sleeperteg

So the other day I was driving and when I shifted into 3rd, my driver's side cv axle snapped. Then my car proceeded to pull hard off of the road into a ditch. After this, with closer inspection, I noticed the front left lower ball joint bolt's nut had come off somehow, and was no longer connected to the lca (dragged on the ground), which is why it pulled off the road.

My question is, how did the ball joint nut come completely off when the axle broke? The threads appeared to be intact. I'm really trying to avoid this dangerous problem again. I know for a fact that all of the ball joints on the car were re-fastened securely and all had cotter pins in them.

Also, since this had happened of course my wheel was jammed at a ridiculous angle, is it possible that the inner tie rod end is fucked?

nftuatn

if it had cotter pins in them they wouldnt have backed off...and the tie rod is most likely bent..

boredom

yup, you need to replace it all

sleeperteg

I'll check the tie rod in the morning.. also would the lca be bent at all? I know it made contact with the road for a little bit, there are scratches on the bottom. however it looked the same as the other lca, didn't seem bent enough to where you could notice any difference.

Fabrik8

I would think that the ball joint coming apart caused the axle to break, instead of the other way around. The ball joint was probably loosening up for a while, and finally dropped out when you shifted and the loads on the suspension changed during the shift. That would have loaded the axle the wrong way, obviously causing the axle to break at a joint (joints only like loads in certain directions, because they're usually only loaded in those directions).

83Stang5.0

You need to just let me look at it, tell you what you need, then have me fix everything so you don't have to worry about things like this.

And unless you upgrade to beefier ones, the stock cotter pins are so cheesy I don't even bother pulling them out. Get an impact on the nut and it will eat right through that pin...how can that really save anything?

Fabrik8

Because a cotter pin on a castle nut is meant to keep the nut from backing out under vibration or because it's already loose, NOT withstand a lot of force trying to loosen it. The nut is supposed to resist being loosened, not the cotter pin. That's why nuts have threads.

83Stang5.0

Agreed, but my rationale is that if the nut is torqued properly, it should never put force on the pin like that.

I understand its more of a "compensation" thing, as opposed to a direct reliance, but still.

Fabrik8

Exactly right, that's what it's a secondary lock. It's a backup device, just like safety wire on aircraft and racecars. If it wasn't a safety critical part, it wouldn't have a cotter pin on it.

83Stang5.0

From what I've seen with other's mistakes, it pays off more to make sure the nut is torqued than to make sure you have a cotter pin.

That's all I'm saying.

Plus I'd almost guarantee if it came down to it, that pin would fail on a car that's been lowered/has modified suspension, due to the increased pressure/load those components see.

run of the mill civic + ebay coilovers + blown struts = every single bounce could be your last LOLOLZ