Okay so I'm driving down the road at 25mph and all of a sudden I hear a 'CLUG' and my car turns to the right and tires squeel and almost crash. I thought I have a flat...but guess what? My lower ball joint seperated!!!...I did the recal thing bout a year ago at the dealer (Barber Mitsu in vallejo) and they said its good to go, guess not. So right now my car's on the side of the road. Thank GOD that it did not happen at 90mph on the 600 mile trip to the Bay Area and back. Anyways, everyone needs to check their ball joints and get the recall done ASAP. I posted earlier on how my car was really acting up and steering real funny, so if you have the symptoms go get it checked out. I'm just gonna do the work myself cuz the nearest Mitsubishi is past an hour away, it's just gonna be a hassle. Has anyone done this before??..any tips?...Do i just need the dust cover and maybe some lube er somethin? Please help me out. Thanks everyone and drive safe.


Star stage I
Starion I/C
GReddy BOV
Nology Wires
APEXI EL Boost Gauge
Southland Dual Friction Clutch
B&M Short Shifter/ Shifter Bushings
17" Axis Wheelsite Mesh - 235/40
Camberkits
Eibach Sportlines on KYB AGXs
Strut Bars/ GST Rear Sway Bar
X-Drills w/ Axxis pads
Andy's Front Bumper
Stock Skirts
Cleared Headlights

Thank God you didn't crash man, even at 25 MPH people can die (although not likely :P) I dunno how hard the joint fix is, I had my mitsu dealer do mine. If I wreck mine cause they didn't fix shit rigt, they are getting a fat lawsuit on em, then I wont have to save for my stage 5 turbo :P

-Michael
1999 GS Eclipse
Soon to be Stage 5 GS-X'd

Wanted:
:Sensei type 1 bumper
:Blitz style 2 sideskirts
:and help finding a bumper that will look good with the above combination..

is this the stock ball joint?

that has woried me to, i took mine in and not 20 minutes later they said alright looks fine your all done, if you ask me if there is a recall, they should change the parts, im sorry but some mechanic's opinion at dodge/mitsu doesn't make me feel any safer about it, i just think they scammed me and are putting my life on the line because they want to save a couple bucks.

Umm go to a diff place. Its illegal not to and you should have a talk with the head guy there.


Still being designed but worth a look!
www.extreme420a.com

they had a recall on the ball joints and the idler arms i had mine replaced at the dealer 2 months ago check in to it they should fix it for free

the recall says that if there is no visible damage that an inspection is all that is needed, they don't have to replace them, but i should have made them do it

No no no I gave my car to the owner BUT I am almost positive it said that EVEN if there is NO visible damage from being previously replaced or not replaced yet they still can get water or something in tiny holes or something and than rust and become defective. Am I just dreaming this stuff up or am I right? College is frying my brain dude.


Still being designed but worth a look!
www.extreme420a.com

Hi all, I just made my appointment to get that done, quoted around 2 and a half hour job. The service guy said someone hit a guard rail on the highway doing around 75 mph, and it's gonna cost him $7000 to fix his car. He also said the new ball joints they put on would cost 600 or 700 bucks, plus they are way better than the previous ones. I'll have them just in time to go to the track on oct 19th.
95 GS HRC Stage II

I took mine to the dealer months ago after I received the recall notice. I waited there for 30min and they said everything was fine, but they replaced my both of my lower control arms. One of them were bent from when I hit a curb in the rain. They tried to get the replaced through warranty but they couldnt do it and gave me a price on how much it should be. I guess I got lucky and received free brand new control arms. Anyways, they said nothing was wrong with the balljoints, they just lubed them up or something.

Star Stage 1 E-trim and stock exhaust
14.91 @ 93.94 with 3psi of boost
60ft-2.21
330ft-6.27
1/8-9.62
Best 60ft ever- 2.21

I have some squeeking going on in my front suspension, but i also recently put my car into a ditch, do you think if i take my car to mitsu, they won't give me the free recall fix? They could just say that the crash must have done something to it... i'm going to have to go to satan tomorrow and check it out.

glad your ok man.

there was a TSB and a recall....

the tsb was to inspect them for any wear or visible damage. had this done less than one year ago. about a month later, I had all my bushings replaced to NRGsuspension and the mechanic didn't utter a word about any of the ball joints being loose. so I thought nothing of it, but I kept hearing a thunk over bumps, so I jacked the car up, and could literally move the wheel up and down 1cm in and out of the lower ball joint....that is insanity!! I don't know what the hell they checked, but they obviously didn't.... right about the same time, I got another card in the mail stating that they were going to recall them. and they replaced both lower control arms free of charge(this was at a different mitsu dealer). I also had bad ball joints in my pass. side lower lateral arm and upper control arm, so I replaced them on my own.

from what it sounds like, mitsu just did the inspection on yours, and again, they obviously didn't inspect them well enough...

now, they should've sent you a letter stating that you are eligable for full recall w/replacement.... If you recieved that, but didn't go, then the joints coming out was partially your fault because you ignored an important safety bullutin. but if they never sent one to you, that's grounds for a lawsuit, gross neglagence for endangering your life when they had the means to fix the problem.


those lower ball joints are actually really easy to switch out. it's all of two bolts and a nut. If you can get the car up on jackstands, you could actually do it while it's on the side of the road.(takes all of 20 min or so)

mitsu "should" supply you with the lower arms free of charge, but they will tell you you've got to bring it to them and have them do it....

