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Ball joint failure at 40 MPH. (Page 1)

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Author	Topic: Ball joint failure at 40 MPH.
BradleyG POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Dallas, Texas Registered: Dec 2004 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 11:49 AM Things happen for a reason. Had the Prowler ready for 20th but family issues kept us from going. Shined up, serviced, ready to go and covered until we were to leave. Our Crossfire SRT6 and Honda were in the shop for repairs, so I pulled the cover off to drive the Prowler to work today leaving the PT for Angie. Traffic was backed up, so I stayed off the freeway and took a different more casual route which proved to be a good decision. Driving 40 mph on a smooth road, the right, lower ball joint failed. I was able to steer 3 lanes to the right and get off the road coming to rest safely dragging the right wheel wedged under the lower A arm. The top joint did not fail. I had NO WARNING from the car. It just dropped. Got it towed home and in the garage by a very talented tow truck driver that treated the Prowler like a million dollar car. I will not have time to evaluate the damage for a few days, but here are a couple of pictures while waiting for the tow truck.
stevedymo POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie Personal ScrapBook From:Brick, NJ, USA Registered: Mar 2002 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 12:16 PM Brad, was this a new ball joint from the recall?
BradleyG POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Dallas, Texas Registered: Dec 2004 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 12:23 PM Yes. Recall was done in 2004 at about 2500 miles. It now has 99,000 miles. I am on hold with Chrysler right now. Trying to get them to help me.
phil2237 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:PLACENTIA CALIFORNIA Registered: Feb 2005 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 01:21 PM Brad, Have you been checking them from time to time to see if there was a gap or the wheel might have had play. Seems they did last a lot of miles though. This is the first one I have heard of that failed while driving, the rest have seemed to fail when pulling away from a curb. We all need to check these ball joints every time we take these cars out. I personally check mine every time I come back from a ride, this way if there is a problem, I have time to fix it before I take it out again. Just glad to hear you were not hurt.
1buddyc POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:San Antonio Texas USA Registered: Sep 2002 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 02:20 PM Sorry this happened Pal but at least there doesn't appear to be too much damage and it happened close to home and not out on the open road somewhere.
WildCat POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie Personal ScrapBook From:North Louisville, Indiana, USA Registered: Jul 2000 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 02:30 PM sorry to see this. Was going to give you crap for misspelling my name, but looks like you have had enough bad news so I will let it slide Larry (aka @ 20th anniversary) Lary
Richnew41 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Wind Gap, PA Registered: Feb 2015 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 02:56 PM I have to say... Seeing this from Brad worries me personally... I have taken Phil's advice and I do check mine often but I still worry in that its not an exact science to absolutely know if there is a problem... Also worrisome that Brad's happened while driving which is super scary... I'm wondering if they should be changed on a mileage schedule... IE: Buying a few extra pairs and having them replaced every 25K or something like that... Just don't know... I wish there was a true fix for these ball joints...
robin POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:St Thomas Ontario Canada Registered: Nov 2013 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 04:03 PM Glad you and the car are alright. I hope you have a dealer with some knowledge and compassion. You stated the recall was done in 2004. It lasted 14 years. which isn't bad considering the mileage you got out of it. I would have both lower changed at the same time. You will have to either salvage the arm if not damaged. I would have the whole arm replaced as who knows what kind of stress it was subjected to. That of course is big dollars. Plus piece of mind. the most important thing is to check them every year especially if they are aging as in this case. I have two sets for rainy days ahead. Thing is these things were made in 2003 and have been sitting around. Please let us know what the dealer has to say. thanks robin
enzvoy POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Pittsboro, North Carolina, United States Registered: Mar 2007 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 04:20 PM glad your ok Brad ,car can be fixed www.carmd.com/Tsb/Download/32595/080022dc811cb070 www.group1autoparts.com/oe-mopar/cbbtc030 This message has been edited by enzvoy on 06-13-2017 at 04:21 PM
ALLEY CAT POA Lifetime Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:mesa, az, USA Registered: Jul 2000 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 04:29 PM Bradley,,,, Let us also know what Chrysler tells you. We know that Fiat LLC was not part of the original Chrysler recall, but it will be interesting to see what they have to say about it happening. AC
RPL POA Lifetime Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Rochester Hills, MI, USA Registered: Jul 2000 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 07:00 PM Report the failure to the NHSTA website. This failure rate is unacceptable and a safety hazard. How many miles on the car?
