Xantia Drop Link keeps breaking / popping off bottom joint

[romie]

Hey-up.. maybe it's the heat :/ ...

...But going around a tight roundabout, (whilst steering hard-ish right), the near-side, (passenger side), drop link 'popped off' it's lower joint, (ball pulled out of plastic housing), making a sound not unlike the sound you get when twanging a wooden ruler on a table, (but much louder), (took me a moment to figure out it was the anti-roll bar releasing).

Ok, so I've replaced the drop link.... and 1000 miles later whilst going around another tight roundabout... 'TWANNNNNNGGGGGG', and it's done it again! Same side, same way.

I've just picked up the more expensive Lemforder drop link, (worryingly it looks exactly the same at the less expensive Q-Drive part, apart from different colour metal clips around the rubber boots!).

But before fitting I thought I'd give you guys a shout and see if anyone has had a drop link keep failing, on the same side of vehicle, within only a few thousand miles of each other and had any ideas if there might be a reason for this?

Cheers guys!!

Romie

1996 Xantia 1.9TD, 250,000 miles

[romie]

Hi

Are you using the right diameter link rod for your car? Theres a 10mm and a heavier 12mm ... possible that youve got a thinner rod rather than a heavier one?

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

Heya, yeah. I hit that little issue a few years ago and I get the 12mm ones

Is odd, the ball joint, (bottom bit), is just pulled clean out of the housing, (top part), and so I'm left with the drop link dangling from its top ball joint, (which is fine, probably cos it's at a right angle and so isn't pulled directly outwards).

I'm just worried that if this happens again Euro Car Parts will not exchange this THIRD unit! :/

Cheers, romie

[citronut]

how long had the first one to pop off been on the car, and what brand was that one

[Stempy]

I wonder whether it might be wear in the ARB bushes causing the ARB to move and jam on the lower suspension arm?

[Mandrake]

I've never heard of this happening before, certainly not multiple times within a few thousand miles...

Surely it can only be a poor quality pattern part to blame ? There's nothing I can really think of that could go wrong with the suspension that would cause it, unless perhaps if the roll bar was offset a long way to one side - but you would have noticed that if it was the case, and I'm not even sure that its possible for that to happen.

Warranties are great and all, but sometimes you just have to cut your losses and go for a better quality part. If I were in your shoes there is no way I would put a 3rd part of the exact same brand in when the first two have failed in a highly unusual manner.

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me"

I've just had a 4 month old £65 oxygen sensor fail on me, the seller has offered to replace it, they'll get one chance to replace it with a good one but if that fails prematurely too its refund time and buy elsewhere.

Although the Lemforder link might look superficially the same, you have no way of knowing whether the "nylon" bush in the two brands is of the same quality. Perhaps the Q-Drive link has a softer bush material that can allow the ball to escape under high load conditions. Who knows ?

I put Lemforder droplinks in my current and previous Xantias - no problems at all. The previous one did over 20,000 miles on the new droplinks and they were still fine when I sold the car. This one has done 5000 on them so far, and I'm not gentle around corners

[romie]

how long had the first one to pop off been on the car, and what brand was that one

Good morning!!

Ok, yes, good question.
I just had an MOT a couple of months ago, and sure enough they said I had to replace the drop link due to excessive play 'and all that', . So:

From MOT:.......................................................1st Q-Drive drop link installed for MOT.
Under a month from MOT or around 1000 miles later:......2st Q-Drive drop link installed due to first one popping apart, (replaced under part warranty).
Under a month from above or around 1000 miles later:....3rd Lemforder drop link purchased due to second one popping apart. (from refund from second part), Yet to fit :/ Searched then posted on F.C.F to see if anyone else has seen this!!

Hmmmm, maybe this is a 'fit it and see' scenario :/

[romie]

I wonder whether it might be wear in the ARB bushes causing the ARB to move and jam on the lower suspension arm?

Thanks for the thought..Interesting, so the ARB could be, being held in the lower position as the suspension rises and so, rips the drop link apart.
The rubber bush looked ok, but I'll go round both sides when fitting this new part and investigate if the ARB could be being held like this.

I'm trying to think about how the car rolls when going around a tight roundabout. Wouldn't the passenger side be compressing at the time? Seems odd that it would 'pull' apart whilst going around a tight right hand turn?

I need to look at some youtube videos of cars going around bends! :/

[romie]

I've never heard of this happening before, certainly not multiple times within a few thousand miles...

Surely it can only be a poor quality pattern part to blame ? There's nothing I can really think of that could go wrong with the suspension that would cause it, unless perhaps if the roll bar was offset a long way to one side - but you would have noticed that if it was the case, and I'm not even sure that its possible for that to happen.