I'd use the word "lawsuit" fluently when bitching them out and keep bitching till you get every bushing and ball joint in the car replaced for free in the process!!



__________________________
...just my $.02
95 GS

Both my control arms were replaced due to bad ball joints but my question is this: Do they just put on replacements of the same thing cause as far as I know they haven't fixed sh*t, they just replace the control arm like its a wear part (i.e. brakes, clutch).


http://stan2gnt.homestead.com/home.html
Stan2gnt
Stan2va@aol.com
95 Talon 420A-Turbo
Former and future nitrous user

the dealer ships are required to replace the ball joint, no re greaseing or saying it looks o.k.. i talked to my local mitz. shop mananger about the recall and he showed me the stock pile of brand new ball joints that they had to do the replacements. he told me that he is required If a dealer says they look fine and send you on your way they are not conforming to the the recall. just a word of caution for those of you have been told not to worry they are fine. I have not had mine replaced do to work and other things that are not in my control. As soon as i can get a day off and take the car in i will.

josh

Hey guys, go look at the NHTSA official web site for the exact wording of the recall. They INSPECT it, and if it looks ok, they can just let you go home. Only if it needs to be replaced, then they are replacing it. I think a lot of dealerships tend to just replace it automatically since mitsu corporation will reimburse them for the labor, so it's just more profit for the individual dealership.

I have one question: are the ball joints part of the lower control arms? On mine, they just replaced both lower control arms, so does that also replace the ball joints?

eclipse804@hotmail.com
http://www.importvenom.com
Import Venom - Parts and Performance

yeah, they have to replace the whole arm. the ball joint itself isn't servicable.

I ran into that alot if I had to replace a single bushing or a single ball joint, I found myself buying brand new control arms everywhere...

__________________________
...just my $.02
95 GS

There is an updated version of the boot recall. It requires them to inspect the actual ball joint for wear. If it is more than I think 0.01 off they are required to replace them. Had both replaced on the Talon but haven't had the recall done on the Eclipse yet due to where the nearest dealer is :(

Michelle

We will NOT forget!
September 11, 2001


96 Eclipse Base Model
Best 14.6@93 w/60 shot
95 Talon Tsi AWD A/T

LAST EDITED ON 11-Oct-01 AT 05:51 PM (PST)

Same shit happened to me! Bout 35mph and all the sudden "bang" and the car went to the pavement! it cost mitsu about 4000 to repair all the damage that was done to my car, as far as the invoice called for my part that were damaged were as follows:
lower control arm and all parts
upper control arm and all parts
welding upper control arm back up to body
left front fender
hood repair
left door repair
paint for hood and left side of car
half shaft
transmission (when it happened it fucked it all up)
clutch part(i cant rember the exact one)
but this is just the partial list. It took them about a month while I drove around in a rental car which they payed for! And don't let them screw you get the most expensive rental! I did. 2000 buick riviera,leather ect ect.

you know the funny thing is that the very next day was my scheduled appointment to get it all replaced! How ironic is that!

To answer your question YES it has happened! And you should report it to the national hotline. And DO NOT do the work your self. Give me you Dealership # and Ill make sure they pick up the car-give you a new rental at their expense- and give you a ride to and from you house when ever you need it! They have to fix it all and compensate you by law! This is no shit!




1995 RS
16x8 Momo's
CAI
4-2-1 Headers
2.75 in Tenzo cat-back exhaust
carbon fiber s%^t
2nd gen altezza's
GTS carbon look headlight covers
Apex-I Super AFC
Eiboch lowered
Momo pedals
Indiglo gauges
Autometer gauges/pillar pod
Front, Rear, upper and lower strut braces(neuspeed)
Clarion auto pc with navigation sytem
Clear front corners
Ported throttle bodie(55mm)
Racing stripes (one 2" one 6" side by side down the passenger side)
Custom front grill
"mitsubishi inside" sticker (my favorite)
I got lots more mods but Im tired of typing :)

I know someone who had something like that happen....but worse. Her wheel actually fell off. Busted the front(factory 95-96) and sideskirts. Mitsu had to pay for new parts and paint and brakes/suspension, and I think the wheel too. It happened in heavy traffic, but luckily, it was in a 20 MPH zone thru downtown.

Since Mits. already ok'ed on the ball joints when you took it in last year they will be over all responsable for any damage caused by it. But if I were you I would talk to a good lawyer cause you might have a case over this since they OK'ed the ball joints when you went for the inital recall. Might be worth your while just to talk to them and ask there opinion.

Hi everyone.

I drive a 95 Talon. I notice it leans very bad to the right. Its not psi's for sure. I just bought it 6 months ago. Is something bad going to happen? I had it inspected before i bought it, it did say somethign about a left wheel rod or something like that. Is this it? Do I just need alignment? THanks, Im worried now. I wouldnt' know if this was ever fixed or if im entitled to have it fixed since i bought it with the warranty already gone.