Have you guys ever seen a ball joint failure like this?

[4Gas$]

I'm at a loss here guys. Have you ever seen a ball joint failure
like this before?

The ball joint, half shaft and tire are all less than 100 miles old.
The ball joint is a "Moog Problem Solver", pricey top of the line.

Do you think Moog could / should / will be on the hook for the
complete repair on this or am I gonna eat all the other new parts
that this failure caused?

I hope to have a Auto repair shop document and repair it Monday.
My friend installed the ball joint and is very experienced in such
repairs, please look at the photos and share what you think happened.


4 .jpg


3 .jpg


1 .jpg


2 .jpg

[mikesfastss]

Looks like the bolt was to small to hold it in place, it didn’t fail it just popped out of the socket. I would bet if you remove the bolt it’s warn away. Probably needs a grade 8 maybe?

[4Gas$]

Looks like the bolt was to small to hold it in place, it didn’t fail it just popped out of the socket. I would bet if you remove the bolt it’s warn away. Probably needs a grade 8 maybe?

We used the new bolt that came with the new ball joint.

[1BADAIR]

Wasn’t torqued

[1BADAIR]

Is that bolt threaded not shouldered back at the slot?

[Beigg]

The split in the knuckle should not have that gap. How easy is it to rotate the bolt? Same question for the nut..

The picture is hard to see for how thick the bolt is.

[99Electriccobra]

I can read 10.9 on the bolt head. From google........ Class 10.9 is stronger than class 8.8, and is commonly found in high strength automotive applications. Class 10.9 is similar to grade 8. Zinc plated for moderate corrosion resistance. A low carbon steel for general use.

[4Gas$]

Yes the bolt was torqued to spec. The new bolt that
came with the ball joint was installed.

I'm just not sure what actually happened. Will be
interesting to hear what the shop has to say.

[Beigg]

Torque may have been set, but that doesn't mean it was achieved if angle or position during torquing could've been a factor. Hence the concern with that gap in the metal that is supposed to pinch the ball joint shank.

[Razmiblackz28]

First, glad to see you stopped safely and did not end up in an accident.
Possible cause: looks like the ball joint stud was not inserted fully into the knuckle, if it was the bolt shank would have held it into the knuckle. The ball joint stud was only inserted to the bolt.