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Ball Joints popping on 2012 when cold


motorjock205

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I know this was an issue on earlier models, but I would have thought that it would have been solved by now...Anyway, the weather has finally turned bitterly cold here in West Texas and as I was backing out of my parking space this morning and at lunch, I heard the ball joints popping...I guess I need to take the car into the dealer and have them check them...I've noticed it when the weather was warmer too...only a little over 9000 miles on her now, so I assume it should still be under warranty...Any ideas?

 

I should probably have them check the alignment while they are at it although I would hope that would be a part of the ball joint replaclement...It seems that I am always having to pull to the right on the steering wheel when driving...I thought these had the electronic assist on them??? Am I wrong? I had it on my wife's 2011 5.0, and it even seemed to adjust the steering for our strong side winds out here...this one...Not so much...

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I have the same thing happen with my 2012 (only when cold). Threads on other forums have suggested that the cause of this problem is the cold Goodyear F1s. Goes away when the tires warm up. Another possibility is the front lower control arm bushings. There is a TSB out on this issue for 2011 -2014 Mustangs (TSB 13-7-8).

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Thanks, but this doesn't sound like the same issue...The TSB talks about the control arm bushings...this sounds and feels more like a ball joint because you can feel it in the steering wheel when backing out of a parking spot...It is a pretty loud POP and feel...I've experienced the same type of issue on other Mustangs in the past and it was the ball joint....Although, as I stated, I thought Ford would have fixed this by now in these later models, but since the TSB is still valid for the Control Arm bushings, I'm beginning to wonder...

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I have had this issue for two years now, dealer blames it on my mods, my non Ford shop tells me the electric steering has play in it until car is rolling, so taking off from a stop forward or backwards with the wheels turned to the left or right will intermittently cause a pop or clunk. There may be a larger issue related to the electric power steering motor assembly. He tells there are no safety concerns, it just bugs me when I have a clunk or rattle anywhere.

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Completely normal, it's the tires skipping against the pavement, nothing more.

 

My car did it when new and after suspension install.

 

It's the scrub radius of the front suspension geometry exacerbated by the cold, hard rubber.

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I know what that is, this is different, the Goodyear tires are the cause for what you describe, I changed out my tires last year, what I am describing is "slop or play" in the electric steering module at initial roll from a stop either backwards or forwards, once you start rolling it tightens up and pop noise goes away. The noise I am describing only happens when you have the wheels turned either right or left, not straight. Maybe it's just mine, but what the original post describes sounds similar.

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