[s-cars] UrS and 200 ball joint failures

[LL - NY]

I hope the driver of the wreck is okay.

On 8/11/08, John Lagnese <jlagnese at massed.net> wrote:
>
> That is a terrible stretch on a terrible road!!
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: 200q20v-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:200q20v-bounces at audifans.com]
> On
> Behalf Of mike claire
>
> Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 9:24 PM
> To: s-car-list; 200 20v List
>
> Subject: UrS and 200 ball joint failures
>
> Hey guys - I saw a bad accident today, and it gave me a lot to think about.
> Some of it is Audi related.
>
> The cops have my statement.  Basically what happened is this:  We were each
> going 60 in opposite directions.  If you could freeze the action as we
> crossed each other, we were at an overpass expansion joint.  At that
> millisecond, I heard heavy metallic pop, or a bang come from her car.  It
> sounded unsprung, and it sounded like something she needed.  I glanced at
> my
> side mirror to catch a glimpse as she passed.  Short wheelbase, high center
> of gravity, I don't think anybody could have saved it, but she went down
> swinging.
>
> A little more about the conditions, then the Audi content:  Rt 101 on the
> Milford/Amherst NH line looks like an Interstate except it's one lane each
> way, no median.  It was 11:30 AM, the road was dry, it was bright with high
> cloud cover, and there were only 3 or 4 cars within sight.  She was driving
> a late model car at a normal speed.  Something happened, and in the count
> of
> 2 seconds it was over.  It's as random as it gets.
>
>
>
> AUDI CONTENT:
> I have seen too many emails about sudden ball joint failures, and we've
> been
> lucky (as far was we know).  It has happened in the driveway, rolling thru
> a
> parking lot, etc.  Somebody speculated that gyroscopic action holds a
> failed
> components together until the speed's too low.  I suppose it's
> possible....but when I hit an expansion joint at 90 I don't want to wonder
> if that's what's holding my front-end together.
>
> Here's my question:  Is a clunk-free UrS/200 control arm/ball joint
> definately safe?  There's a concensus that TRW's are good, and Meyle is
> terrible.  I replaced the arms 2 years and 15K miles ago.  They might have
> been Meyle.
>
> Suppose they were Meyle, and suppose it passed a "real" inspection by an
> indy who works on UrS's all the time.  Would you track it with those arms?
> If the car is heavy enough to snap something without warning during an
> agressive maneuver, I'll change out parts next week (assuming TRW will
> correct the risk).
>
>
>
> Mike
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