> And how difficult will this
> be able to fix well enough to drive the car to a proper mechanic to have the
> car completely gone through?
Depends on the damage done. Just replacing the upper ball joint isn't too
difficult. If the vertical link and/or A-arms are damaged, then you'll need a
proper spring compressor (about $50 at the usual suspects or build your own),
and of course suitable replacement parts; but the work still isn't particularly
hard.
If that sounds like too much, though, hire a flat bed. This is not an area to
be making compromises.
> And what might have been the fundamental cause?
>From your description, I'd say most likely hidden accident damage. It's
>possible the nut "just came off", but that would indicate defective or
>incorrectly assembled parts. That joint is supposed to have a thin Nyloc nut,
>which is supposed to be replaced every time it's taken off. Someone either
>used the wrong nut (I've gotten ball joints with tall nuts, so the locking
>element doesn't contact the threads) or reused the same nut until it lost it's
>locking power.
And even if the nut did come off, the "locking" taper should have held for a
long time.
> The wheel in question also appeared a
> bit out of whack when I had the car up on axle stands a few weeks ago.
Uhh ... yeah, you were lucky. I'm guessing that next time it looks "out of
whack", you'll investigate _before_ taking a drive.
Randall
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