don't call her Red Hair anymore !

[French Frie]

I didn't post here for some time, as my MKIV was having some make-up...
   
   in fact, during one of the long trip I love to do, in splendid scenaries, I encountered a break down on the way back to home ...  at a relatively low speed (50/60 kmph)  and on a straight line (fortunately !), the left A-arm lower ball joint broke [xx(] !
   
   so the A arm dropped to the ground, and the wheel hit the wing , smashing the inner wheel arch and the wing ! of course, the wheel was able to turn freely and remained stuck for about 50 meters ! I succeed in keeping the car on the road and didn't hit anything, but stopped at about half a meter from a stone wall !
   
   
   
   
   
   it was in the middle of nowhere, and it took ages to tow the car to the nearest garage, then to go back to home. it took even longer to have the car back near my home (about 1 month !) and for the assurance to accept to have it repaired in the Caron's workshop, which is near my home... He's accustomed to work on alloy bodies, and he has to repair CSX2127 few times [}:)] !
   it took also some time for the insurance expert to agree, and C2C is quite busy in summer with races ...
   as the paint was original, we guessed that we'd never obtain the same texture and hue , so I decided to have a total body respray. then I also thought that it would cost me a lot of money anyway, so I took the opportunity to change the color and have the sidemarks and cockpit leather lip removed ... I've never been a great fan of the red/tan leather combo, which is very US minded to me (no offense), and I was a fan of the black body of Rev and Dpk_Cobra cars, so I choose the Black/tan combo... I know some members may regret those mods on a very original car, but hey, the more important thing is that the I love the car, isn't it [}:)] ?
   
   so yesterday, after more than 8 months after the crash, here is the result :
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   of course, the car was totally stripped down, all seals were replaced, the sidelights were replaced by alloy sheets and welded, and we took the opportunity to replace ball joints, rose joints, bushings and shocks (Gerry's Gaz shocks were still waiting)...
   
   I'm very pleased with the classy result, which compliments the street look of the MKIV... The Caron's team did a long but terrific job ! Can't wait until Friday, when I'll pick up the car [:)] !
   
   PS: of course, I'd prefer to keep the car the way it was before the ball joint failure, but I've to go on and all in all, I transformed this issue in an opportunity [:I] ...

[dkp_cobra]

Really nice [:)]

[nikbj68]

How lucky you were to be able to stop the car so well, and limit the damage!
   Looks fantastic, I`m glad something good came from a bad situation. Here`s to many miles of happy motoring in Black Beauty!

[REV]

Beau!
   
   Looks a stunner!
   
   :-)

[French Frie]

You're right, Nik [B)]! The days before, we were on twisty and bumpy roads, in the Cévennes :
   
   
   
   
   
   Terrorizing mosquitoes [:o)] :
   
   
   
   We had a real good time, with few cars on the road, but what if the failure had happened in a canyon [xx(] ? Please check your ball joints !

[AC Ace Bristol]

.
   French Frie.
   
   Nice to hear She's back on the road, could have been real serious should the ball joint have failed the day before.
   
   Glad you took the opportunity to change from Red to Black.....A good Choice, Mind you I could be Biased...[;)]
   
   Looks more classy and now has attitude....  Enjoy the next outing.
   
   Keith..[:)]

[jbottini]

FF, my old girlfriend looks brilliant in her new frock!! Jim B

[AC Ventura]

It looks fantastic in black with the 15s. The definitive Cobra colour for some reason. In the last few weeks, I have become custodian of AK 1500 which is red with black interior. I want to change it to black like yours and in time I will, I feel completely sure.
   On another matter, how on earth do we check our ball joints, mes amis?

[Mark IV]

Very nice! And I am pleased that JBo has approved! Nice to see one of my former charges being enjoyed!

[French Frie]

Hello Jim and Rick ! I must confess I was concerned about your comments, even if she's my mistress now [;)] ... Glad it pleased you !  She will do a lot of miles again and again, and will be treated well, as usual ... I'll let the community know about my Gaz Shocks experience as well !  Still 15 hours to wait ....

[nikbj68]

Sorry to focus on the negative, but how did the balljoint break? Did it burst out of the socket, shear clean off? Was there any warning at all or just Wallop! Do you have a photo of it?
   I'm just trying to help others avoid the same issue... Keith & I were discussing it last night and wondered if even though there may be no obvious wear, would it be wise for MKIV owners to replace their 30+ year old balljoints  now as a matter of course?
   Have there been any other MKiV's suffer the same failure, or were you just the unlucky one to have a faulty joint that finally let go after goodness knows how long?

[French Frie]

that's a good point, Nik !
   
   I can't tell for sure what has broken in the ball joint, as I was a bit shocked and the car was lying on its disk when we removed the wheel, in order to tow the car on the trailer...
   
   the short story is : when I swapped the 16" wheels for the 15" ones, I noticed that there was a very small play in the upright... I put the wheel on, and went to the local MOT shop, who's a good friend of mine, ask him to check. he shaked  the wheel  side to side and up and down, and didn't noticed any play; then, wheel on the ground, he used a bar to try to move the upright and didn't found any play... so I left, confident, but my guess now is the ball joint was already weak, but when loaded, it couldn't be noticed [:(] ! I SHOULD have replaced it anyway !
   
   Jim, the PO, told me that he has changed the right side one, few years earlier, and I kept the ref. part (TRW JB252, saab 900 '69-->ç") , in my Iphone... it was very helpful as the local workshop was able to change it and then the car was able to be moved on its wheels, reducing possible further injuries !
   
   during this trip, we had very good and fast blasts, and roads there are sometimes quite harsh, with polholes... I assume it has accelerated the wearing !
   
   to summarize : I assume it a very good thing to check your cars for ball joints wearing, especially on fast and powerful cars as ours. furthermore, I think it can be a wise thing to replace them BEFORE it wears, as even if cars may only have few thousand miles on the odometer, ball joints can be 30 years old ! provided the replacement part is a good quality one, of course ...
   
   Jim, can you tell us why the RS ball joint was replaced, during your ownership ?
   
   PS : Caron replaced two upper A Arm rose joints as well, as he found a very smal play in them ...

[nikbj68]

A very quick search led me to Mister-Auto who stock the balljoint for £29.96 each +VAT,
   
   
   
   AND they sell on eBay too (based in France!!!).
   What price peace of mind?

[dkp_cobra]

Nik, you are a rich man. Calling £29.96 each +VAT cheap. I show you what cheap means:
   
   http://www.ebay.de/itm/NK-Trag-Fuehrungsgelenk-5044102-1-/161438803960?_trksid=p2054897.l4275
   
   15,90€ incl. VAT (and think of the actual €-change rate).

[Flyinghorse]

I cant believe there is no photo of the offending ball joint and how it broke?
   
   There are not many options. I guess it could have come out of the taper by loosing the nyloc nut,or it fractured in the taper,or the ball wore and popped out.(note no grease nipple?) or the cast piece fractured and broke.
   
   Was it an OEM part?
   
   It makes you wonder what quality of new one you should put in --perhaps not the cheapest.
   
   
   
   Graham