new tires and possible ball joint problems

[Utahskibum99]

what's up guys, So ran into some trouble yesterday with my festiva. Started out the day getting new tires put on the car, got some 145/12 yokohama that felt great right after i got them installed. towards the end of the day I was driving through a roundabout, totally lost control, and pretty much had to park it right in the middle of traffic haha. getting out of the car the front passenger wheel was completely off axis. looking closer it looks like the ball joint popped out and maybe broke a tire rod.
Any way this could have been the tire shops doing? At the very least shouldn't they have seen my ball joints needed replacing and given me a heads up? I'll be calling the shop as soon as they open but they're closed now.

oh one more fun detail maybe you guys could help me diagnose. after this happened my 'tiva started leaking red fluid which i thought was weird cause i've always been told red fluid is transmission fluid, but this festiva is manual. anyways i'd say about a quart leaked out and then stopped. any input is appreciated and let me know if there's anything else you want to know.

[rickbz28]

Festiva manual trans use ATF, automatic trans fluid.When the ball joint popped it most likely pulled the inner cv joint out of the trans thereby causing loss of fluid.Was it the tire shops fault? Probably not.Should they have seen it and warned you?Maybe ,maybe not.Depends on the competency level of the mechanic changing your tires.You were quite lucky you were going relatively slow.

[Utahskibum99]

yeah it wasn't that fun. with all that damage what is fixing it going to be like? I guess what I'm asking is would it be worth it? How is finding parts for these guys? don't think I have the time/tools to complete the job all on my own. sorry for the barrage

[william]

Of course it's worth fixing lower control arms/ball joints are 20 something a side at orileys and are easy to change with hand tools and a jack and Jack stand.
Your ball joint may have just pope out if the pinch bolt is missing or worn. This holds the ball joint to the spindal.

[Movin]

That is all easy stuff. Make sure the boots on both ends of the CV shaft are okay. You should probably put a new seal in the transmission where the shaft came loose and leaked the tranny oil. You have to pull the speedocable gear from the top side to refill the transmission. A new lower control arm comes with the ball joint, a tie-rod end these are inexpensive and easy to replace with basic hand tools. Maybe the tire shop will align it for you when done if they have that equipment, if not maybe they have some one that does alignments for them.

[Utahskibum99]

Awesome guys. good news. thanks for the input.

[WmWatt]

Had the same thing happen. Consulted the Haynes manual and did the repalcement myself. Later did other side. Do a search of this site and read about what labour savign tips and to watch for, especially the bolt at the inner end of the control arm. Don't forget to top up that transmission fluid. You'll need a hose or long funnel to reach down to the top of the transmission where the speedo cable enters.

[Utahskibum99]

About how much time should i set aside to finish this job?

[TWFodor]

Depends. The nut on the end of the control arm bolt within the frame gave me some issues because the welds broke free and was terribly rusted, so it took me a very long time, until I just cut the bolt and bought another one to replace it. If yours doesn't give you problems, a ball joint/control arm will take less than an hour. Just depends on skill level and circumstances. As for the tie rod, I've only ever replaced the tie rod end, which took about a half hour because it, too, was rusted. Nothing PB blaster can't handle. So, I cannot speak for the inner rod, but I'd assume you'd need to add another half hour for the inner as well. Overall, I'd say give yourself a good 4 hours! At least, with me, a 2 hour job turns into 4, quite easily. It seems I always run into issues, mostly relating to rust.

[WmWatt]

The first one takes twice as long as the second one.