Close call March 20, 2006, 01:58:29 AM Had a close call today with the '86 TC. I was getting the car ready to take back to school. I had it up on a lift and changed the oil, checked tranny fluid and looked at the front end. The ball joint on the driver side was pretty wore out, but I figured it'd be fine to drive on. Later that day I was putzing around town and the car started making a grinding noise. The grinding started getting worse, then it started to get hard to move the car. About a block away from my garage something snapped and the front left side of the car was practically on the ground with the wheel way up in the fender. The shiznitty old "sealed for life" ball joint pulled apart! Thank God this didn't happen on the interstate doing 75mph! Have any of you guys had ball joints pull apart? Quote Selected
Close call Reply #1 – March 20, 2006, 02:22:19 AM wow! that happening at 75 woulda been more than a close call! but cant say its happened to me!Frank Quote Selected
Close call Reply #2 – March 20, 2006, 09:52:01 AM Wow, that sucks - lucky you were going slow...Say what you will about those "sealed for life" ball joints, though, but keep in mind the ones on your car were about 20 years old. I'd say they did their job... Quote Selected
Close call Reply #3 – March 20, 2006, 09:54:05 AM Same identical thing happened to me...with my '84 Cougar....in 1991. The original sealed for life ball joints and tie rods suck. The newer, replacement ones may be better now, but there's no substitute for a grease fitting. Quote Selected
Close call Reply #4 – March 20, 2006, 10:24:32 PM Yeah its scarey to see the wheel do that. I saw it because I was stupid and didn't know you can't use stock spindles with new SN95 control arms (I had replaced the whole control arm, but not the 11" fox spindels). The SN 95 ball joint isn't as long as the standard ball joint and there wasn't enough threads for the nylock to properly lock.I give you a lot of credit for actually spotting it earlier... Lots of times its a good idea to listen to those inner voices!Mine happened when I turned into a parking spot. I always think twice about doing turns fast. I was thinking there must be a little more stress when the wheels are turned.Did yours crack when you were turning or just going straight?How did you limp it back to the garage? Quote Selected
Close call Reply #5 – March 20, 2006, 10:51:24 PM you think you are lucky check this out.So me and a couple buddies decide to go to this car show in Akron Oh. Now i live in dayton so it is a good little drive. well we are running late and im in my Stang and my other Buddies are in a 90 honda hatch with a motor swap we just finished ( still slow) well he flies up and gets up to like 120 and we just cruise down a deserted highway for a good while and finally come to our exit. as we get off the exit we pull into a motel parking lot and i start hearing this grinding noise. well we stop and pay for a room then as i am backing out the wheel locks up and all of a sudden the car drops!!! I freaked out. luckily there was an autozone near by so i got her fixed up but if that would have happened at 120 i am scared to even think about it. I have grown up alot since then. no more 120 on the highway ( unless i check balljoints first LOL LOL LO LLOL) Quote Selected
Close call Reply #6 – March 20, 2006, 10:52:24 PM The ball joint started grinding when I was pulling out of a parking lot and it snapped when I was going straight about 3 blocks away. You should have seen it though, It broke right on main street. We had to jack up the front and put a large dolly under the k member. I walked next to the car to steer while my friend drove. The looks we got driving with the front wheels in the air were priceless! For the past 10K miles the car has been a c to drive with the wore out rack, loose tie rod ends, and creaking ball joints. I actually stopped giving rides back and forth to school because I didn't want to kill anyone of my friends. I didn't drive the car for the past month because of how unsafe it felt. I think this was a sign. p.s. are the ball joints on a '91 escort tension or compression? Quote Selected
Close call Reply #7 – March 21, 2006, 05:45:09 PM Hmm I have 125,000 on my ball joints and they are fine. I had the front end up in the air just last week to change the tires and I checked the ball joints. No leaks, the seals looked good, and there was no play. I think they're just going to let go with no warning....... Quote Selected
Close call Reply #8 – March 21, 2006, 07:10:03 PM I believe you have to jack the car up under the a arm to see if there is any play, being that these are tension and all. Quote Selected
Close call Reply #9 – March 21, 2006, 07:50:59 PM I can remember driving out of Pittsburgh coming home from Cat Jam '05.There was a guy in front of me in a big Buick LeSabre. We were tooling along at a cool 85 mph. His ball joint gave at that moment.What a show.He locked the wheels and spun around 180*; so I could actually see the look on his face. It ended well, though. He slid backwards into the soft shoulder without hitting anything. Quote Selected
Close call Reply #10 – March 21, 2006, 08:54:18 PM Quote from: cougarcragarI can remember driving out of Pittsburgh coming home from Cat Jam '05.There was a guy in front of me in a big Buick LeSabre. We were tooling along at a cool 85 mph. His ball joint gave at that moment.What a show.He locked the wheels and spun around 180*; so I could actually see the look on his face. It ended well, though. He slid backwards into the soft shoulder without hitting anything. Wow Zach, that must have happend after we parted ways. What road did it happen on? Quote Selected
Close call Reply #11 – March 21, 2006, 09:07:21 PM Oops... I meant Cat Jam '04. It was the year before you and I did the caravan back home.I may have mentioned that I usually head towards Pittsburgh after the weekend. I have a brother there. Quote Selected
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