You MUST SEE this, SCARY pics inside...

reddragon93 · 04-07-2001, 07:51 PM

yesterday morning, I wake up, it's beautiful outside, the weather is supposed to be 70+ degrees, blue skys, and it's Friday (and payday) on top of it all. all is good, I head outside to go to work. I am a technician at a Ford Dealership here in Richmond, Virginia. I jump into my 93LX and start the engine. I release the park brake and drop the T-5 into reverse. I ease off of the clutch and begin to roll out of my parking space. I have only gone a few feet when I come to a horrible grinding/crunching halt. my eyes dart to the mirrors to see what I've hit or run over. I only see my neighbor walking across the lot taking out his trash looking in my direction with a horrified look on his face. I jerk up the brake and jump out of the car to see what has happened. I know that the lot was clear, so what did I hit? nothing... I look in disbelief at my front wheel/brake/control arm assembly which has ripped loose from my tubular K-member and destroyed my front fender/apron area. I catch a ride to work and get a floor jack and some stands. This is so freaking unbelievable that I actually went to Wal-Mart at 7:30am to buy a camera and film so I could take some pics before I moved the car. if you look closely you can see that the metal tubing on the control arm actually ripped apart. the weld appears to be intact as the metal that came out of the jagged hole shown in the pics is still in one piece and attached to the portion of tubing on the control arm that goes down to the ball joint. This is unbelievably frightening. The only reason that I can think of to explain why I am not completely FURIOUS about the damage to my car is that I am SO THANKFUL that this didn't happen during rushour traffic, on a highway at 60 miles per hour, or an exit ramp or some place far worse than in my parking lot at home. I could have lost steering and braking control and veered into oncoming traffic or flipped or who knows what. I mean I could have been hurt or killed or done the same to some other innocent driver. the parts were installed brand new last october or november (only 5 short months ago). I just changed the oil last week and didn't notice any signs of cracking, either they were very small or I just missed them, because if you look closely you can see some rust on the rear broken portion of the control arm, which would seem to indicate that the cracks had existed for some time. I don't even know what to do now. I have contacted the manufacturer, but the owner is out of town until monday. I won't give their name, because even though this could have been deadly, they deserve an opportunity to respond. even if they offer to take care of the damages, do I feel safe driving on another one of their control arms??? was this a one in a million fluke failure, or an inherent design flaw? I have ZERO interest in lawsuits, but I do want my car repaired, and MOST importantly, I want my car to be SAFE. While these parts are intended to lighten the car for performance purposes, nowhere in the advertising did they mention "FOR RACE USE ONLY". In fact, while doing my product research I called the company in question and asked directly if these parts would be strong enough for regular use on my daily driver vehicle. No problem, again maybe this was just a random failure, but I don't know.... scary stuff in my opinion. be careful with your mods. I bought these parts based on the testimonials of numerous other mustang owners and racers and magazine articles that all stated that this companies products were only the finest quality. I could have bought cheaper parts from several other competitors (all using very similar designs) but I believed that YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR... well maybe not this time. I am still in shock or disbelief. and I can't wait to hear from the manufacturer on monday. check out the pics. have a good weekend.

sincerely,
chris

Fostang · 04-07-2001, 08:33 PM

Makes you think twice before buying after market suspension things sometimes. What brand were they by the way?

------------------
67'fastback- Edelbrock carb, intake, cam, valve springs. Road lifters, Comp Cam rocker arms, windage tray, cerama coated headers, dual flows with H-pipe, modded c-4, tci stall converter, perma cool electric fan, aluminum water pump, griffen aluminum radiator, accel 8.8 cable, wide cap distriburator, magnetic pick up, manley valves, v-matic hurst shifter, edelbrock performer nitrous, carter electric fuel pump, ignitor coil, solid motor mounts, magna racing suspension, poly urathane bushings, und

xspeed02 · 04-07-2001, 11:08 PM

He had posted this on the Corral. If I recall correctly, the brand was Anthony Jones... I've never even heard of the company until his postings. Big bummer man.

