ball joint popped out

[dale187]

Ok ill start here. Probably 2 months ago i went to make a u turn in the middle of the road and the driver side of my car just dropped to the ground.. The lateral control arm ball joint popped out, also when the car fell it broke that side axle. Long story short i ended up replacing that axle, lateral control arm w/ ball joint, the lower control arm that goes to chasis and the hub assembly. Well everything was good after that no problem. Now about a month ago i ordered my suspension, megan racing 32way adjustables and i have my car probably lowered about 2.8 inches. Well since then i have been through 3 axles. They have been seperating inside the cv joint closest to the hub. Literally seperating inside of it.. and it doesnt even break the boot. Well i have noticed it has been getting worse and now its really bad. Whatever it is it goes by rotation and throttle. So i know its either the axle, tire, or hub. But i dont think its the tire ### it goes by throttle. Its like a knock it gets faster as you increased speed and louder when i get on the throttle if i drop it in a gear and release clutch its like a clanking. The axle i know is working perfectly fine ### i can get on the car and everything and it pulls with no loss in power. It also gets more vigorous when i turn to the left. I'm hoping maybe a bearing broke in the hub assembly maybe? Also may i add.. The shaking is so intense that i noticed last night my driverside strut bolts under the hood had been shaken loose. And i think the shaking could be whats breaking the axle. Anyone have any ideas. You dont understand how much i would appreciate it


Thanks Dale.

 

[badabing33a]

YOU BENT THE CROSSMEMBER!!! No doubt. It may not have a noticable dent but i can guarrentee thats what happend. I bought my talon and my axled popped out. I called the guy (was his sons car but he passed away) and he said his son put it in a ditch and a couple weeks later the axle broke. I went through 2 axles before i changed the crossmember. Then, no more problems. But yea id bet alot of money (that i dont have ) on the crossmember being your problem since that obviously took a hard hit when the car fell. Look it over REAL GOOD.

What happens is the bent crossmember changes the angle and alignment of everything. That puts stress on that axle especially during cornering or backing up. My axle popped out because it was too far away during a corner. The noise you are hearing is the axle. Sounds like a sharp metal object going VERY deep into the rotor. My axles broke inside the boot as well. Trust me. Everything you have said is EXACTLY how i described my problem. You change the axle and it breaks within 2 days. Actually, the wheel bearing is what took out the last axle of mine now that i think of it. I would pull you hub assembly apart. If 30 thousand little metal balls come out, its your wheel bearing. My crossmember destroyed my wheel bearing which destroyed my axle. After changing the crossmember, i had to replace my wheel bearing. Sounds like you need both an axle and wheel bearing. Seriously, you explaining your problem is almost word for word when i described it.

 

[98gsxtuner]

2.8 inches if it were me I would maybe raise that up a bit. That sounds like a huge drop.

 

[dale187]

What's the cross member and how much and how much am I lookin at. And why raise it up I like the cosmetics of it and my wheels do not rub. Unless because of the angle the cv joints are and that's what's causing the axles to break I took the car for a ride and noticed it does it very been when I'm coastin to a stop

 

[badabing33a]

the crossmember on my 1g was $100 at a local junk yard. Its the big metal piece that runs from the left side to the right. Its what the rear engine mount (the one under the intake manifold in front of the fire wall) is welded to. Crossmember aka cradle or k frame. Everything has to come off the front end to change it. Hub assembly, struts, sway bar, control arms, everything. Both sides too. You also need to disconnect the steering column as it runs through the crossmember. Theres a hole it runs through. Its not easy.

 

[dale187]

Well I dunno if that could be it ### really when my car fell it fell on the tire ### the wheel was turned I don't understand how that could have been it

 

[badabing33a]

I read on here a guys lugs failed & that happend with the tire. He replaced alot because he had an axle problem. Take your hub assembly off and check the wheel bearing. Everytime i was on the gas or turning left is when mine made the loud noise. the one axle actually snapped where the big nut goes on the end of the axle because of the heat generated from the wheel bearing.

 

[dale187]

ThAt's another thing I failed to mention was that I felt my rim on the drivers side and it was a lot hotter than the other wheels anyways anyone else have any other advice the more the better

 

[badabing33a]

Drive the car for a little bit around your house and feel the nut on the axle on both sides. Just be carefule because they could me very hot if the wheel bearing is bad and you drove it long enough for it to generate heat. My buddy followed me at night and he said sparks were coming out every once in a while. I through a snowball at it & its sizzled ALOT. It got so hot, the spindle chipped and the wheel was very hot. But i drove it like that for roughly an hour. I drove it to my garage (from a friends) with intentions on replacing everything anyway. Start eliminating things. Check the wheel bearing first. Take the hub assembly apart.

 

[dale187]

Can't I tel it's bad without actually taking the hub apart by spinning the bearing?

 

[badabing33a]

jack the car up, wiggle the tire side to side. if there is any play and it does wiggle, thats definately the problem

 

[dale187]

as soon as i get off today i think the first thing imma do is rip the axle back out and mess with the joints make sure thats not what is causing the noise. Then my next step is probably to rip the hub apart. Anyone else with thoughts?

 

[dale187]

Well i was able to get the car on 4 jack stands and found out what the problem was. The Passanger side axle this time. I dont understand why im breaking axles. But i did notice something i have never noticed before. 2 of my motor mounts are completely shot and 1 is on its way. From the twisting a turning of the motor could this be messing up the axles? What do you guys think. I just ordered all 4 of my mounts and my axle today and will be starting everything sunday morning. Anyone have any furthrer ideas

 

[gstryyder]

bad motor mounts could cause your axles to get messed up. btw... when checking a wheel bearing your pull n push on the top n bottom of the tire to check play. not side to side. i would check the wheels bearing... also. you can take the wheel off n try spinning the hub and see if there is any noise. i would replace those motor mounts also with some poly inserts... or new mounts. bad motor mounts is a BIG problem..

 

[dale187]

Great hopefully this is a fix. What about the angle the axles are at because of car being lowered. I know most dsmers like a a smaller drop like 1.5 but mine is close to 3inches. Nothing rubs and it looks good thats why i have it like that. But could it be putting too much stress on the axles? I dont think it is, because i have had cars in the past civics, integras, that were slammed 4 inches all around.