Ball joint fail = missing wheel (Pics)

[Pathfinder3.5]

What a great way to start a Friday morning. Was backing into my spot at work and heard a massive bang and felt the truck drop. Was NOT expecting this when I opened the door! Its a miracle that this happened where it did and not on the highway or public road. Considering I had this thing packed with friends all last weekend and put 1000k on it scares me. That would not have been good.

This really shook me up. I was nervous driving another car after it happened.

There was absolutely no clunking whatsoever. The balljoint was cracked in half before this happened and it finally gave up today.







Stay safe!

[Qxxx4]

Sorry to hear about that! But the damage was minimal it coulda been alot worse, you were lucky. I just had my passwnger side ball joint and wheel bearings replaced....first time ever in 185k, my mechanic said the drivers side is fine and just had those bearings repacked.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Sorry to hear about that! But the damage was minimal it coulda been alot worse, you were lucky. I just had my passwnger side ball joint and wheel bearings replaced....first time ever in 185k, my mechanic said the drivers side is fine and just had those bearings repacked.

I dont even want to think what it would of been like if this happened on the 400 series highways...which I was on almost all last week.

[Towncivilian]

Wow, that looks pretty funky but as said above at least the damage is minimal. Good thing it happened in the parking lot!

[Qxxx4]

Hey, you fit in with the civic retards at least

[Pathfinder3.5]

Hey, you fit in with the civic retards at least

[miamiheat3332]

Damn!!! - How many miles are on your truck? Im glad i did mine a couple months ago, and cant imagine that cracking on the highway or even worse on a backroad your ripping a curve on with no guard rail and trees

I had my stock ones still on probably with 10-15k miles on the lowering coils, which makes it even harder on the suspension components. If i recall you lived in Canada? It probably has something to do with rust up there to be honest.

Glad your okay though man, thats what counts.

Also, is your strut tower mounts now messed up? Looks like they would be twisted, where the strut bolts into.

[Pathfinder3.5]

And to top this wonderful day off...my seat stops working! Started out with the driverside rail getting stuck. My mom needs to drive this thing too but can't with the seat all the way back so I had a friend hold the switch forward while I pushed on the seat from the back. It crept forward but stopped working all together. Now all it does is click.

This truck is pissing me off. I put nothing but money into it and all it does is break.

Any ideas before I lose my mind?

[Camelfilter]

There was a quick fix I recently saw posted up. Use a washer as a spring or some such on the end of the seat adjuster "screw" to keep it from locking up.

If I figure out where the thread went I'll link it up.-Found it-

Take a look at this thread, it hopefully might help: post6354711.html?hilit=power%20seat%20washer#p6354711

~and bummer about the ball joint fun. Thankfully no one got hurt!

[Pathfinder3.5]

Damn!!! - How many miles are on your truck? Im glad i did mine a couple months ago, and cant imagine that cracking on the highway or even worse on a backroad your ripping a curve on with no guard rail and trees

I had my stock ones still on probably with 10-15k miles on the lowering coils, which makes it even harder on the suspension components. If i recall you lived in Canada? It probably has something to do with rust up there to be honest.

Glad your okay though man, thats what counts.

Also, is your strut tower mounts now messed up? Looks like they would be twisted, where the strut bolts into.

only 185k kms. This balljoint was replaced last year too.

The scary thing is that we go to the cottage every weekend. I took this thing on some rough terrain literally in the midde of no where at 11PM at night. That would NOT be fun.

I'll try and get a pic of the broken Balljoint. It was still packed full of grease and there was no rust present. I'm just glad it was me and me only driving it when it happened. I know my mom or brother would of had a mental breakdown.

The first thing I did was check the Strut tower. It seems it is perfectly fine. The strut didn't need to be replaced, surprisingly.

The only things I had to replace were the CV Shaft, Balljoint and sway bar link. Not too bad but lucky for me I got a discount cause I work at a shop.

[stioc]

Man, that's scary! Now I'll be worried about this constantly. Balljoints shouldn't fail like that and the manufacturer must be contacted especially since you said there's no rust and there's plenty of grease left still. You said you changed them not long ago, what brand were they? Glad you made out ok and there was no additional damage.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Man, that's scary! Now I'll be worried about this constantly. Balljoints shouldn't fail like that and the manufacturer must be contacted especially since you said there's no rust and there's plenty of grease left still. You said you changed them not long ago, what brand were they? Glad you made out ok and there was no additional damage.

I was thinking about doing this also. I believe that I have the records in our system at work and I am going to look it up monday. I'm not sure what brand they were.

