Ball joint breakage?

[Dave 2000]

See a thread on a UK forum about a guy who had the ball joint next to the steering pitman arm sheer. Then along comes another guy who had exactly the same problem. It seems the ball joint dries out and under certain conditions the joint fails. Both failures happened at low speed manoeuvring i.e. a condition where the wheels are barely rotating which is when the load on the steering gear is virtually at it's highest.

So anyone experience this?

Happening once on an old car is bad luck but on two separate cars?

I am in the throes of ordering a complete new chromoly arm with greasable joints at the ends.

regards

Dave

 

[Hornd]

I think your talking about the Drag Link and Steering Tie Rod Ends.
They can all he had for about $100 from Cruiser Outfitters
Cruiser Outfitters
They can be a nightmare to remove (I know) but not as much issue if you have Acetylene and a 26MM LH and RH tap.

 

[Dave 2000]

I think your talking about the Drag Link and Steering Tie Rod Ends.
They can all he had for about $100 from Cruiser Outfitters
Cruiser Outfitters
They can be a nightmare to remove (I know) but not as much issue if you have Acetylene and a 26MM LH and RH tap.

Exactly those, I was unsure if they changed their name as they travelled across the pond I normally use a blow lamp to remove them.

I have chosen to replace any future parts of the LC with OE or better. It does seem the solid chromoly is a little OTT but with greasable heavy duty joints, I doubt they will need doing in the foreseeable future.

Odd, I drove the car today and was pussyfooting around as if it was about to throw itself into the nearest ditch, last week before hearing about the failures I had the speedo needle hitting the trip reset................allegedly .

regards

Dave

 

[Golgo13]

I think it would make most sense to just replace with OE parts and check the tie rod ends every 5000 miles as the maintenance guide suggests. Changing to the solid chromoly rods isn't just a waste of money, it also moves any failure to something undoubtedly more expensive. Just my 2 pence.

 

[Dave 2000]

I hear you Golgo13 and agree they are wise words but, these failures were not advertised by slop AFAIK giving the driver some warning, they simply sheared, if they had been at speed we might not have heard from them again. I have noticed you can get heavy duty versions, and these have a grease nipple as well so there is a cheaper option. Money wise I have a trade account with a 4x4 supplier, and can get the Chromoly link with HD ball joints close to the retail of a new stock unit. Add to this I am also not averse to 'blowing' a few quid on the LC so bigger, better, stronger.

regards

Dave

 

[Hornd]

The Three 5 Brand I posted are made in Japan and I would consider equivalent to OEM Quality.
Have one on my truck now.
Be aware that Toyota used Fine Threads on these Tubes.
If you want to get real fancy you can slip a piece of DOM over tube when you have ends removed, weld in place and make a Heavy Duty version.
I don't rock crawl so not an issue here.

 

[Dave 2000]

I see them but I am in Spain so there will be some shipping and custom charges, also note they no longer come with grease nipples or 'zerk's', did they come with your units? As per my reply to Golgo13, I get a good trade discount and the supplier is just down the road, cost wise it is a no brainer but will keep Golgo13's thoughts about moving any possible damage to another place in mind.

regards

Dave