Tire, Frame, Steering Assembly??

[Snowdancer]

This just happened about 30 min ago, as I was pulling out of a parking spot, there was a clunk and the tire & frame now looks like this. Any ideas what the heck happened. The pick up is a 1996 Toyota Tacoma 2 WD.
Tow truck is on the way.

[MELOC]

broken ball joint?

[clovis]

Looks like a ball joint to me. Be thankful this didn't fail when you were driving it.

You might not have lived to tell us about it.

Toyota has had many recalls on these trucks, including one for broken suspension parts.

Do a google search for 1996 Toyota Tacoma recall front suspension. Do this just in case your truck is covered.

Toyota has recalled tons of these trucks due to frames rotting out due to rust.

Toyota has been buying these from individuals. It is the major reason that you don't see many of those vehicles in cold weather states.

I read on another forum that there is a class action law suit in progress about the frames rotting away in states where salt is used on the roads. You should look into that too.

Make sure you have the other side closely inspected or replaced at the same time.

Clove

[clovis]

If you are undecided of where the truck should be towed, call the dealer and see if your Toyota is covered under recall.

You will need the vehicle VIN number, which should be easily found on the drivers side windshield, lower corner.

They should be able to punch into the computer.

[Snowdancer]

Thanks, the tow truck came and had a real time of it getting that truck up on the flat bed. The mechanic just called and said it's both lower ball joints; the other side was ready to go too!

I asked about the recall and he took the VIN number and ran it. The suspension recall is for something else other than ball joint and on this specific vehicle the suspension recall had already been done. It was bought used so sometimes it's hard to tell what's been done before you buy it.

Thanks again, with both sides being fixed, a lifetime alignment and the tow; I'm looking at right around $700. But at least nobody was killed or hurt & it could have been so much more expensive if I'd been going 65 down the freeway and had it drop/break; assuming I survived.

Doesn't your state require an annual inspection ? Mine does . If the vehicle had been inspected that problem would have been caught before the ball joint fell apart .

[||Downhome||]

there is no such thing as a lifetime alignment,If you hit a bump leaving the parking lot hard enogh it could throw it off.(unlikely but possiable Its most likely going to be many bumps before you need another alignment. how did the tierod ends look. the gararge I worked at alignments for a 4 wheel was about $65 a thrust alignment(front two) was $55 now not sure on parts for that toyota but a Big 3 truck would of run you labor and parts just the ball joints tops 400 before tax. with the tierod ends would of been closer to the total you have maybe a little more. If you change anything on the frontend you should always get a alignment.(someguys can eyeball it pretty close) of course most know what a bad alignment will eat your tires up.

[Snowdancer]

Originally Posted by ||Downhome||

there is no such thing as a lifetime alignment,If you hit a bump leaving the parking lot hard enogh it could throw it off.(unlikely but possiable Its most likely going to be many bups before you need another aligntment. hold on I have to reread the op be back to edit

No, not a one time only alignment that never needs to be done again but all future alignments are free as long as I own the vehicle.
Sorry, I didn't explain it better.


WV Hillbilly, no inspections in the states that I've lived in recently. Last place that had inspections was Memphis, TN and I think that was just for Shelby County.

[agmantoo]

Your search for recalls possibly wasn't back far enough.
Recalls

Transport Canada Recall Number 1996110; Units affected: 641
1995-1996 - Note: two wheel drive vehicles only. The front suspension support on these vehicles may crack and fail under severe driving and braking conditions. This could result in the loss of vehicle control and a crash without prior warning. Correction: suspension supports will be strengthened on affected vehicles.

[Highground]

Imagine that, a Toyota!

[clovis]

Agman,

I am confused about what you are saying.

90,000 Tacoma's for the 1996 model year were recalled, according to a google search. Front suspension components breaking while being driven. Dealers to fix problem.

I don't know....just trying to help the OP with options.

I knew a gal with a bad head gasket on a late model car, and the dealer fixed it under recall, even though she hadn't read or recvd a thing about it. The car was well out of warranty.

[agmantoo]

Clovis, an earlier statement related that the recall was not for this problem on this year vehicle. I did some research and found that yes there was a recall for the problem in Canada. I doubt that anything will be done but I was just stating it was a known problem.