[Qxxx4]

let us know, I got a ball joint replaced last week so I will talk to my mechanic about which brand he put in. Maybe there is some sort of warranty that will cover this mess? Or the person who installed it might have made an error?

[Pathfinder3.5]

let us know, I got a ball joint replaced last week so I will talk to my mechanic about which brand he put in. Maybe there is some sort of warranty that will cover this mess? Or the person who installed it might have made an error?

I'm going to look into this on monday. I can look up the service history once in our system.

Unfortunately I might be leaving the R50 world

This truck is starting to cost more monthly to maintain than a car payment. None of us really feel safe driving it anymore. I know it's a stupid excuse but its the truth.

Looks like we may be picking up a 2011 Kia Sorento EX AWD. I know it's no R50 but lets be serious...we don't need the pathy anymore. It only gets driven in the city and only gets 12-14MPG at best. I don't offroad with it. It just a family weekend hauler.

276HP and 258lb-ft of torque and still gets 20 in the city and 29 on the highway is fine by me!


I'll keep you guys posted.

[Qxxx4]

My '12mustang v6 has 305hp and gets 26ish city and 34ish highway....eat it! I hear ya tho. I thought my qx4 was getting unsafe but then i brought it to my mechanic and he checked it thouroughly, minor parts and now all the scary jolts sways and shakes on highway are gone except for my bumpy rear shocks

[Pathfinder3.5]

My '12mustang v6 has 305hp and gets 26ish city and 34ish highway....eat it! I hear ya tho. I thought my qx4 was getting unsafe but then i brought it to my mechanic and he checked it thouroughly, minor parts and now all the scary jolts sways and shakes on highway are gone except for my bumpy rear shocks

Those V6 Stangs are something else...they SCREAM! We are going to crunch some numbers monday for the Sorento and we will go from there. As of today I have put my stock intake back in.

We really enjoy our '10 Sonata. Hyundai and Kia seem to be a good candidate for our next vehicle. Haters can hate all they want. Fact is that they've stepped up their game a whole bunch.

[miamiheat3332]

Like i said on the other forum... Hyundai/KIA route, this is calling you



haha, but the sorento does look better then old kias.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Like i said on the other forum... Hyundai/KIA route, this is calling you



haha, but the sorento does look better then old kias.

Those things are too sweet. Especially in Turbo SX form

[Pathfinder3.5]

Here are some pics. Not sure if it was or wasn't cracked in half. You be the judge.

[04Chinook]

That almost looks like that could be mevotech brand ball joints judging by the blue dust boots. They usually are the cheapest option.

[Pathfinder3.5]

That almost looks like that could be mevotech brand ball joints judging by the blue dust boots. They usually are the cheapest option.

Yep. Wouldn't doubt that this was a cheap balljoint. Regardless, it shouldn't have failed the way it did.

[Buzzman]

Yep. Wouldn't doubt that this was a cheap balljoint. Regardless, it shouldn't have failed the way it did.

Don't take this the wrong way, but this may be a case of "you get what you pay for".
Personally, for stuff like ball joints, I'll pay the extra pennies and stick with Nissan parts.

As for Kia/Hyundai, I have to agree with the other posts.
They've stepped up their game big time.
My son bought a new Tucson a few months ago, and it's a really nice ride.
I rented a Kia Optima this past January when I was in Scottsdale (for the Barret-Jackson auction),
and just a few weeks ago, I rented a Kia Soul when I was down east for a wedding.
I thought they were both terrific cars. The Soul especially was a real pleasant surprise.
Cheers.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Yep. Wouldn't doubt that this was a cheap balljoint. Regardless, it shouldn't have failed the way it did.

Don't take this the wrong way, but this may be a case of "you get what you pay for".
Personally, for stuff like ball joints, I'll pay the extra pennies and stick with Nissan parts.

As for Kia/Hyundai, I have to agree with the other posts.
They've stepped up their game big time.
My son bought a new Tucson a few months ago, and it's a really nice ride.
I rented a Kia Optima this past January when I was in Scottsdale (for the Barret-Jackson auction),
and just a few weeks ago, I rented a Kia Soul when I was down east for a wedding.
I thought they were both terrific cars. The Soul especially was a real pleasant surprise.
Cheers.

I hear ya. I just would expect it to clunk and fail that way being that it is a cheap part. Not completely fall apart and cost me $$$

I test drove a V6 Sorento tonight...wow. Very quiet and refined. The engine not is especially nice. Shifts smoothly and power is there whenever you need it. If all goes well, This white Sorento will be mine by the end of the week/early next week. Apparently it is pre-sold to another dealership but he is willing to sell it to me. Keeping my fingers crossed!

