2WD Ball Joints

potz1999 · February 21, 2005

Last night I broke off the right upper ball joint. Has anyone else ever ripped off one of these? What do you attribute this to.

I have a 99 NBS Sierra 2WD with 3" Fabtech spindles and 2" Daystar coil spacers. I know "the lift adds extra stress", but I am looking for more specifics if possible or other ideas.

Thanks for the input.

71GMC_3/4T · February 21, 2005

They don't usually just break on their own...

Okay, what were you doin'? How much had you been drinkin'? What did you hit?

C'mon, 'fess up!!

potz1999 · February 22, 2005

They don't usually just break on their own...
Okay, what were you doin'? How much had you been drinkin'? What did you hit?

C'mon, 'fess up!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I swear on my truck that I was totally sober, and did not hit anything!!! No really, it just snapped as I was turning and coming to a stop.

If I had hit something, it would make this so much easier because I would know why it failed. Right now I am still baffled. I am waiting to get the broken one back, so I can make a determination. My initial thoughts upon a visual inspection was fatigue (flat surface at the edge, non-concentric raised circle father in where the final fracture took place). Once I get it back, I will try to get in in a scanning electron microscope to look for fatique striations.

I really think there is something else at play here which is why I am asking for input.

Also, that ball joint was less than a year old with only 7000 miles on it!

Thanks

asepgrad98 · February 22, 2005

maybe the balljoint was made in china, or perhaps the lift design is flawed

mcreyaufmiller · February 23, 2005

Could it have been an aftermarket ball joint?

May not have been up to factory specs. The lift caused extra forces on the ball joint during turns. I would look for a replacment made for trucks with a lift kit installed on them. It may be a heaiver duty unit.

budhayes3 · February 23, 2005

I was cruisin down the highway at about 65 on my way to work one morning when the guy driving next to me lost his upper ball joint out of the blue. He had a mid 80's Caprice...I just happened to look over as I was passing him and "SLAM", his left front wheel went up into the wheel well and this dude s**t himself. He somehow managed to get the car over to the shoulder thank god.

silverado3500 · February 23, 2005

My 02 1500 2wd had the same fabtech lift and a 1inch spacer, and never lost a ball joint in the 70,000 miles that I had it. And that includes taking a direct hit to the front passenger side wheel (broke a tie-rod-end clean off though). Probably just a defective ball joint. A couple of those come around from time to time.

SlamminL5s · February 23, 2005

ok seriously i want to see a picture of this!!

potz1999 · February 23, 2005

I am leaning towards the idea of a defective part. (Much more comforting than other reasons). I honestly did not think it was the lift that caused this but I'm sure it didn't help. I did not get the do any futher analysis on the part since it had to be shipped back to GM for warranty credit. Right now I am kicking my self because my dumba** forgot to take pictures right when it happened and now I have no record of it (and no cool pics to show you). Since I already have a new one on there, i figure I'll take my chances with the stock piece for a while until I redo the suspension

Thanks for the input!