Seawulf
10-27-2004, 12:46 AM
What happens when the bolt on the control arm fails and the ball joint comes lose and pops out of it's holder at the bottom of the rotor/wheel. You're screwed. That's the only thing holding the wheel to the car. You can't turn, you can't roll, and if you try, the wheel will just get jammed up in the wheel well and bend your bumper a bit.
Luckily my dad's a mechanic with a homemade dolly and I was able to call him to come give me a hand. Even then it took around 2hrs to get the car up cause we had to try to get the ball joint back in a few times just so the car could be pushed into position and then loaded up on the dolly, with a come-along. Why a come-along? Cause the axle also BROKE IN HALF(right side of the car/passenger side), because of the stresses.
So, finally get the car home. Pull everything apart and notice that the bolt that holds the control arm ball joint to the wheel/rotor thing is still there. We loosened it and see some of the threads had been worn down on the inside so that looks like why it failed. No idea exactly how it popped out, except I was parallel parking when I noticed it. It wasn't the stock bolt either, we lost it when we pulled the engine a while back and had to loosen the axles and had to put it back on with a bolt we found or bought.
Bought a new(remanufactured) axle from auto zone for $65, and another temporary bolt $2 and put everything back together. Did it all in one day so it wasn't as bad as I thought, but getting the axle back into the rotor was murder. Now I just need to order a factor bolt and get the car aligned and everything's cool. I figured since I had some money, something was bound to go wrong with the car and while it looked catastrophic when it happened it wasn't too bad thanks to family help and that only the axle was actually damaged. The bumper was also bent a bit but it's hardly noticeable.
So how can you tell if your control arm balljoint is about to pop out. Odds are it will be lose and partially out of the socket so the alignment will be off. That's how I noticed something wrong, but couldn't pinpoint it till it popped out. The steering wheel was no longer pointing straight. What should you do if you suddenly notice your steering is off but you don't know why? Check your wheels first. Odds are the one loose will be misaligned and you can notice it. Aside from the alignment, it doesn't really feel bad till it pops out. The car still rode smooth, just not straight. Find someplace you can park the car immediately till you can get it towed and make as few turns as possible and avoid bumps cause it could come loose at any time, and when it does come lose the car is not easily moved, without potentially damaging something.
Luckily my dad's a mechanic with a homemade dolly and I was able to call him to come give me a hand. Even then it took around 2hrs to get the car up cause we had to try to get the ball joint back in a few times just so the car could be pushed into position and then loaded up on the dolly, with a come-along. Why a come-along? Cause the axle also BROKE IN HALF(right side of the car/passenger side), because of the stresses.
So, finally get the car home. Pull everything apart and notice that the bolt that holds the control arm ball joint to the wheel/rotor thing is still there. We loosened it and see some of the threads had been worn down on the inside so that looks like why it failed. No idea exactly how it popped out, except I was parallel parking when I noticed it. It wasn't the stock bolt either, we lost it when we pulled the engine a while back and had to loosen the axles and had to put it back on with a bolt we found or bought.
Bought a new(remanufactured) axle from auto zone for $65, and another temporary bolt $2 and put everything back together. Did it all in one day so it wasn't as bad as I thought, but getting the axle back into the rotor was murder. Now I just need to order a factor bolt and get the car aligned and everything's cool. I figured since I had some money, something was bound to go wrong with the car and while it looked catastrophic when it happened it wasn't too bad thanks to family help and that only the axle was actually damaged. The bumper was also bent a bit but it's hardly noticeable.
So how can you tell if your control arm balljoint is about to pop out. Odds are it will be lose and partially out of the socket so the alignment will be off. That's how I noticed something wrong, but couldn't pinpoint it till it popped out. The steering wheel was no longer pointing straight. What should you do if you suddenly notice your steering is off but you don't know why? Check your wheels first. Odds are the one loose will be misaligned and you can notice it. Aside from the alignment, it doesn't really feel bad till it pops out. The car still rode smooth, just not straight. Find someplace you can park the car immediately till you can get it towed and make as few turns as possible and avoid bumps cause it could come loose at any time, and when it does come lose the car is not easily moved, without potentially damaging something.