Warranties are great and all, but sometimes you just have to cut your losses and go for a better quality part. If I were in your shoes there is no way I would put a 3rd part of the exact same brand in when the first two have failed in a highly unusual manner.

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me"

I've just had a 4 month old £65 oxygen sensor fail on me, the seller has offered to replace it, they'll get one chance to replace it with a good one but if that fails prematurely too its refund time and buy elsewhere.

Although the Lemforder link might look superficially the same, you have no way of knowing whether the "nylon" bush in the two brands is of the same quality. Perhaps the Q-Drive link has a softer bush material that can allow the ball to escape under high load conditions. Who knows ?

I put Lemforder droplinks in my current and previous Xantias - no problems at all. The previous one did over 20,000 miles on the new droplinks and they were still fine when I sold the car. This one has done 5000 on them so far, and I'm not gentle around corners

Yes, done exactly that! On the second failure I was thinking bad batch and moved on to the more expensive Lemforder part, (which didn't come with nuts!! After taking it back to get replacement nuts, ECPs opened three other Lemforder boxes and said they don't come with them and they don't sell them as a separate part!! Nice guy nicked some nuts out of a Q-Drive box! :/ )

Anywho, so fingers crossed with the Lemforder... hmmm

Cheers, romie

[Mandrake]

The Lemforder ones don't come with nuts or washers for some reason. I just bought a small bag of standard nylock nuts and washers from B&Q when I fitted mine. Did you fit washers on yours ?

[addo]

Did you deliberately quote that old saying arse-about?

Really sounds like poor quality parts more than anything else.

[Mandrake]

Did you deliberately quote that old saying arse-about?

I make up my own sayings as and when needed, any resemblance to real sayings, alive or dead is purely coincidental

Really sounds like poor quality parts more than anything else.

I agree. Bet those Lemforder ones last just fine.

[Chris570]

The Lemforder ones don't come with nuts or washers for some reason. I just bought a small bag of standard nylock nuts and washers from B&Q when I fitted mine. Did you fit washers on yours ?

Mine did. Came sealed in a plastic bag

[romie]

The Lemforder ones don't come with nuts or washers for some reason. I just bought a small bag of standard nylock nuts and washers from B&Q when I fitted mine. Did you fit washers on yours ?

Er, nope :/
Are you meant to? Need to check microfiche for that one
Just thinking.. I suppose it would stop the nut mating surface from getting all gnarled up on tightening the nut. It would spread the pressure from under the nut, and maybe make it easier to remove when joint is dead?

I've never seen washers on there originally, (I say originally, I mean when I first got the car. Who knows how many times these drop links have been changed before then!).

And I've never seen washers come with any replacements, (probably cos I've only got the most least expensive parts from ECP!).*
This is because I have/am quite sceptical with whether the more expensive parts are 'actually' made any better/better materials or even in a different factory! Without me putting samples of each through my own testing it's hard to tell!?
This would be an experience thing I suppose. You guys, with more experience could give your opinion on this? That would be great

* Interestingly, I've only replaced all the ball joint parts for the most least expensive parts I can find in ECP. And I now just keep replacing them as they all fail EACH YEAR on the MOT! :p
Maybe that's telling me something! But until now, I don't mind just going around changing the drop links, lower suspension ball joints, track rod ends etc.. every year as it makes them especially easy to remove as they've only been on for a year!! Hahaha :p (and I smother them in copper grease on fitting. (makes em quite mucky to give back to ECP for warranty returns - hahahax2)).

ta, romie

[romie]

Did you deliberately quote that old saying arse-about?

Really sounds like poor quality parts more than anything else.

was just working down the list from oldest to newest.

Yeah, poor quality parts is probably the answer. I'll fit the more expensive one tonight and check back in 1000 miles!

[romie]

The Lemforder ones don't come with nuts or washers for some reason. I just bought a small bag of standard nylock nuts and washers from B&Q when I fitted mine. Did you fit washers on yours ?

Mine did. Came sealed in a plastic bag

Hmm yeah, as mentioned, mine didn't.
And the next three Lemforder boxes he opened also didn't.

In all the Lemforder boxes, the drop links were NOT sealed in plastic bags.
Just loose in box with a sticker across the end sealing the box flap.

Maybe the nuts have been robbed from all these other boxes for other customers! (like myself).
I did tell them to get onto Lemforder as to why there are no nuts..... (hahahah, this just reminds me of an ingredients list.. 'Lemforder cannot guarantee 'not' nut free!' snigger!).
But I would have thought the drop links would come with them as the nuts would technically have to be changed when the drop link is changed, no?!

Bah, in any-case, I'll be kicking myself if I don't check for all necessary parts next time I purchase a supposedly 'unopened' item from ECPs!!

ta, romie