I was driving on a local road (going 15-20mph) and all of a sudden my truck started to hop and the brakes engaged so I pulled over, and looked under the truck to see if I ran over anything or see if I could see what was wrong, nope, everything looked fine, so I got back in but I drove much more cautiously. Two minutes later, hop hop hop and the brakes locked tight as a drum. I went to the front of my truck and the tires were headed in opposite directions, both of them pointing in! Looking underneath, the right tie rod broke off. I had it towed to a local dealership (this was over the weekend, so they haven't yet looked at it, I have no idea what it will cost to fix it).

My big question is, what if I was on the highway and that rod gave out? I'd probably be up sh*t's creek and in the hospital/dead if I was tooling on the local highway at 65-70mph, which I was doing just an hour before. How can such a critical piece be just a relatively small rod and why did it give out in just a few years (I've got a 98 F150 Lariat).

Thanks for any input, I was fine about it until I started thinking about what might have happened, it really got me thinking!

Ron

1998 Oxford White F150 Lariat Flareside Supercab Snugtop lid

 

how did the tie rod break? did it break in 2 , or did the ball just come out? i've had the ball come out & i keep a piece of tractor trailer intertube for a quick repair but as a rule, tie rod ends shouldn't break, and you should still check em anyway.

Besides, i think the average cost is around $40.00 for one, and they really should be done in pairs (like ball joints, which takes the same amount of time to do).

Just my little rant

 

It looks like the socket broke, don't know how, it just did... The Dealership just called me, $210 for repair and then $70 for alignment. I told them to do the left side too (so $210 more). I'd rather pay and get it done than to worry about it! I still can't believe it broke, when I get over to the dealership, I'm going to try to get an answer!

Thanks!
Ron

 

My left front outer tie rod failed at 135,000 kms. Like yours mine simply disengaged at the ball and the rod fell down. Luckily mine failed when I went to back into the driveway. I had a slight pull to the left when braking for a few days before that and in the future I will pay attention to any pulling under braking. Why pay all that money to Ford to fix the ball joints? I bought top quality new inner and outers that were complete with grease fittings and installed them myself. With an alignment afterwards, I still would have payed just a little over half of what you payed and that is in Canadian dollars!! It is a simple job to change them yourself. Good luck, GlennMc.

 

Well, I guess it comes down to time more than money, plus, since I drove on it for a while, I didn't want to take a chance that something else might have gotten ruined in the process. The other thing is that it is verrrry coolllldddd outside right now and I don't have a garage!

Thanks for the input, I'd still like to know what might have happened if I was toolin' down the highway @ 80mph, anyone ever have one of these things break on the highway?

Thanks!
Ron

 

I needed new ball joints last week at about 75,000 miles on my '97 2WD. The dealer wanted $493.00 for the labor, parts and alignment so I had it done at a local shop where I was able to use the NAPA ball joints I'd purchased that came with proper grease fittings. I expect these ball joints to last the life of the truck. My total with parts, labor and alignment came to just under $350.00.

It's going to be a similar situation when I replace the tie rods. The tie rods are in acceptible condition as far a Ford service and the independent shop are concerned but they look as though the outers are about to pop out of the wheel spindle.

There are certain OEM Ford parts that are built to last but the suspension/steering system has none of them.

If my tie rods failed after only 2-3 years, I would not allow Ford to replace them with the same at the rates they charge for parts and labor.

Now that I'm out of warranty and I've seen the light, I am done with Ford dealer service.

 

I agree. OEM parts without grease fittings suck big time. Pays to do it yourself and you know it's done right.

Who the hell came up with the idea of no-maintenance ball joints anyhow?? I guess they saved about $0.50 on the cost of the entire vehicle with that move (less nipples).

(same engineer that signed off on the T-pipe in the exhaust, former GM employee?)

 

prolly was a former GM employee, seeing as the GM truck have fully greasable fornt ends.


I'm curious RonLariat, did you ever inspect them during wheel rotaions or oil changes ??? I'm wondering if a tight joint just failed, or if it was already wearing out and getting loose ?? Is it a 4wd ??

 

I agree with raoul_d...

front end inspection is required for all vehicles. I replaced ball joints and tie rods after a front end inspection. The Ford mechanic said that the one rie rod was ready to snap at any second. He also said that the F-150 tie rods and ball joints were cheap and prone to unexpected breakage.

Translation... CHECK THEM REGULARLY!

 

Truthfully, I don't use Ford for regular maintenece and Oil changes get done at the local valvoline shop, I also just had an inspection in January (and Massachusetts inspection is supposed to be pretty tough). No one mentioned a problem with that tie rod. It is a 4wd (that is 4wd on demand).

I didn't, but will start checking out the front end on a semi-regular basis, just need to know what to do to check it

Thanks!

 

I lost the passenger side tie rod end at about 112,000 miles on my '97 2wd F150. Like the other reports, it simply disengaged from the ball. I was leaving a parking lot and it felt like I had a flat tire. I was happy it was at low speed also! My front end had felt a little off, but it was the middle of winter and the roads were in really crappy shape, so I didn't really take to much notice of it. I ended up replacing the inner and outer tie rod ends on the passenger side and the outer on the drivers side. I ended up out the door for $400 excluding the tow to the garage.

Now I give regular inpections to the front end so I don't miss the signs again...

 

There should be a recall if this is happening on 3 & 4yr old vehicles.

It's a joke. These parts should really last 200k miles without troubles.

I'm checking my front end tomorrow.

 

p_ferlow

But what can be checked? I mean I've visually checked out my tierods (bolt clamps and ball joints, castellated nut and cotter pin), but sounds like this might be a defect that is undetectable until it happens. You definitely can't see minor stress fractures...

I'm really not a steering/suspension expert, what do you suggest I look for?

 

cpadpl;
To check your front end components is a fairly simple job. Have your wife or girlfriend (or both) sit in the cab of your truck. Do not start the truck and tell them also not to (especially if the wife knows about the girlfriend). Turn the key one notch forward so that the steering wheel is unlocked. Instruct the person in the drivers seat to move the steering wheel back and forth through the range of freeplay in the steering wheel, not actually turning the wheels. Have them do this at about a 1 second interval, that is one second left, then one second right. Now crawl under the front of your truck and one by one, put your hand around every joint. Check outers, inners, idler arm and pitman arm joints. If there is play in any of these joints, you will feel a relative motion between the two sides of the joint. Any movement indicates a joint which requires service. To check the ball joints requires you to place a jack under the lower control arm and lift each front wheel off the ground one at a time. Once raised, grasp the wheel at the top and bottom and try to wobble the wheel back and forth. If play is felt it indicates that a ball joint may be loose and should be serviced. It is a bit more difficult to determine if it is the upper or lower that is loose so you could leave that up to your service people. At least you have checked to see that there is no play. Good luck with your check, GlennMc.

 

Glenn Mc

Thanks for the info, I'll take care of that this afternoon, utilizing the girlfriend assistant method. I will tell you, it's going to take some ***** to willingly climb UNDER the truck with my girlfriend in the cab with specific automotive instructions she may or may not remember.

Last time I involved my girlfriend I was doing something (actually forget what it was now), and instructed her NOT to turn the ignition until I said so. Once I found whatever I was looking for or fixed whatever I was looking for I mumbled something to myself like, "Okay, think I've got it", but it wasn't anything loud or commanding like "Alright turn the ignition." Needless to say the engine roared to life with both my arms inside the engine compartment. I escaped except for some cuts and bruises from the serpentine belt wacking the hell out of one of my hands....