Lookie what I learned today! CHANGE DEM BALL JOINTS!

fudge12

fudge12

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I was driving on the high way all day with no problems with my suspension but I did notice the steering wheel did have a lot of play/shimmy to it when driving. In the evening after spending the day with the GF's family I was coming home on the local road. At a red light waiting to turn left, I decided to switch my lane and take another way home instead of waiting on traffic to move. As I switched lanes (going into the right lane) I just felt my car drop followed by the sound of a dragging tire. Immediately I called my friend and started to panic without even getting out the car to check what had happened.

Turned out that the ball joint stud sheered in half leaving the stud attached to the lower control arm and the ball joint attached to the steering knuckle. After waiting 1 1/2hours for a tow truck (they requested a flat bed but got a dolly style tow truck) he towed my car with the front wheels up. The tranny and engine seem to have no signs of damage since the trip was only 3 miles.

Anyway, after $150 I am on the road again. I plan to change my upper ball joint and tie rod end since they endured a lot of stress when the tire dragged.

Without further delay, here's the pics. It's definitely a scary situation and a warning to all LS owners.. CHANGE THOSE DAMN BALL JOINTS IF THEY'RE NO GOOD!! I honestly believe they should be changed regularly regardless of condition as they can go with little to no warning.

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P1040451.jpg Sorry to hear of the misfortune. I had a similar issue. I just bought my 2000 Ls and noticed the uneven tire wear on the left front.Since I plan to replace all suspension parts in the next few months, I went to assess the part. I snapped a wheel stud getting the wheel off. The garage that replaced it told me to check the upper A-arm. Fortunately had already got upper a-arms ordered. It took almost 4 hours to change that side . The A-arm bolts are tough to reach the brake fluid receiver blocks it and little room to work. Tight spacing under the hood. Now will need to do the right side and also noticed lower ball joint and tie rod boot torn. Sigh:( I just hope nothing snaps till I get to it. Can't complain much. Got the car with 142k on it for $1600.

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sucks....

I had that happen when I was a kid.. totaled the car.

GL
 
Are ball joints a common problem on these cars too or was this just due to normal wear?
 
LS4me said:
Yup. A directional tire is fabricated to run a certain direction. Handling is based on the tire construction.
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not to mention the way the treads direct water, with a directional tire on backwards, instead of the tread pushing water from the center of the tire out to the sides, the tire will push all the water towards the center. long story short, very dangerous in wet weather.
 
Damn Fudge, you need some nail clippers, gonna hurts someone with those one day!
 
BigRigLS said:
Damn Fudge, you need some nail clippers, gonna hurts someone with those one day!
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My work place requires them so i'm pretty much stuck with them lol. Sometime tweezers wont help with prying out phone screens and end up damaging them.
 
I don't remember...... Are you lowered?? Lowering does cause quite a bit of extra stress on the suspension....
 
LS4me said:
I don't remember...... Are you lowered?? Lowering does cause quite a bit of extra stress on the suspension....
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I'm not too sure if I am. All suspension parts look bone stock but for some reason sits a tad lower than other LS's I see around here.
 
fudge12 said:
I'm not too sure if I am. All suspension parts look bone stock but for some reason sits a tad lower than other LS's I see around here.
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Again the memory..... V6? For some reason my daughter's 6 sits a tad lower than our V8's.
 
LS4me said:
Is that tire on the wheel backwards??????
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OhOneLSV8 said:
No, on the wrong side of the car. Should be on driver side.
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fudge12 said:
hmm i never noticed that. does it matter though?
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LS4me said:
Yup. A directional tire is fabricated to run a certain direction. Handling is based on the tire construction.
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its a Fuzion HRi.

they are NOT directional. they are asymmetric. they have an inside/outside.

the tires are more than likely mounted correctly.
 
chris2523 said:
its a Fuzion HRi.

they are NOT directional. they are asymmetric. they have an inside/outside.

the tires are more than likely mounted correctly.
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That's a directional tread..... Look at the center section; that's meant to rotate one direction. Asymmetric tires can rotate either direction.
 
This is quite interesting. Probably explains why I feel a "floating" feeling while cornering on the highway. Anyway LS4me, yes it's a v6
 
LS4me said:
That's a directional tread..... Look at the center section; that's meant to rotate one direction. Asymmetric tires can rotate either direction.
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sorry, i'm not making this up. shall i quote other sources?
it merely appears directional. it is in fact not.

Go high performance - without going over the top in price! Fuzion HRi tires let you show off one slick-looking set of asymmetrical treads.
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The non-directional, asymmetric tread provides the HRi with excellent grip in both wet and dry conditions.
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The Fuzion HRi tire is engineered with the exclusive UNI-T® technology and features an attractive asymmetrical tread pattern for great looks and superb handling.
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NOTE: While initially appearing somewhat directional, the Fuzion HRi tread design is asymmetric, allowing it to be mounted on either side of the vehicle.
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look closely, you will see where it says OUTSIDE on the tire, about 10 o'clock. definitely not directional.

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chris2523 said:
sorry, i'm not making this up. shall i quote other sources?
it merely appears directional. it is in fact not.









look closely, you will see where it says OUTSIDE on the tire, about 10 o'clock. definitely not directional.

View attachment 828468862
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That is the most directional looking asymmetrical tire I've ever seen....... I sit corrected.
 
LS4me said:
Again the memory..... V6? For some reason my daughter's 6 sits a tad lower than our V8's.
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Since the V6's probably weigh less than the V8's, do they come with different springs. Even if they're the same height when new, the V6 springs may settle lower as they age than the V8 springs.
 
StarPower said:
Since the V6's probably weigh less than the V8's, do they come with different springs. Even if they're the same height when new, the V6 springs may settle lower as they age than the V8 springs.
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I believe the springs are the same. The 6 is about 100# lighter than the 8.
 
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