G'day to all this is just a quick warning because of a personal experience. I pulled out of a parking bay in my 95 holden (gmc / izuzu) rodeo and the front wheel dropped off and the front hit the road, i thought sombody had undone my wheel nuts but the whole hub and wheel was laying flat stuck inside the wheel well! the bottom ball (joint) had worn through its socket and thank somebody it decided to drop then and not when at speed! I got it towed and rang around for parts- the parts car my old man had had the same problem!!!! and a mechanic mate said two years ago a car was dropped hard from a lift and the same thing happened- this truck was eight years old! has anybody heard of this thing happening ????
i suppose the clunkin' and bangin' around it was doing before wasn't enough for ya to be worried about? if it moves, it's gonna wear! geez......
I had the exact same thing happen to a '97 Chevy S-10 three years ago. I had driven to our local Harbor Freight by way of the X-way, doing about 65mph. When I left HF, I pulled out of their parking lot, on to the main drag and "boom" - the driver's side went. Scared the s**t out of me just to think what could have happened, if it had decided to die a couple miles earlier at 65 instead of 15mph! BTW, before anybody spouts off - I maintain my vehicles old & new - religiously and had even checked the ball joints a month before and hadn't seen any play in either of them.
little_E's dad had that happen, almost. i think it'd be the same ch***is as that also. i think someone noticed some serious problems with his wheel as he was leaving work and he ended up getting towed home. scary part is he drives the interstate to work and had been up to 70 mph that morning...
my wifes vr6 p***at did it two months ago going around a bend hit a tree and flipped twice . thank god she was alright but i got the car back and the p***enger balljoint had come out of the socket and the wheel dug in the ground and tipped her over . o well got you just dont know when it can happen .trodz
I used to do some parallel parking manoevers and then check (visually) the welds where the steering & front end mts were joined to the frame. A pothole or a speedbump, or bridge joint could upset things, but it seemed to me that the low speed stuff really loaded the suspension when the angles of tie rods were most vunerable.
hey update on the ball joint break. Trailed the ute home to my dads farm last night, and repaired it today, swapped over the whole hub with the front 4x4 uni joints, both steering nuckles. I realised when taking part of the spare parts ute that the force of the torsion bars is enough that it actually pushes on the inside of the uni joint enought that it would keep pressue on the stuffed joint, keeping the joint taught and firm and I wouldn't be able to feel it. the torsion rods where under serious, pressure i mean a lot of pressure! unknowing i undid the top ball joint and tapped the joint when the nut was off and the lower arm hit the deck and bounced the ute a good foot in the air. anyway (in my dads words ) Ive learned to - take a F##K#N look at your vechicle and mantain it and don't F##K#N call and tell ur old man at 3am to tell him youve stuffed the ute 300km from home.
same thing happened on my 98 gmc sonoma (s10) three years ago. i pulled up to the curb in front of my house, got a little too close and rode up on to the sidewalk WHAM, upper balljoint snapped. i was going to be driving into boston about an hour after that. i think ****ty driving might have actually saved my *** on that one.
Yep, close call in high school way back when. Head out to the local 1/4 one night to drag a buddies camaro with my 57 chevy. I was in the right lane and got a little jump outta the hole,close all the way. Heading back into town he makes the turn into the local hangout and the p***enger side lower ball joint fails and folds the tire back into the fender... 5 min. earlier and I probably wouldn't be around now to relate this story.
Buddies Dodge Ram busted backingout of the driveway. Hes a landscaper and is always pulling equipment. He said man of all times. I have been loaded down on highways with trailers. It breaks when IM in the driveway unloaded. He had someone looking out for him that day.
To check a ball joint for wear, you need to support the weight of the vehicle on jack stands under the control arm. Now a prybar under the tire will show any slop in the ball joint. You'd be amazed at how many cars are running the streets with bad joints.
I worked at an offroad shop for a while and we were forever changing ball joints on GM trucks/suvs. On the S10 type trucks they're pressed in, so if one falls out it means the hole could be out of round and the whole control arm has to be replaced. More than once we just went ahead and welded the ball joint in at that point since the whole arm was pretty much garbage anyways. I know that for some years you can get a replacement ball joint that comes with 4 bolts and locking nuts. You drill four holes in the control arm and actually bolt in the ball joint, so even if the joint starts to go bad at least it will hold together. Or you could just do like the lowrider guys and chain the control arms together.
i had the right lower ball joint on my `95 chevy S-10 come apart at freeway speeds...it was a handfull to get it pulled over and stopped
2000 Ford Ranger here. Front end got a squeak at 40K. No damn grease fittings to lube these new things. Then, the tires started to wear, I put it off. come to find out, the factory upper balljoints are part of the control arm.............read $$$$$$$$$$$$. Lowers were shot as well. Funny thing, the replacement upper arms have replaceable ball joints............................lemme find that FOMOCO engineer and beat him with a control arm! Lucky mine didnt let go on the road.
everyone should get rid of those pesky ball joints and drive solid axle cars only. wonder what my volvo will look like with a straight axle?
really, really gay....but i see you're in the right town anyway, it depends on the volvo...... it'd be kinda cool on one of the shrunken 46 ford-looking ones...
my first exp with this, 50 olds in 56 left the light hard, just across the intersection and wham, rt ft susp on the ground. good news i could fix it there.
hey cheers for the info guys (tommy for the wisdom)- im thinking that this is a serious reacurring problem. Ive noticed that the newer light jap built 4x4 are the worst- "mostly those with torsion arms are the worst"; mechanic mate. Anyway ****ped my self on the drive today to the city- 300km, I could hear a slight jingling noise around corners- and crawled around under it checking the joints in the ****** dirt trying to find the problem. On the second stop my girlfriend howel with laughter and jangled my keys in my face- tne ****** cow. Also does anyone know why new (ball) joints are **** and the old ones seem to last for years through harsh punishment? cheers
hey cheers for the info guys (tommy for the wisdom)- im thinking that this is a serious reacurring problem. Ive noticed that the newer light jap built 4x4 are the worst- "mostly those with torsion arms are the worst"; mechanic mate. Anyway ****ped my self on the drive today to the city- 300km, I could hear a slight jingling noise around corners- and crawled around under it checking the joints in the ****** dirt trying to find the problem. On the second stop my girlfriend howel with laughter and jangled my keys in my face- tne ****** cow. Also does anyone know why new (ball) joints are **** and the old ones seem to last for years through harsh punishment? cheers
not all ball joints are checked that wat. depends on how they're loaded... hard for me to explain but trust me, theres more than one way to build someting...
Uhhh......it was the factory parts that failed. I think he was talking about the OLD factory parts lasting longer, as compared to the NEW factory parts.
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