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BDS ball joint gives way... What a mess.

FishOn

FishOn

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Not romping it hard, literally flipped a U turn in a rutted dirt lot and got the *** end a little loose. Then she stopped moving... Ball joint blew, which let the spindle fall, which let the CV shear/snap, which railed the lower ball joints, tie rod ends, sway bar links, etc...
Calling BDS in the morning to see what the warranty will cover as far as the "ripple effect" of damage.
20210102_110640.jpg 20210102_110646.jpg
 
Wife comes to pick me up and says, "What would have happened if you were on the freeway?"
Bad, honey... It would have been bad.
 
FishOn said:
Not romping it hard, literally flipped a U turn in a rutted dirt lot and got the *** end a little loose. Then she stopped moving... Ball joint blew, which let the spindle fall, which let the CV shear/snap, which railed the lower ball joints, tie rod ends, sway bar links, etc...
Calling BDS in the morning to see what the warranty will cover as far as the "ripple effect" of damage.
View attachment 78467 View attachment 78468
Click to expand...

Holy crap. Hope they take care of you.


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FishOn said:
Not romping it hard, literally flipped a U turn in a rutted dirt lot and got the *** end a little loose. Then she stopped moving... Ball joint blew, which let the spindle fall, which let the CV shear/snap, which railed the lower ball joints, tie rod ends, sway bar links, etc...
Calling BDS in the morning to see what the warranty will cover as far as the "ripple effect" of damage.
View attachment 78467 View attachment 78468
Click to expand...
Dang....good thing it was at slow speed. Hope BDS stands behind their product for you. Report back with the outcome, hope it all works out in your favor.
 
I waited over 2 months for the BDS kit to come in, got it installed right at Thanksgiving, got everything re-torqued right after Christmas, and snapped it right after New Years. BDS is supposed to be fantastic with warranty stuff, we'll find out tomorrow. And the real kicker... I wasn't getting rough! I've seen these kits in Baja doing great on GNARLY terrain and I just wanted to do a little burnout in the mud and broke it.
 
I've never dealt with BDS personally but I've only ever heard good things about them, this may have just been a manufacturing defect. I think they will do the right thing for you.
 
I have the same BDS and Fox combo on my Ram as well, really hope this is a one off occurrence. Glad no one was hurt.
 
Really sorry that happened to you but really glad it didn't happen at higher speeds!

I am wondering (and I am sure BDS will bring this up) if it wasn't maybe due to faulty installation. Who completed the installation and retorque as BDS will ask and/or if you used a "BDS Authorized" shop as that will weigh into the extent of warranty coverage.
 
Desert Dawg said:
Really sorry that happened to you but really glad it didn't happen at higher speeds!

I am wondering (and I am sure BDS will bring this up) if it wasn't maybe due to faulty installation. Who completed the installation and retorque as BDS will ask and/or if you used a "BDS Authorized" shop as that will weigh into the extent of warranty coverage.
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Hopefully that won't be an issue. The shop that did the install is a BDS dealer and they've opted to call BDS directly...
 
Looking at the pictures I don't see any ball joint grease. The joints come from BDS with nothing in them and should have been filled as per intructions. Wonder if the shop let you run them dry. At that point it is on the shop that did the installation to pay for repairs.
 
Dude sorry to see the carnage. Seems the BJ just broke in half ? damn. Hope their warranty will live to their reputation. That BJ failing like that is not good at all considering all the damage the truck sustained, glad everybody onboard is safe and sound.
Did you take a pic with a closer look zooming in the part that broke ?
 
Pretty hard to tell what failed initially... Both upper and lower BJs are snapped/sheared which is pretty insane in itself. We'll see what they come back with.
 
BJs were definitely greased at install... The shop is an authorized dealer and they seem to know what's up. I talked to a few different people about what shop to use around here and they all gave these guys a thumbs up. BDS is willing to cover their part, and their part only, as per the fine print in the "no fine print" warranty... $22 ball joint out of $1700 in repairs.
The shops claim is that since the truck was in an accident before I owned it, there must have been some structural damage that put too much stress on the BJs. It's never pulled, shimmied, burped or farted in any odd manner before the lift, but I have had to chase some gremlins here and there from issues that seem to relate back to the accident. (bent brake lines/etc)
Who knows... At this point, A: Everyone is safe, no one was hurt (my pride is a little dented, but that's repairable) B: I finally got my dream truck where I really LOVE it, so that's a plus, and C: I just want my freaking truck back and to know it's road worthy... Maybe even off-road worthy.
 
Bummer man, damn fine print gets me every time. Hopefully the shop gets it all fixed up for you sooner than later so you can start enjoying it again. Nice looking truck btw!
 
FishOn said:
BJs were definitely greased at install... The shop is an authorized dealer and they seem to know what's up. I talked to a few different people about what shop to use around here and they all gave these guys a thumbs up. BDS is willing to cover their part, and their part only, as per the fine print in the "no fine print" warranty... $22 ball joint out of $1700 in repairs.
The shops claim is that since the truck was in an accident before I owned it, there must have been some structural damage that put too much stress on the BJs. It's never pulled, shimmied, burped or farted in any odd manner before the lift, but I have had to chase some gremlins here and there from issues that seem to relate back to the accident. (bent brake lines/etc)
Who knows... At this point, A: Everyone is safe, no one was hurt (my pride is a little dented, but that's repairable) B: I finally got my dream truck where I really LOVE it, so that's a plus, and C: I just want my freaking truck back and to know it's road worthy... Maybe even off-road worthy.
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At first, I was a little miffed hearing how the shop threw the problem back on you (for a situation that may or may not have caused the issue) but I love the attitude you have; everyone was safe and move on.
 
Just ordered my bds uca to go with my kings and now I’m worried. Did you ever figure out what fail first and why? Curious, did you hit a pothole while sliding sideways? That, couple with the leverage of the tire, would put a lot of shear stress on the upper ball joint.
 
BDS was pretty straightforward... Broke the ball joint? We'll send you a new one. No BS.
The shop is still standing by the idea that the frame is bent and that may be increasing the shear load on BJ... Headed to a frame shop later this week to see what they say. If the -ish really hits the fan, I'm buying another truck and doing the great switch-a-roo.
 
Does that upper ball joint boot say moog on it, hard to tell in the picture?
 
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