ALLEY CAT POA Lifetime Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:mesa, az, USA Registered: Jul 2000 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 07:22 PM quote: Originally posted by RPL: Report the failure to the NHSTA website. This failure rate is unacceptable and a safety hazard. How many miles on the car? quote: Originally posted by BradleyG: Recall was done in 2004 at about 2500 miles. It now has 99,000 miles.
phil2237 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:PLACENTIA CALIFORNIA Registered: Feb 2005 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 08:20 PM Ball joints can be easily checked just by putting a small floor jack under the bottom A Arm and taken the weight off the arm, then rock the wheel back & forth. There should be NO PLAY. It would be a waste to change by mileage as some may fail sooner than later. Brad had over 90,000 miles on his before they failed. So not to panic, as this can happen to any car with this kind of miles. Just check your Prowler out each time you use it as it only takes a few minutes to see if there is a problem.
padroo POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Chesterton, IN, USA Registered: Dec 2010 Admin Use	posted 06-13-2017 08:39 PM If you could save the old ones and get some detailed pictures and post for us please.
onecatnodog Prowler Junkie From:arvada,co,usa Registered: Aug 2004 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 08:00 AM I have a Red Prowler at the dealer now and they are giving me the run around about changing them as they said they have done the recall swap already and have met there obligation.. The car has less than 7,000 miles on it.. I'm giving them till Friday and then will pick up the car done or not.. Any help on getting this repair done as a recall by dealer would be nice..
BradleyG POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Dallas, Texas Registered: Dec 2004 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 08:03 AM Confession time. I did not do any ball joint checks. "It will never happen to me". PLEASE CHECK YOURS NOW!!!! IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU. Most of the miles were done in 5 years. I bought it with 2500 miles in 2005 and by 2010 to over 90,000 miles going to every event I could. Since 2010 I have only put 5000 miles on it driving it only locally for short trips except a Nursing Home trip maaany years ago. I am a little surprised that Chrysler is even considering to evaluate this failure due to the miles and the recall was already done. I have a great Service adviser helping me. Dallasites may know Linda Hammond... She is now at Rockwall Chrysler. I am the only healthy Grubbster, so between taking the sick and elderly to doctor appointments and hospitals and working 2 full time jobs, time is limited. I should have it to Rockwall Chrysler by next Tuesday. I will take more pictures and do my best to document the repair. Looking at it last night, the ball just came out of the A-frame socket. No signs of lubricant, rusty and pitted. The A-Frame landed on the wheel locking it from turning more than a revolution or 2. Ruined the wheel (Talk about peeling chrome.. HaHa), and the tire is worn to the cord where it scraped on the pavement. The tire is still holding air. I could NOT steer the car (Turn the steering wheel)... Was able to guide it to the side of the road within a block while accelerating to get it there.
