Two problems related to front suspension lower ball joint have been reported for the 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis equipped with a duralast ball joint, part number fa2101. The contact stated that the stud on the front passenger side lower ball joint broke after being used for 253 miles. The parts dealer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the manufacturer would like to examine the ball joint because they believed it was installed incorrectly. The contact expressed concerns about the stud breaking, not the actual ball joint. The current mileage on the vehicle was 102,511. The VIN was unavailable.
Pulling out into a street while travelling 10mph front end started to make crunching noise. Steering wheel would not turn smoothly and had to be forced. Contacted dealer , they replaced tie rods. A month later, the same problem. Replaced with a standard lower ball joint instead heavy duty lower ball joint. Mechanic said it was a design flaw.