Scary Ball Joint incident

[mespock]

On Saturday my wife called while I was camping and asked if my friend Danny called me and told me about the 93 Mark VIII.

He hadn't, so she told me that while my Middle daughter was coming home form work that the car dropped.

Danny was driving past as this happened. (Small town)!

Danny couldn't tell what was wrong at that point as the car was too low to get under.

On Sunday I was able to get home to take a look at the car.

The Ball Joint has popped out of the Lower Control arm.

Lucky I had ordered one as I feel the one on my 95 needs to replaced. (Same one)

We went and got a bunch of tools and started taking off the control arm. (Yes, on the side of the road. (Small town - put up a cone and had people drive around).

Everything was going smooth until I had to take loosen the lower control arm from the tie rod. No go! tried everything I could... So I was about to put everything back together and popped the ball joint back in to see if I could creep the car back home. (about 4 blocks).

A neighbor came by and told me he had a Dewalt Cordless Impact Driver. Brought it back but no go.

Neighbor said I have a portable acetylene torch.. So he drove home to pick it up.

Torch worked we managed to get everything off and replace.

Shwwooooo!!!!

Good thing that ball joint did not pop off while she was driving on the Hwy.

Car is now waiting for an alignment.

 

[pepperman]

Glad to hear that your middle daughter is alright, yes it is a good thing the ball joint didn't go while she was driving down the road. I had a 80 GMC pick-up and the drivers side ball joint snapped as i was going to get a friend for work, good thing it didn't happen the day before while i was coming home from work i was going 65 MPH, that still sends shivers down my spine. It happened 13 years ago.

 

[PioneerCrazed]

Rich, that's awful; glad your daughter is all right. This has really got me considering changing mine. I drive 45 miles roundtrip to work 5 nights a week and it's all over 60 mph. And let me tell you, my suspension is not up to snuff with 145k miles and most likely never replaced.

Couple questions, did you replace the whole LCA or just the balljoint? Also, where did you buy them from? I just checked rockauto.com and they want over 120 a piece for moog.

 

[chicken]

Glad to hear that your middle daughter is alright, yes it is a good thing the ball joint didn't go while she was driving down the road. I had a 80 GMC pick-up and the drivers side ball joint snapped as i was going to get a friend for work, good thing it didn't happen the day before while i was coming home from work i was going 65 MPH, that still sends shivers down my spine. It happened 13 years ago.

been there to w/ my friends 88 monti carlo, we were doing 125 down the tollroad and when we got to school and pulled into the parking lot the upper let go and layed the wheel down to the outside

 

[PioneerCrazed]

Alright I've been doing some price comparisons and it looks like Advance/Discount Auto Parts wins hands down.

TRW Parts...

RH--- $58.88
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=TRW&mfrpartnumber=10782&parttype=5001&ptset=A

LH--- $58.88
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=TRW&mfrpartnumber=10783&parttype=5001&ptset=A

 

[94m5]

Nope.....



Rockauto.com



Part #'s K80053, and K80055. 53.89, with free shipping, and no tax.

 

[m_maker]

Local Murray's Auto Parts $90 OTD for both lowers.

 

[PioneerCrazed]

Nice find, did the 'ol t-bird trick eh. Anyways, how do I get the free shipping shows $10 for me.

 

[mespock]

Nope.....



Rockauto.com



Part #'s K80053, and K80055. 53.89, with free shipping, and no tax.

Plus if you use 431188389054 as a discount code you will get another 5% off the total price.

Moog parts from Rockauto very fast shipping and the best price I found for a good product.

 

[my95mark8]

Glad to hear noone was hurt Rich.
Seems like you have been having alot of ball joint issues lately eh?

 

[Frat-man-du]

Wow, glad to see your daughter is O.K. Funny how these things seem to work out.

 

[mespock]

Glad to hear noone was hurt Rich.
Seems like you have been having alot of ball joint issues lately eh?

When I took it in to get aliened I was told the ball joint was bad and needed to be replace. They told me the upper Ball Joint.

I purchase the lower ball joint because I feel my 95 needs one.

I was going to the 93 in this week to see if the alignment could be done, I figured they they would be able to tell me if the lower ball joint needed replacing. (After replacing the upper control arm all issues the 93 was experiencing went away, I guess it was bad).

Now I need to order another control arm for my 95.

 

[Calabrio]

Glad she was o.k.
And, less important, that the car wasn't hurt either.

 

[94m5]

Replace them both Rich. One went, it's only a matter of time for the next.

 

[Dominus]

Use the T-Bird lower arms if you like, just don't put them on a scale and compare them to your old ones.

 

[my95mark8]

Use the T-Bird lower arms if you like, just don't put them on a scale and compare them to your old ones.

Is one lighter than the other? I know the Mark VIII ones will make your wallet lighter.

 

[Dominus]

A little know conversion kit for the T-Bird allows T-Bird guys to run the Mark VIII's aluminum lower control arms.

The Mark VIII ones are much lighter. I know it doesn't matter to most people, but a good reduction in unsprung weight is never a bad idea, and you don't even have to buy it from some weird aftermarket company for a billion dollars.