I was rotating my tires and doing the lube points (including the ball joints). After the points are lubed and the tires are on I begin to wield the torque wrench. As I get to the last tire (front,driver) I notice something is laying on the ground. It is the bolt with nut from the lower ball joint. I have no idea what I could have done to break it and my call to Carly(granted it is 4pm on a Friday) was not returned. So my immediate question is can this lead to a catastrophic failure during normal city driving and how long would I have. I obviously need to get it replaced and I will continue to call Carly to see how proud of these things they are (they are certainly proud of the price). The part in question is two years old and maintenance has been followed carefully.

 

The catastrophic failure has already happened. Lucky for you, it happened in the driveway, and not the highway. That nut and stud was the only thing attaching the lower arm to the spindle. Now that they're not there.......

If you're lucky, you can move the truck far enough to get it safely parked for the week end without the front end falling apart. But I wouldn't even move it without wrapping a big cargo strap around the upper and lower arms to hold it together. It may not come apart. But if it does, it could be a real nightmare to wrestle back into place.

 

This is the nut that attaches the lower ball joint from the bottom. No other suspension parts are attached.

 

So, the ball joint shaft sheared off and the nut that threads onto it are lying on the ground? Were these ball joints installed to replace worn out factory OEM joints? Did you use a torque wrench in order to tighten the nuts properly?

The correct sequence is: 35 ft/lbs upper, 170 ft/lbs lower, 70 ft/lbs upper. The Carli ball joint shafts or (bolt as you call it) incorporate a hex head on the end in order to hold it in place. First you get the bodies seated with a pair of wrenches and tighten them to the proper torque value in ft/lbs. Did the Carlis just drop on with little resistance or did they have to be seated?

 

They were installed by a trusted mechanic. i replaced the stock ones at 140000 ish to be able to replace them with the brand of my choice, rather than someone else's choice.

 

Ohhh, back to my question. Can I drive it and how long?

 

No don't drive it will cause a complete loss of control when it comes the test of the way apart

 

I don't think I would replace the ONE, I would ask Carli for a warranty on all FOUR... I MAY be a problem with the materials used to make the ball joint, and I would be questioning the quality/material problems with the other THREE...

Just MY thought...

Good luck!

 

I would have to agree with jwduke1.

A run of the bearing studs could have been manufactured and/or heat treated incorrectly.

By the way, how long ago were they installed and do you have any pictures you can post of the failed joint?

I've got a set sitting in the box in my truck ready to be installed next week by my mechanic. I'll be very interested to learn what you find out and what Carli has to say.

 

They were put on March 2011. I tried to attach pictures and received an error about a security token. If you want, I can email them.

 

PM sent. If it's okay, I'll try and post them for you. If it doesn't work hopefully one of the Administrators will help out.

 

Here's a picture of sct5024's broken Carli ballpoint.

 

Here's the second picture. Sorry, couldn't get them to all load at once.

 

Here's the third picture.

 

I wouldn't drive it. Besides possibly getting hurt yourself or hurting someone else, if you drive the truck knowing that something is broken, you are liable. Don't take the risk.