chevummins

Hey guys, have any of you ever seen this type of thing happen to these old trucks? It scares me to death to drive it now. It looks like metal fatigue to me. Even if I get her fixed and going again what else could break. I was so fortunate!!!! that it broke while I was backing out of the driveway and not doing 60 mph down my winding country road. God was watching over me. The break is right next to the ball joint. The ball joint is completely intact in its mounting hole the hole is intact and the arm broke around the perimeter of it but did not hurt the extruded flange. What do you think fix it and keep going or drop the cummins, tranny and rearend into my1970 4x4 chevy? I think I like straight front axles.... While we are on the subject do you think a dana 44 will hold up to the load of the cummins motor? Gallery picture of break

apache

Thats scary indeed, the chevy would be a cool project. The d44 weight rating would be a possible issue. The power if conservative would be ?? have to address the trans gearing or diffs though.

edwinsmith

OUCH! That had to hurt. It's the first time I've ever heard of this happening on anything. Maybe it had a small crack from when it was stamped and it finally got big enough to give out. Just get a new lower control arm and don't worry about it other than checking the other side. If the other side has a crack then we all better be scared.

Edwin

Haulin_in_Dixie

Wonder if a ball joint running dry might have done that. If one seized it would put a terrible strain on the control arm.

edwinsmith

I doubt it. It would make a hell of a squeak if it was dry with metal on metal. Surely a person would notice it before the CA was damaged.

janb

saw similar (broken tie rod) happen @ 60mph on a full sized Bronco last year. Was fortunately just after a tall narrow 2 lane bridge, and he DID cross into oncoming traffic, and over a big embankment, but didn't hit anyone. Gives good reason to keep an eye on things. We don't have a state vehicle safety inspection, which has given me the creeps for 25 years. But it has certainly saved me some $$.

edwinsmith

I pumped a tie rod end off once with a grease gun. Talk about pucker factor!

Edwin

spunbearing

Looks like the wear pattern on the tire has been warning you for awhile. Good thing you weren't going fast.

ChrisLib

Same here, by the looks of that tire, something has been amiss in the front end for some time. IMO, replace the arm, and while your at it, give the rest of the front susp a VERY thorough going over.Glad you OK, I had a similar thing happen with a rusted brake line, glad I was on a side street with no traffic. That truck has all stainless line now.

wannadiesel

I think somebody used a torch when changing the ball joint in the past and hardened the metal.

rebal

im inclined to side with wanna looks like it got hard from heat . that stamped steel A arm should bend before it brakes or the ball joint was working in its mounting hole

spunbearing

Good call wannadiesel sounds logical.

Rammer64

Being a truck and car mechanic for 25+ years, I can honestly say I've seen it.
I've only seen it twice though. Even all the years I did towing and worked in the wrecking yards.
One time it was from rust. A guy put a Pontiac Parriesienne on the road that sat in a field for years and the lower control had mud built up in it which held the water and rotted it. The other was on Chev truck that the guy carried fibreglass boats on the flatbed and had a rack over the cab for a second boat. The extra weight over the front end just created metal fatigue on the front suspension. Against our advice, he chose to replace only the control arm and kept continuing to haul boats the same way. We told him we would not do any more front end repairs for him if he continued because of the liability in the future if something else went wrong. He never came back for ANY repairs., but that's ok.
Wannadiesel has mentioned a very good point. Too much heat will make the control arm brittle and take the tensile strength out of the metal.

edwinsmith

I used heat once to install lower ball joints on a 1 ton Cheby van once. I didn't want to take them off to be properly pressed. Now I'm glat that thing is in a bone yard.

Edwin

chevummins

Just to clarify the situation...Yes the tires are worn horribly. I bought this truck ohhh...about 6 months ago. I bought it because when the fella started it after it had sat for several months it fired up on the first compression stroke and ran really well. The rest of the truck however leaves alot to be desired. Yes the whole front end was sloppy as could be and those tires had lots of tread when I bought the truck. I probably only put 10K or so on it since I bought it. In that time I have rebuilt the 727 the brakes the WHOLE front end....electrical etc etc etc. It is getting near decent. But anyways....I did replace that ball joint along with all the control arm bushings. I had the control arm out and pressed out the old ball joint and in the new in our machine shop. I used a lever type press and inspected the joint well and the bore (stamped hole) that it fits in. I didn't think of looking for discoloration due to heat and I believe that this is a likely scenario, especially after so many people have told me how rare an occurence this is. The ball joint is STILL properly installed and fixed in place, the arm just broke all the way around it. I had the truck realigned and it now drives (well, before this incident) well. Another clue maybe you guys can help me decipher... The coil spring had a slight bow, I figured from traveling through an "arc" of motion in its carrier, but now I think it might be due to the control arm already having a slight bend in it. What do you think? Thanks everyone for all of your input. I feel much better and more at ease about fixing it and keep on trucking. I'd hate scrap it after all of the effort and $$$$ I put into making it work well again. Thanks again. OHHH one more thing....anyone know if a d-350 has the same control arm as the d250. Could they be better and just replace what I have with 1 ton stuff. Thanks...