My mechanic has informed me of a dangerous situation with my automobile that could lead to an accident. All the ball joints in the front end are worn excessively. He says the excessive wear is a result of the dust seals disintegrating allowing dirt and water to enter the ball joints. He indicated that this is probably a result of the use of inappropriate or defective materials for the seals. I am going to have the ball joints replaced. I will ask the mechanic to keep the old parts for me.
1997 Ford Thunderbird: ball joint or control arm failure
7 of the 169 complaints about the 1997 Ford Thunderbird describe ball joint or control arm failure.
- owner complaints
- 7
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 1 service bulletin covers this area of the car. See below
Ball joint or control arm failure by model year
- 20031
- 19977
- 19963
- 19951
- 19942
- 19935
- 19921
What owners say
Dt*: the contact stated while performing general maintenance on the vehicle, it was determined the plastic seals on all four upper and lower ball joints as well as the seals on the stabilizer bar were fractured and deteriorating. The manufacturer was alerted.
While driving, the brakes got stiff. When making a turn, the tie rods snapped off. The vehicle was taken to the dealer which found a crack in the master cylinder. The master cylinder along with other parts were replaced. Please provide further details.
While driving 40 MPH, the front lower ball joint snapped, causing the consumer to lose steering control. The consumer managed to pull over. *ak the incident occurred without warning while in motion. The repair department suggested that the consumer should expect this at 70k miles. Ford had not responded to the consumer. *sc
Vehicle was going 20mph and the consumer lost control. Front passenger wheel bent, and ball joint came apart, dealer and manufacturer will be contacted.
Front ball joint popped out of socket while driving. Dealer has replaced control arm and ball joint twice, and problem reoccurred.*ak the front suspension collapsed completly and the rear lower ball joint broke. Tension arm bushing and lower control arm on right side failed causing the vehicle to pull when applying brakes. The left front swaybar failed. The left front wheel bearing failed.
This occurred while driving in the parking lot of a shopping plaza. I was only going about 10 - 15 MPH and never even hit a bump or pot hole. The front end made a load poping noise and I thought the tires went flat. But the lower control arm snapped and the car frame rested on the tires. West herr claims they had people from ford come in and look at it. The ball joint popped out of the socket . If I was driving on the thruway I wouldn't be writing this letter today, I would be dead. They replaced both sides at my request.
Service bulletins that may apply
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1997 Ford Thunderbird ball joint
Is ball joint or control arm failure a common problem on the 1997 Ford Thunderbird?
7 of 169 owner complaints about the 1997 Ford Thunderbird (4%) mention ball joint or control arm failure. The model year with the most reports is 1997.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1997 Ford Thunderbird?
There are 0 recalls and 1 service bulletin for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1997 Ford Thunderbird
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