Fox Body · 04-07-2001, 11:13 PM

Whoa! That's scary man. Sorry it happened, but glad it happened in the parking lot and not on the road like you mentioned. I doubt that company will pay for any damaged caused to the car, but they should at least replace/refund the k-member assembly.

Good idea to take pics of what happened.

-------------------------------
'79 Mustang Coup w/ 4" Cowl
Stock 5.8L, C4 w/ shift kit
Holley 750 CFM, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake
1 5/8" MAC shorty headers, Al driveshaft
2.5" Off road H-pipe, 2-chamber Flowmasters
Front: 225/60/15 Rear: 255/60/15 Eagle GT II
Weld wheels (15x6;15x8), 8.8" Rear end w/ 3.55 gears
14 x 4” K&N air filter (getting the Xtreme setup soon)

"Red, thou art my companion. Hasten now your quickened metamorphosis to Green that I may conquer all who dare abide there beside me. May they be left thither behind burnt black." ---Fox Body

93CobraR · 04-07-2001, 11:51 PM

Yeah he has a Anthony Jones K-member & control arms. I'm sure they will take car of it for him though. sh*t happens....

------------------
87 GT, 4 inch cowl hood,17x9 Cobra R's/255/45's,GT-40 heads,long tubes headers,h-pipe,Flows,BBK cold air, Mass air,70mm MAF, 1.7's, 1" spacer,underdrive pulleys,Pro 5.0, King Cobra, Adj. fuel Reg., Lakewood Lift Bars,50/50's,subframes, 4.10's.
Best time 12.96
Best MPH 103.42
Best 60' 1.695

Visit my site at:
http://www.geocities.com/cobrar93_2000/MyPage.html

04-07-2001, 07:51 PM	#1
reddragon93 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: richmond Posts: 11	You MUST SEE this, SCARY pics inside... yesterday morning, I wake up, it's beautiful outside, the weather is supposed to be 70+ degrees, blue skys, and it's Friday (and payday) on top of it all. all is good, I head outside to go to work. I am a technician at a Ford Dealership here in Richmond, Virginia. I jump into my 93LX and start the engine. I release the park brake and drop the T-5 into reverse. I ease off of the clutch and begin to roll out of my parking space. I have only gone a few feet when I come to a horrible grinding/crunching halt. my eyes dart to the mirrors to see what I've hit or run over. I only see my neighbor walking across the lot taking out his trash looking in my direction with a horrified look on his face. I jerk up the brake and jump out of the car to see what has happened. I know that the lot was clear, so what did I hit? nothing... I look in disbelief at my front wheel/brake/control arm assembly which has ripped loose from my tubular K-member and destroyed my front fender/apron area. I catch a ride to work and get a floor jack and some stands. This is so freaking unbelievable that I actually went to Wal-Mart at 7:30am to buy a camera and film so I could take some pics before I moved the car. if you look closely you can see that the metal tubing on the control arm actually ripped apart. the weld appears to be intact as the metal that came out of the jagged hole shown in the pics is still in one piece and attached to the portion of tubing on the control arm that goes down to the ball joint. This is unbelievably frightening. The only reason that I can think of to explain why I am not completely FURIOUS about the damage to my car is that I am SO THANKFUL that this didn't happen during rushour traffic, on a highway at 60 miles per hour, or an exit ramp or some place far worse than in my parking lot at home. I could have lost steering and braking control and veered into oncoming traffic or flipped or who knows what. I mean I could have been hurt or killed or done the same to some other innocent driver. the parts were installed brand new last october or november (only 5 short months ago). I just changed the oil last week and didn't notice any signs of cracking, either they were very small or I just missed them, because if you look closely you can see some rust on the rear broken portion of the control arm, which would seem to indicate that the cracks had existed for some time. I don't even know what to do now. I have contacted the manufacturer, but the owner is out of town until monday. I won't give their name, because even though this could have been deadly, they deserve an opportunity to respond. even if they offer to take care of the damages, do I feel safe driving on another one of their control arms??? was this a one in a million fluke failure, or an inherent design flaw? I have ZERO interest in lawsuits, but I do want my car repaired, and MOST importantly, I want my car to be SAFE. While these parts are intended to lighten the car for performance purposes, nowhere in the advertising did they mention "FOR RACE USE ONLY". In fact, while doing my product research I called the company in question and asked directly if these parts would be strong enough for regular use on my daily driver vehicle. No problem, again maybe this was just a random failure, but I don't know.... scary stuff in my opinion. be careful with your mods. I bought these parts based on the testimonials of numerous other mustang owners and racers and magazine articles that all stated that this companies products were only the finest quality. I could have bought cheaper parts from several other competitors (all using very similar designs) but I believed that YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR... well maybe not this time. I am still in shock or disbelief. and I can't wait to hear from the manufacturer on monday. check out the pics. have a good weekend. sincerely, chris

