Steering Tie Rod Assembly Problems of Oldsmobile Bravada

The upper and lower ball joints on my 1998 Oldsmobile Bravada with awd smartrack wear at a very accelerated rate. They, along with the tie rods were replaced soon after I purchased the vehicle at approx 86000 miles with all gm parts, and now at 93000 miles need replacing again. They have been properly lubricated, and the front end has been aligned several times, all by a gm dealer. The vehicle is not used off road or for plowing. Having spoke to several other Bravada owners, I am finding this to be a rather common problem. These components are critical, and should last much longer than they have, especially on an all wheel drive vehicle that never goes off road. No recall is noted, however front suspension components directly related to these have been investigated by the NHTSA. The vehicle is fitted with quality name brand standard size tires in good condition.

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While driving into the setting sun in a parking lot I struck a3 inch curbing at approximately 10 mph. A large flag pole was slightly scraped with the left fender causing some minor damage. The left front ball joint separated from the lower control arm causing the tie rod end to snap and left front wheel to collapse. The car traveled approximately 1 1/2 car lengths before stopping without use of the brakes. The only skid marks were from the now sideways tire and from the dragging undercarrige bolts. There is no reason that this minor impact should have cuased this type of damage. The rivets connecting the ball joints had sheared off. This car has never been driven off road or abused in any way. If this had occured at highway speed after hitting a pot hole I would likely have lost complete control of the car. Our olds dealer told me that it was "not their problem".