2006-10-12 07:07:17 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The wheel falls off. Well, not totally off: It just falls over to one side and you stop. The frame usually hits the ground. If it happened at highway speeds it would be really bad.
Fortunately this rarely happens going down the road.
Mostly when a neglected ball joint finally breaks, it breaks as someone is turning into a driveway and hitting a bump. This is when most force is exerted on the front suspension.
At its best a failed upper or lower ball joint would be like a wheel falling off from loose lug nuts
Does that answer your question?
2006-10-12 07:09:10 · answer #1 · answered by econofix 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Car Ball Joint
2016-10-29 21:40:29 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most cars have an upper and lower ball joint. they should not be confused with Tie-rods. if you have a tie rod break it greatly effects your ability to control the car. if a ball join breaks you still have steering control however it makes it very difficult to turn the wheel. Depending on where the ball join breaks it can cause the car to not turn at all. anytime you have something that is worn on the front of the car. Replace it a soon as you know about it. the Ball joints help hold the suspension to the car. A lot of newer cars that have struts normally will only have a lower ball join. trucks and older cars often have upper and lower ball joints.
2006-10-12 07:14:54 · answer #3 · answered by gearnofear 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'll tell you from personal experience...the wheel becomes partly disconnected and jams against the inside fenderwell, making it impossible to steer. Or, if it's an upper ball joint the wheel falls downward with the same results. If you suspect you have front end issues have the car inspected without delay. It is a dangerous situation. If the road hadn't been wet when my ball joint broke at highway speed, I would have likely flipped the car.
2006-10-12 07:12:37 · answer #4 · answered by answerman63 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on the vehicle,but a ball joint's job is to allow the front wheels to turn and pivot up and down when the suspension moves.It connects the knuckle to the chassis member (control arm usually).If this is worn to the point of failure,you can lose vehicle control,the wheel and tire can "splay" itself flat on the ground ruining other chassis components (strut,CV shaft),or drive the tire up into the fender causing much damage there.If your state does a yearly safety inspection,that was supposed to be checked for wear.Its a safety issue....like losing your brakes or the frame snapping in two due to rust...
2006-10-12 07:12:51 · answer #5 · answered by hpspeedster 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get Joint Pain Relief Codes!
2016-07-23 03:05:08 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do not drive until it is fixed.That can be extremely dangerous if you hit a hole in the street or turn your wheel.That happened to me & in an instant I was out of controll in the on coming lane.Luckily there were no cars coming.If there had been ,,I could have been killed without even realizing what happened,,it happened so fast.
2006-10-12 07:09:51 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hopefully you're not going very fast. Probably a crash of some kind and definitely some serious damage to the car's front end. I never heard of one actually breaking. They wear out and cause other trouble.
2006-10-12 07:10:28 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You've got a broken ball joint.
2006-10-12 07:08:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You really don't want to know! Get the thing fixed before it does! Besides extensive damage to the front end you could possibly have a wreck or kill someone!
2006-10-12 07:11:42 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