Front wheel came off

Question

my front wheel came off,a terrrible experience,luckily i was driving very slowly ,less than 20kph.about a month ago i had replaced ball joints and i suspect that this could be the problem,because when the wheel came off,the ball joint was off from where its attached to the rest of the suspension.(the lower ball joint)

the mechanic who did the job said the inner cv joint came off and it normally comes off with the ball joint.i find this very hard to believe,any pointers?i cant trust this mechanic.

he said a honda ballade has tripod and thus when the inner cv joint comes off it causes such damage.

when replace the cv joint,i'm getting a vibration when braking at high speed,its not noticable on slow speeds.its also making a cracking sound when breaking,a continous cracking sound.ideas please.

Answer 1

At 20kph, if the inner CV joint separated due to wear, I'm not sure it would cause the lower ball joint to also separate.  In your scenario, the inner CV joint would be destroyed, leaving the rest of the inner CV joint housing still attached to the transmission.

But, if the lower ball joint separated first, it would yank the CV shaft out of the transmission.  This would leak transmission fluid out in a real hurry.  

The vibration when braking at high speed is usually due to a warped brake rotor.  Or, a bad wheel bearing, which could cause the cracking sound.  Your wheel coming off could also have damaged the wheel bearing at the same time.  

Answer 2

Sounds like this mechanic is not telling you the truth. First of all, if you had the cv joint or ball joint replaced a month ago it should have lasted longer than that. It should last for years not months. I would suggest taking it to another shop and get an opinion from someone else.

Take pictures of the damage, you might need them for your lawyer!

Don't drive it until you get it checked out. Your life is worth more that your car. If the brakes are doing strange things and making noise, get it checked.

Answer 3

hes right... u wrecked new ball jt in wreck..check wheel balance and have brakes looked at...have mechanic ride with you