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04-07-2001, 08:33 PM	#2
Fostang Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Stockton, Ca Posts: 599	Makes you think twice before buying after market suspension things sometimes. What brand were they by the way? ------------------ 67'fastback- Edelbrock carb, intake, cam, valve springs. Road lifters, Comp Cam rocker arms, windage tray, cerama coated headers, dual flows with H-pipe, modded c-4, tci stall converter, perma cool electric fan, aluminum water pump, griffen aluminum radiator, accel 8.8 cable, wide cap distriburator, magnetic pick up, manley valves, v-matic hurst shifter, edelbrock performer nitrous, carter electric fuel pump, ignitor coil, solid motor mounts, magna racing suspension, poly urathane bushings, und

04-07-2001, 11:08 PM	#3
xspeed02 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 1998 Location: Kettering, Ohio Posts: 119	He had posted this on the Corral. If I recall correctly, the brand was Anthony Jones... I've never even heard of the company until his postings. Big bummer man.

04-07-2001, 11:13 PM	#4
Fox Body Mustang Maniac Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: GA, U.S.A Posts: 2,266	Whoa! That's scary man. Sorry it happened, but glad it happened in the parking lot and not on the road like you mentioned. I doubt that company will pay for any damaged caused to the car, but they should at least replace/refund the k-member assembly. Good idea to take pics of what happened. ------------------------------- '79 Mustang Coup w/ 4" Cowl Stock 5.8L, C4 w/ shift kit Holley 750 CFM, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake 1 5/8" MAC shorty headers, Al driveshaft 2.5" Off road H-pipe, 2-chamber Flowmasters Front: 225/60/15 Rear: 255/60/15 Eagle GT II Weld wheels (15x6;15x8), 8.8" Rear end w/ 3.55 gears 14 x 4” K&N air filter (getting the Xtreme setup soon) "Red, thou art my companion. Hasten now your quickened metamorphosis to Green that I may conquer all who dare abide there beside me. May they be left thither behind burnt black." ---Fox Body

04-07-2001, 11:51 PM	#5
93CobraR Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 1,575	Yeah he has a Anthony Jones K-member & control arms. I'm sure they will take car of it for him though. sh*t happens.... ------------------ 87 GT, 4 inch cowl hood,17x9 Cobra R's/255/45's,GT-40 heads,long tubes headers,h-pipe,Flows,BBK cold air, Mass air,70mm MAF, 1.7's, 1" spacer,underdrive pulleys,Pro 5.0, King Cobra, Adj. fuel Reg., Lakewood Lift Bars,50/50's,subframes, 4.10's. Best time 12.96 Best MPH 103.42 Best 60' 1.695 Visit my site at: http://www.geocities.com/cobrar93_2000/MyPage.html