[miamiheat3332]

Do they have the shiftable automatics standard in these cars now? Does your sorento have it?

I wish they made the r50 in a 5 spd automatic form, would have been better for gas mileage and probably acceleration. Even though our pathfinders arent the tiptronic kind, you can basically use it as a tiptronic, using 1, revving that out then pushing to 2, while overdrive is off, going to D will give you 3, and once you rev that out push in the overdrive for 4, and if you want to downshift from 4-3 just O/D off,

Once you have the system down its real simple and you put max power to the wheels, especially on a turn in 2nd, at sweetspot rpms.

[Pathfinder3.5]

Do they have the shiftable automatics standard in these cars now? Does your sorento have it?

I wish they made the r50 in a 5 spd automatic form, would have been better for gas mileage and probably acceleration. Even though our pathfinders arent the tiptronic kind, you can basically use it as a tiptronic, using 1, revving that out then pushing to 2, while overdrive is off, going to D will give you 3, and once you rev that out push in the overdrive for 4, and if you want to downshift from 4-3 just O/D off,

Once you have the system down its real simple and you put max power to the wheels, especially on a turn in 2nd, at sweetspot rpms.

Pretty much every Hyundai/Kia has the tip tronic shifter in them. The sorento did have it. That should be pretty fun being that it is a 6-Speed mated to a powerful V6. I will keep you guys posted on whats going on! Should know by tomorrow or Thursday.

[Qxxx4]

Oooooo im feeling that optima. My buddy asked "whats that" when we were behind a hyundai eqous...sweet car. I love the new forte coupe...all it needs is nice rims and its a cool whip. I cant stand the soul though, and the people that drive them are weirrrd! Theres some optimas at my work i am shocked how well they are put together.

10 years ago we had the original sportage and sephia, they were like north american ladas lol now the brand is respectable.

My uncle got an 01 accent gsi brand new, back in the day hyundai was still in the world rally championship. Man that little gsi screamed, its what made me want to get a stickshift car some day.....which ended up being my stang finally, 12 years later lol

[Pathfinder3.5]

Oooooo im feeling that optima. My buddy asked "whats that" when we were behind a hyundai eqous...sweet car. I love the new forte coupe...all it needs is nice rims and its a cool whip. I cant stand the soul though, and the people that drive them are weirrrd! Theres some optimas at my work i am shocked how well they are put together.

10 years ago we had the original sportage and sephia, they were like north american ladas lol now the brand is respectable.

My uncle got an 01 accent gsi brand new, back in the day hyundai was still in the world rally championship. Man that little gsi screamed, its what made me want to get a stickshift car some day.....which ended up being my stang finally, 12 years later lol

I am kinda liking the 2013 Kia Soul that you can get with the exterior LED package. The Turn signals and running lights in the front are un freaking believable.

Those little stick shift accents are a ball to drive. Underpowered? yes. But they sure are fun to drive regardless. The GSi was a pretty cool package back then. We see a few come through my work.

[zach7685]

Never thought I'd see a 67,000 Hyundai when I was younger XD

[kathykocar]

The same thing happened to my 2007 Nissan Versa with only about 60,000 miles on it last summer (2015). I was pulling out of a mall parking lot onto a busy street when boom, the ball joint broke and my wheel looked just like your picture. A couple guys tried to help me push it out of the intersection, but that of course was impossible with the wheel cockeyed and about falling off. Police came to direct traffic and called a tow truck. My mechanic fixed it, replaced ball joints on both sides and the front right axle assembly and while he was in there he replaced brake pads, calipers and rotors. Cost $1100. I had never heard of this happening before in all the 45 years I've driven. I too was so grateful that I wasn't on the freeway which is exactly the route I take to get to and from the mall. When the car stopped it was like hitting a wall. I don't want to think about what that would be like at 60 mph instead of the 10-15 mph I was going as I pulled out of the mall parking lot. I'd probably not be around to make this post. The only indication I'd had that anything might be amiss before this happened was a "swishing" I'd thought I heard sometimes when my window was open. I wasn't even sure I heard anything. There was no clunking, nothing to make me think anything was seriously wrong.

[atraudes]

No kidding, that is terrifying. The usual signs of an ball joint going bad is creaking, groaning or grinding when you turn. What happens is the grease dries up or gets washed out which means the ball joint is rubbing dry. It's also certainly possible that the metal the ball is made out of is weak or flawed due to cheap or tainted manufacturing processes.

Glad to hear everyone is okay in your case though!