suspension rebuild. the tail end would swerve left with sudden application of power. was driving like this for a couple months actually.
i replaced the cradle, put in poly bushings on cradle and control arms, new ball joints, new shocks.
tonight the looseness was so bad that within 1 minute of leaving my house, I decided to turn around. on the way back home, i gave it some power and then i heard a sudden screeching/rubbing noise.
the ball joint appears fine at first glancd and it just slipped out of the knuckle somehow... I got it towed so it's sitting in front of my garage but I can't get it into the garage with a cocked wheel.
assuming I can temporarily put the ball joint back in the spindle, can I turn on the engine and drive the car 10 feet into the garage?
I believe I ripped an axle seal too in the process as there was tranny fluid all over the road....Is it OK to run the car so I can pull it 10 feet into the garage? that won't hurt the transmission?
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where are the threads? it looks like it shredded them off from a poorly made nut or the photo isn't clear enough. regardless I'm glad you and the car are ok
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gregr75
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OCT 18, 11:15 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado:
where are the threads? it looks like it shredded them off from a poorly made nut or the photo isn't clear enough. regardless I'm glad you and the car are ok |
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Thanks carb, well it's not a threaded design… I'm going to have to get in there and see what went wrong exactly but here it was back in 2023 before going into the car. as I remember, it just goes into the knuckle and you tighten around it. The indent serve some purpose
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IMSA GT
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OCT 18, 11:16 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by cartercarbaficionado:
where are the threads? it looks like it shredded them off from a poorly made nut or the photo isn't clear enough. regardless I'm glad you and the car are ok |
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There are no threads. It slides in and has an indentation for a bolt to clamp it into place. The indentation is where your bolt should pass along. That way the bolt keeps it in place while clamping it on the vehicle at the same time. I can almost guarantee you forgot to put the nut on since you had looseness as soon as you replaced the ball joint. The bolt was the only thing holding it together through tension and finally fell out while you were driving.
 [This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 10-18-2024).]
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cartercarbaficionado
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OCT 18, 11:35 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by gregr75:
Thanks carb, well it's not a threaded design… I'm going to have to get in there and see what went wrong exactly but here it was back in 2023 before going into the car. as I remember, it just goes into the knuckle and you tighten around it. The indent serve some purpose
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sorry normally dealing with 88 stuff. or like my gt where somebody welded it in since that bolt snapped.
If you need a control arm lemme know since I have a one good oem one in my stash.
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82-T/A [At Work]
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OCT 19, 07:29 AM
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The good news is that it doesn't look like the quarter panel was damaged at all, even if the bumper pulled away from it.
Yeah, my guess is maybe the bolt loosened up. Of the kits I've seen, you are either supposed to use thread locker, or it comes with a nylon lock nut.
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olejoedad
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OCT 19, 08:54 AM
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My bet is that the ball joint didn't fully seat into the bottom of the knuckle and the bolt was actually above the top of the ball joint stud.
To repair this, just reinsert the ball joint stud fully into the knuckle and insert the bolt in the groove. Tighten the nut and you're good to go.
CHECK THE OTHER SIDE TOO!
( For full disclosure, I had this same thing happen when I rebuilt the suspension on my 86 SE some 20 years ago.....)
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82-T/A [At Work]
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OCT 19, 11:39 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by gregr75:
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Hey Greg, would you mind if my daughter uses this image for her YouTube videos?
https://www.youtube.com/@GenerationZGarage
She's not going to call you out or make fun or anything like that (she only knows as much as I know)... she'll just use it as an example of what happens when a ball joint fails, etc...
Thanks...
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