NO warranty found, they were a no-name brand from Ebay and I installed them myself.
Ball joints are the joints are used to attach the wheel and steering components on an independent suspension system. There is an upper and lower ball joint on each side. It allows the spindle (part that holds the wheel and hub) to articulate and turn when steering (tie rod ends connect the steering components to the spindle)
Yeah, the steering had been acting screwy all day (was stiff and would not return to center). I was only going 15 mph when it gave and thankfully it wasn't as damaged as it could have been.
REDNECK TIP: I used 550 paracord to limp it around the corner into the driveway! That stuff is a lot tougher than I gave it credit for!
The truth of the matter is, I'm pretty sure I know what caused the failure. I was driving out to my summer job on a gravel road (70% of our county is gravel) and I crested a hill that was being graded (they hump up the gravel in the middle of the road). I hit it and it threw me into the ditch, stuffing the left front tire hard. I only did a visual inspection and did not notice any difference in the way it drove, so I thought I was okay. Unfortunately, I was wrong. Fortunately for me, after putting another 1,000 miles on it, including a trip to Aspen in September, it decided to give 50 feet from my driveway. It should have taken the time to jack up the vehicle and check to see if everything was still functional.
I installed Sankei 555 LBJ's on (apparently the same stamping as OEM) yesterday and she's up and running again with no damage to the spindle or UBJ (no wobble when jacked up or stretch on the bolts) but the CV axle needs a new boot and needs regreased. Anything else that someone can think of would be greatly appreciated!
