i have a "slight problem"

C-LEVEL · Post by **C-LEVEL** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 4:16 am

i was "cooking" down the I-5 freeway in sandiego here and i hit a dip in the road and my front wheel just kinda came apart....my ball joint slipped out of the "thing?"....i was going about 85 miles and hour...sparks were flying...was doing 360s in 5pm traffic finnaly came to a halt in the embankment...ohhh...sooo dirty now....i dug into the earth....luckily i was 2 miles from home so AAA helped out there...so as far as suspension goes im looking at what for parts?...i wish u could see it so u know what im talking about....but as far as i could see nothings bent, bottom of the a arm is ground down alittle bit..and the balljoint is fine....just out of place...but that rubber piece that the ball goes into is dryrot...i will replace all rubber suspension parts 4 sure....but can anyone give me pointers?....oh heres a pic of my car...

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So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:03 am

ball joint failures have been well-documented both on this site and all of the other Fiat forums. You're very lucky that both you and the car weren't completely destroyed. I'd suggest you replace the complete lower arm, it'll come with new bushings and a ball joint, then closely inspect the rest of the front suspension

Mark_vaughn · Post by **Mark_vaughn** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 10:52 am

Before you do anything go buy a lotto ticket. See if any of that luck is still with you!!

Wow.

fiatS2000 · Post by **fiatS2000** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:20 pm

If you need any used suspension parts let me know, i'll let you have them for free. I'm in Vista.

spidernut · Post by **spidernut** » Tue Dec 12, 2006 4:29 am

The cost isn't all that bad for parts. You can get new A arms from any of the vendors with ball joints and bushings installed. You'll need an internal spring compressor for the coil spring (I borrowed one from Autozone for free) and a torque wrench. Other than that, the job is pretty straight forward and can be done in a few hours.

As Mark noted, check the other components as well. It may be time for a complete replacement of ball joints and bushings even if the tie rods weren't damaged. Check them all closely for rotted boots, play in the joints, etc.