Basically, all suspension rusted out, including both front suspensions, spindle rods, sway bar, outer tie rods, both rear tie rod links, rear lower and upper control arms , front upper control arms, rear shocks. All the work was performed by the local ford dealer. I was told this was not a unique problem to this vehicle. Driving the vehicle made squeeky noises all the time!
Ford Thunderbird ball joint problems
20 of the 2,012 owner complaints about the Ford Thunderbird describe ball joint or control arm failure, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 20
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical mileage
- 79,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
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.
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 at 65 MPH consumer lost the control, was able to pull out of the road. Vehicle was towed to independent shop, and mechanic determined the right control arm broke.
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
While driving 5 MPH front driver side wheel came completely off. *ak consumer stated it was the front ball joint that caused that wheel to come off.
Vehicle was going 20mph and the consumer lost control. Front passenger wheel bent, and ball joint came apart, dealer and manufacturer will be contacted.
While pulling off from a toll poll front ball joint broke, causing a loss of steering control. Dealer has been 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.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Ford Thunderbird ball joint
Which Ford Thunderbird years have ball joint or control arm failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (7 complaints), 1993 (5 complaints) and 1996 (3 complaints).
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