Mercury Grand Marquis ball joint problems

Filed Sep 22, 2020 · Suspension · 165,400 miles · IN

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 mercury grand marquis. The contact stated that while examining his vehicle at his residence, he noticed the front ball joints were defective. The vehicle taken to expressway ford of mount vernon (3800 highway 62 e, mount vernon, in 47620) on may 30 2020, where the vehicle was inspected and it was determined that the shocks needed to be replaced. The front shocks were replaced however, several months later the driver's side shock was leaking fluid. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer for repairs. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 165,400.

Filed Sep 9, 2019 · Steering, Suspension · 150,000 miles · MD

I am an automotive technician and I service many vehicles daily. I currently own a 97 mercury grand marquis ls and have noticed that practically most steering components on my vehicle are in need of replacing. Specifically the tie rod ends, control arms, ball joins all have blown bushings and a pitman arm.... The steering sways so hard on this vehicle. I have noticed that customer's vehicles that I have worked on that are similar to the crown vic, and the marquis are showing signs of steering component concern as well. I see more fords with steering issues than any other vehicle that I service. The vehicles also seem to have issues with anyone sitting in the back that the body will scrape the tires and there are multiple electrical issues. I have had to rig my vent door actuator and I have had to install a shut off switch due to a parasitic draw that I can not locate even with a volt meter. After researching on forums and watching countless youtube videos of owners stating these known issues I believe that it is beyond maintenance standards for these parts all to be faulty from this car manufacturer.

Filed Mar 3, 2017 · Suspension · 200,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 mercury grand marquis. The contact stated that the ball joints were replaced but the bolt that held it in place was loose and caused the carter key to fail to hold the bolt in place. As a result, the bolt neck detached while the contact was driving approximately 20 MPH and caused the vehicle to stop abruptly. As a result, the contact's head hit the steering wheel. The contact suffered a whip lash that required a medical attention. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired by the contact who was an independent mechanic. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

Filed Aug 16, 2016 · Suspension · 53,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mercury grand marquis. The contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH, the front ball joints detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was pending a diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 53,000. The VIN was not available.

Filed Apr 28, 2016 · Steering, Suspension · 213,760 miles · IL · crash

Autozone- valucraft brand- ball joints part number vfa2101 I recently had my ball joints replaced and I had a premature failure of the ball joint fastening hardware while driving down the city road in a straight line at 45 MPH. It caused thousands of dollars of damage and it also almost cause me great injury. I suspect autozone is using low grade nuts cause the nut that was on the ball joint sheared off causing me to bend a control arm, crack my frame, blow a tire, all while barely missing a telephone pole. Had I been going down the highway at the posted speed limit I could have flipped my car, got pulled under a semi, cross the median into oncoming traffic and so on. I would like for an investigation to be started on their poor engineering choices and a recall to be started. Its just not for the safety of me but for the safety of other people. I do have all damage pictures and pictures of the failure point. I have pictures of the nut in question compared to another competitors brand and there is a noticeable size difference and hardness difference. The ball joints were replaced 9/26/2015 and failed on 4/25/2016. Autozone part number vfa2101. My belief is the nut is a lower grade when it should be a grade 8 nut. I say thousands of dollars because the auto body shops around me said they will not repair the frame because its a liability and would recommend a new frame to be put under the vehicle essentially totaling my car out causing me to have to spend thousands to replace my vehicle.

Filed Oct 8, 2014 · Suspension · 112,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 mercury grand marquis. While driving in reverse, the contact heard a loud abnormal noise and the suspension collapsed on the front driver side. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the lower ball joint separated and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 112,000.

Filed Jun 17, 2014 · Brakes, Steering · 55,749 miles · MA

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mercury grand marquis. The contact stated that the vehicle suddendly accelerated and brakes failed intermittently. Also, the contact mentioned that the power steering malfunctioned and as a result, the steering wheel became hard to maneuver whenever attempting to make a turn. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who informed the contact that the vehicle was included in recall the federal safety agency campaign id number: 13v385000 (steering). The vehicle was repaired under the recall. In addition, the contact mentioned that the vehicle accelerated upon applying both feet to the brake pedal to no avail. The authorized dealer diagnosed and replaced the ball joints, lower control arm, front and back brakes, fuel filter and the stabilizer bar. The failure recurred intermittently with the brakes smoking upon the contact attempting to park the vehicle with both feet on the brakes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the throttle assy needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the failure still recurred with the unintended acceleration and brake failure. The vehicle was to be inspected, diagnosed and repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,749.

Filed May 17, 2014 · Steering · 157,659 miles · SC

Took car in for squeaking noise under car; discovered it was u-joint seal going dry. However, upon inspection technician discovered four dangerously worn ball joints, both upper and lower ball joints on both sides, and dangerously worn idler arm. This was confirmed visually by myself. Upper left ball joint was in the best condition, all others were missing jackets, had no lubrication, and worn to the level that very little force was needed to remove the ball from the socket after removal, one came out with no force. The idler arm was barely connected, and over 75% of metal at the link worn and rusted. Nothing in the car's driving behavior gave any indication that any of these parts were worn. Steering had only slight amount of play which was still present after the parts were replaced and the car aligned. Left upper ball joint had been replaced one year and 3 months previous to discovery. No other signs of wear were present at that time. The previous ball joint replaced was least worn, but jacket was torn and no lubrication present. With one exception, the ball joints appeared to have only gravity as the primary force holding the balls in the sockets. My concern for other drivers is related to the lack of indications that the front end of this car had degraded to this level. The vehicle's steering responses were asymptomatic, period. This had not been my experience in the past. Possible causes for asymptomatic behavior is unknown (weight of vehicle and gravity?) the earlier problem (1yr 3mo. Earlier) with the left top ball joint failure was only discovered after it failed after hitting small pot hole coming from parking lot and the wheel broke and layed in flat on the road. Speed was under 5mph.

Filed Apr 4, 2014 · Lights · 70,000 miles · CA

While driving, headlights go out. There are hundreds of reports about this on the web, but ford has done nothing about it. They don't even tell owners what to do when the headlamps go out in such a dangerous emergency. (by holding the headlight control arm back in the high beam position, the headlamps will go on (in my case) as is reported by others.) (that fatalities are not reported is irrelevant. This is extremely serious defect and ford has been covering it up for years.) -30-

Filed Mar 10, 2014 · Suspension · 35,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mercury grand marquis. The contact stated while driving approximately 3 MPH, a noise emitted from the front passenger's side of the vehicle when making a turn. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The front right upper ball joint and tie rod end were recommended to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 35,000.