Ball Joint Failure - My Turn

[ttora4runner]

For the past couple of days my 4runner has had a weird feel while driving and felt like there was tension on the steering wheel (wanted to pull right). I had looked underneath at everything and nothing seemed to be out of line.
Well, this morning I ran to store to pick something up before work and rememberd that I had forgot my check book at home and decided to run home and get it.

At one spot in the road near an intersection there is a storm drainage ditch/dip in the road. I slowed down to about 10-15 mph, and fast than that and you'll scrap/bottom out. Right after I pass this the drivers side front end dives and I hear this scrapping/grindding sound. I drive a little more to get my self out of the intersection and get out to see what happens.

When I get out and look I just bust out laughing (I just couldn't help myself in this stituation and the person walking out to their car probable thought I had lost my mind) as the driver's side front wheel is not partially under my 4runner. Luckily, the slider prevented it from going any further under. So I made a few calls and after an hour and half the tow truck finally comes and gets me.

While waiting for the truck a few stop and ask if I'm okay and a few I just shot the breeze with for a little bit. Heck, someone even took a photo themselves.

So now my 4runner is at the Toyota dealership (they replaced the lower control arms a few months back) and I'm in a rental Chevy Avero. I'm also talking with my insurance too see if they will cover anything. I doubt it but I'm hopefully.

Thankfully, this took place on a side road and not on the highway or out on the trail somewhere.

So anyways here are the photo's:

What's that white line on the road and why is the vehicle slanting to one side

Well, that can't be good

Well, there's your problem

Anyone care to guess what the estimated repair bill is??

 

[lewis]

SAS and 1 tons, it will never happen again.

 

[Tacoma]

Anyone care to guess what the estimated repair bill is??

A lot more than that $40 ball joint would have cost to replace after your regular inspection discovered a problem.

 

[Skylinerider]

Ummm, you still use a checkbook?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Upper & lower balljoint, inspect the steering rack to make sure it didn't flex beyond its limits and damage either the outer tie rod end or the rack guide bushings. A new CB boot kit assuming it didn't damage the CV? Can't remember if there is a clip that holds that CV plunge pot together normally?

 

[ttora4runner]

SAS and 1 tons, it will never happen again.

That actually crossed my mind this afternoon

A lot more than that $40 ball joint would have cost to replace after your regular inspection discovered a problem.

I've been under my 4runner a couple of times in the last few months and noticed anything.

Ummm, you still use a checkbook?

It comes in handy, especially when someone steals your debit card information and makes unauthorized purchases with it (that was my excitement at the beginning of this week).

 

[bryson]

Anyone care to guess what the estimated repair bill is??

I'll give you $500 for the whole 'runner as-is, and even cover the tow truck bill. thay way you're not out anything!

 

[ttora4runner]

Went back though all my auto repair receipts and found one from May 29, 2010 in which the left lower ball joint was replaced - with one from Checkers/O'Reilly auto parts (Moog). So I wonder now if it was a piece of crap ball joint (got to see if I can find any other info on it) or if it was due to some other act that would've caused it to fail. If it was truely the part that failed.

Are those parts covered under warranty at all?

 

[sixstringsteve]

that EXACT SAME THING happened on my tacoma 4 months ago, but I was going 25 mph, so it tore everything off. Same exact scrape in the road too. Funny thing is, the dealership had just looked it over 6 months earlier and said the ball joints looked great.

$7k repair bill, and it never drove the same afterward.

 

[ttora4runner]

.........and it never drove the same afterward.

That's the thing I'm affraid of.

 

[ttora4runner]

I'll give you $500 for the whole 'runner as-is, and even cover the tow truck bill. thay way you're not out anything!

Nice try but no.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I should have collected the check from the insurance and just done a sas.

 

[01XJ]

left lower ball joint was replaced - with one from Checkers/O'Reilly auto parts (Moog).

Back when i had my Durango and was visiting the Durango forums i seen many pictures just like this and even a few that were worse. And 2 or three that actually failed at highway speeds and they rolled their rig. And almost everyone that failed was a replacement (Moog) Its good to hear you were just going slow and not 65+ when it gave out im sure it wouldnt have been a pretty site! After reading and seeing all the failed Moog joints i will never put one on my car/s.

 

[ttora4runner]

Someone just noted on another forum that the bump stops on the LCA are missing and from looking the photo and a few others it looks like they were never reinstalled with the new lca due to the lack of wear marks.

How would this affect it?

 

[bryson]

Someone just noted on another forum that the bump stops on the LCA are missing and from looking the photo and a few others it looks like they were never reinstalled with the new lca due to the lack of wear marks.

How would this affect it?

Is it possible that the lack of bumpstop allowed things to over-articulate to the point where it stressed the balljoint enough to cause the failure?

I'd be curious to find out if people with similar failures had their bumpstops removed or modified...

 

[ttora4runner]

Ya, that's pretty much it. I talked with Steve Schaffer from Sonoran Steel and a few other folks about it and from not having the bump stops installed it over articulated it.

 

[bryson]

Ya, that's pretty much it. I talked with Steve Schaffer from Sonoran Steel and a few other folks about it and from not having the bump stops installed it over articulated it.

Does that mean you can stick it to the stealership that did the work...?

 

[ttora4runner]

Does that mean you can stick it to the stealership what did the work...?

I'm going to talk to them about it tomorrow. It'll be interesting too see what they say.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'd be curious to find out if people with similar failures had their bumpstops removed or modified...

when mine failed, I still had the stock bumpstops (with a 3" suspension lift). I know certain years of tacomas had the lower ball joints recalled, but my tacoma wasn't one of the lucky years.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

All of the Taco/4Runner ball joint failures I have seen have still has the OE bumpstops in place. While its highly likely that lack of the bumpstop could surely accelerate wear on the ball-joints, its not a smoking gun. Hopefully the dealership is willing to work with you.