[Dodgegal79]

Ball joints always go, not like that but they do need replacing. You cna usually notice it when you drive the vehicle, its loose in the front end. Also they need to be greased. Maintence and checking them yourself can cause this from happening.

[cfabe]

I think like the original poster said, that recall does not apply. That sounds like a suspension mount point or member was failing. This was a ball joint which is a wear part and on a 1996 it's not an unusual failure. What happened on this truck is the socket wore and the ball pulled out. In the second picture, you can see the ball on the end of the control arm. This truck probably was making some clunking noises that would have indicated the joint was worn. I think most ball joints end up getting replaced before they actually fail due to noise or the feel of the steering. I have heard of one vehicle, a chevy S-10 that had a ball joint fail suddenly, with the stud of the ball breaking off, so a sudden failure is possible, though unusual.

[Snowdancer]

It had been making a clunking noise when the steering wheel was turned hard to steer into parking spots or such. The mechanic in AR claimed it was a bad steering arm or something to do with the steering, ball joints were never mentioned. He 'fixed' it about 13 mos ago at the tune of over $1K. Fast forward to now and 500+ miles away from my old location, so there's no way to prove the AR mechanic didn't catch the problem or worse, did an unnecessary repair.

Thank goodness it dropped when it did, it could have been so much worse.

One more question for you all. How often should the ball joints be checked and greased? This truck has had regular maintainance & oil changes/lubes.

[MELOC]

looking at the pic, it almost seems as though the ball joint cracked a long time ago and has been hanging on for some time. it looks rusty on the left of the image and like freshly broken metal on the right. someone could have nailed a curb or something a long time ago and it has just now broken.

[clovis]

Originally Posted by Snowdancer

Thank goodness it dropped when it did, it could have been so much worse.

One more question for you all. How often should the ball joints be checked and greased? This truck has had regular maintainance & oil changes/lubes.

It is hard to believe that it didn't wreck the fender too.

Some manufacturers have gone to sealed bearings, and do not have a zirk fitting for grease. I do not know if Toyota uses a sealed bearing. If it has a zirk fitting, it should be greased with every oil change.

[Beeman]

Originally Posted by Snowdancer

It had been making a clunking noise when the steering wheel was turned hard to steer into parking spots or such. The mechanic in AR claimed it was a bad steering arm or something to do with the steering, ball joints were never mentioned. He 'fixed' it about 13 mos ago at the tune of over $1K. Fast forward to now and 500+ miles away from my old location, so there's no way to prove the AR mechanic didn't catch the problem or worse, did an unnecessary repair.

Thank goodness it dropped when it did, it could have been so much worse.

One more question for you all. How often should the ball joints be checked and greased? This truck has had regular maintainance & oil changes/lubes.

Chances are there are no grease fittings on the ball joint or any other joints. If there are grease fittings they should all be greased every time the oil/filter is changed. Regular maintenance (oil changes) done by a fully trained/qualified master mechanic are very rare. Most places require you to be the person telling them what to do and they don't see anything but what they are told. Frt. end should be checked visually every service and physically once a year depending on mileage.
Did the noise stop after the mechanic in AR worked on it? He most likely did what most do in the flat rate mechanic world and fixed the one broken part but didn't look for anything else wearing. Many times forced into this by the customers initial reaction to the repair estimate of "HOW MUCH, DON'T FIND ANYTHING ELSE!".

Have the other ball joints checked when you have this one replaced, you might need all 4 replaced.

[agmantoo]

The tire tread, what can be seen, appears to have been wearing uniformly. I would have thought excessive tire wear would have been obvious.

[Snowdancer]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

The tire tread, what can be seen, appears to have been wearing uniformly. I would have thought excessive tire wear would have been obvious.

I guess that's one of the reasons I didn't think anything was too wrong; the tires are over 3 yrs old & they are very uniform in wear.
This whole incident is just odd...:baby04:

The mechanic up here in IA checked them all since I was very specific that I wanted everything checked before it left the shop. The lower ones on both sides were replaced since the non broken one was worn & getting close to failure also.

The AR mechanic said that a trunk of that age would have clunks & knocks and everything had been fixed so further noise was just due to age. It never completely quit having the clunks but they were less. No ball joints were replaced in AR, he replaced some parts in the steering assembly.
The IA mechanic said these ball joints appeared to be the originals and the truck has over 300K miles!