Balljoint fell apart today on drop arm from steering box.
Circlip etc dropped on to steering guard and luckily I could still steer it and get off motorway.
Arm and joint bought as a unit and has done about five hundred miles ... BRITPART of course !!!
Yes, I've seen that happen. The trouble seems to me to arise because the whole lot is just held in by a shear force on that circlip. It seems secure enough when you first fit it, but the circlip can vibrate out after a while. Fortunately, the thing remains steerable, it's just very loose. These days when putting them in I go round the circlip with a suitable drift and give it a few taps with a hammer to help ensure it's well seated in its groove. I do this while I've still got the internals of the ball joint assembly supported - usually with a socket on a bottle jack, so it's not being pushed down by the force of the spring. So far, after doing this I've not had one fall out. Not yet anyway.