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).]

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?

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).]

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).]

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?

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

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

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

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

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).]

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

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.

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.

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.....)

quote Originally posted by gregr75:

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...

hey Todd, not a problem at all!

i'll actually PM you a couple more pics taken in the light of day when I have a chance to work in the car later today

to be clear… I'm chocking this up to improper installation and not actual ball joint failure… Unless I find something else

edit: the root cause I think was, I used antiseize on the knuckle pinch bolt for the ball joint. I believe the bolt torque relieved and the hole started ovalizing in the knuckle… causing the ball joint to work loose. I likely reduced the torque value by 20% because I was using antiseize. The knuckle is shot.

i'll hafta figure out how to get this car in the garage without the wheel flopping around, the ball joint wont stay in the hole its so ovalized.

view of knuckle from underneath:


pinch bolt

[This message has been edited by gregr75 (edited 10-19-2024).]

quote Originally posted by olejoedad: 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.

I have to agree with that. I don't think the ball joint was ever up into the knuckle far enough. With the pinch bolt in place, even if it was loose, I don't see how the ball joint could fall out of that hole if the pinch bolt was going through the detent in the ball joint stem.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I have to agree with that. I don't think the ball joint was ever up into the knuckle far enough. With the pinch bolt in place, even if it was loose, I don't see how the ball joint could fall out of that hole if the pinch bolt was going through the detent in the ball joint stem.

yep… I guess that's possible too. Anyway I'm getting this thing in the garage soon and calling it a season. this is gonna be a winter job.

You know... you could drill it out and use a larger bolt. That might work!

It could still be a little loose in there though... I mean, you could weld it in there. I hate to even suggest it, but if you think the knuckle is shot... ugh, who am I kidding. You can get a new knuckle for like $80 shipped.

Here's one off eBay, which incidentally is from Mike's Fiero Parts in Arizona (who I seem to buy a lot of parts from): https://www.ebay.com/itm/144611869205

It's $100 shipped with tax.

Wow, that could have been worse, glad you're ok. As far as the knuckle goes IMO it looks like yours has gotten elongated towards the bottom where the lower control arm meets the knuckle, how is the top side? The indentation into the stem though as others have mentioned is hard to miss.

Here's a picture of my 84 on the ground

*sigh of relief *was able to roll the car in the garage with a friend.

stingray, the top of the knuckle hole still looks fine but i dont trust it with the bottom being enlarged.

Todd, you said i could buy a new knuckle? where? admittedly i only tried rockauto.
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87 GT Stock 2.8L

[This message has been edited by gregr75 (edited 10-25-2024).]

quote Originally posted by gregr75: *sigh of relief *was able to roll the car in the garage with a friend. stingray, the top of the knuckle hole still looks fine but i dont trust it with the bottom being enlarged. Todd, you said i could buy a new knuckle? where? admittedly i only tried rockauto.

Sorry, I meant a good used one. This one is from Mike's Fiero Parts: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144611869205

ok thxs for the recomendation