BradleyG POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Dallas, Texas Registered: Dec 2004 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 08:07 AM Hey LARY, I looked at your badge and could not see anything wrong with it. Please PM me your address and I will send you a corrected one. If there are others needing a corrected badge, please let me know and I will send you a new one. quote: Originally posted by WildCat: sorry to see this. Was going to give you crap for misspelling my name, but looks like you have had enough bad news so I will let it slide Larry (aka @ 20th anniversary) Lary
phil2237 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:PLACENTIA CALIFORNIA Registered: Feb 2005 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 08:37 AM quote: Originally posted by RPL: Report the failure to the NHSTA website. This failure rate is unacceptable and a safety hazard. How many miles on the car? To help out future failures, Please make a report as maybe Uncle Sam will get Chrysler to repair these for life http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/ This message has been edited by phil2237 on 06-14-2017 at 08:42 AM
enzvoy POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Pittsboro, North Carolina, United States Registered: Mar 2007 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 08:42 AM this is in the link I posted If you have already experienced the problem described above and have paid to have it repaired, you may send your original receipts and/or other adequate proof of payment to the following address for reimbursement: DaimlerChrysler Customer Assistance Center, P.O. Box 1040, St. Charles, MO 63302-1040, Attention: Reimbursement. If your dealer fails or is unable to remedy this defect without charge and within a reasonable time, you may submit a written complaint to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590, or call the toll-free Auto Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236. This message has been edited by enzvoy on 06-14-2017 at 08:44 AM
StingRay POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Elk Grove Village, IL, USA Registered: Sep 2010 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 09:43 AM quote: Originally posted by phil2237: Ball joints can be easily checked just by putting a small floor jack under the bottom A Arm and taken the weight off the arm, then rock the wheel back & forth. There should be NO PLAY. It would be a waste to change by mileage as some may fail sooner than later. Brad had over 90,000 miles on his before they failed. So not to panic, as this can happen to any car with this kind of miles. Just check your Prowler out each time you use it as it only takes a few minutes to see if there is a problem. Good info Phil ... how about visually as well ... what should person be looking for and where specifically? This can all be done while wheel is elevated by floor jack under lower A-arm? Good for ALL to know this ... Thanks!
BradleyG POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Dallas, Texas Registered: Dec 2004 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 09:44 AM Bob and Phil, Thank you for the advise and link. I filed a complaint with NHTSA, Your Complaint Number: 10995073. It seems that we can see and follow the complaint on their website within 72 hours. ENZOY, thank you for the links and information as it is really detailed with tools needed and the part numbers. The link to the www.group1autoparts.com site has the lower control arm ball joint for only $73.95. quote: Originally posted by phil2237: To help out future failures, Please make a report as maybe Uncle Sam will get Chrysler to repair these for life http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/ This message has been edited by BradleyG on 06-14-2017 at 02:50 PM
robin POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:St Thomas Ontario Canada Registered: Nov 2013 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 01:21 PM The ball joint are around 100 a pair. The RIGHT SIDE a arm #4 in diagram is 960. #4 4865322AA Lower Control Arm, RIGHT $1,395.00 $961.40 http://www.group1autoparts.com/aut o-parts/2001/chrysler/prowler/base-trim/3-5l-v6-gas-engine/front-suspension-cat/suspension-components-scat To get a ball joint the dealer will have to order this part # CBBTC030 box contains two get both done. This message has been edited by robin on 06-14-2017 at 01:31 PM
phil2237 POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:PLACENTIA CALIFORNIA Registered: Feb 2005 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 03:29 PM quote: Originally posted by StingRay: Good info Phil ... how about visually as well ... what should person be looking for and where specifically? This can all be done while wheel is elevated by floor jack under lower A-arm? Good for ALL to know this ... Thanks! It is hard to tell a ball joint is bad by looking at one, especially with the boot covering it. Just jack up the A Arm, and rock the wheel. There SHOULD be NO PLAY. If you find any play, replace them ASAP
Tomcal POA Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Commack, NY, USA Registered: Jan 2005 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 07:32 PM How to check Ball Joints. Video: http://youtu.be/62bVn7E8gyk?t=46 See your owners manual for correct jacking points. You don't have to lift both sides at once. One side at a time is fine.
RPL POA Lifetime Site Supporter Prowler Junkie From:Rochester Hills, MI, USA Registered: Jul 2000 Admin Use	posted 06-14-2017 08:21 PM Thank you. The video does a good job of illustrating how to inspect your ball joints. The ones in the video are very bad and dangerous.

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