Mustang Steering Knuckle Failure

[dewittpayne]

I had this part fail at an autocross in Winston-Salem. First, if you're running a 2010 or later Mustang, please check the mounting bolt torques at the top and bottom of the steering knuckle on both sides of the car where it bolts to the strut, especially if you have installed after market struts. If these bolts are not torqued to at least the factory spec of 166 ft lbs, it could possibly cause the part to fail. This is no fun as the wheel lays over, which makes it impossible to steer.

Second, there's a possibility that the part is not strong enough even if the bolts are properly torqued. If you or anyone you know has had this part fail, please let me know. If it is under designed, we need to try to make Ford fix it.

Thanks,

DeWitt Payne
2011 Ford Mustang GT

[cr89x]

But GM is having the recalls!

Seriously, thanks for the heads up! What struts did you have put on?

[dewittpayne]

Koni yellow's. I also had the factory cam bolts installed. Now that I have seen the broken part, it does look like the cam bolt wasn't tightened sufficiently. It goes in the bottom hole and both sides of the lower ear on the spindle/knuckle were rusty. The upper ear still had shiny areas. Unfortunately, you can't get to that bolt to check the torque without removing the brake caliper. PITA.

[dewittpayne]

It gets better. When I checked the torque on the driver's side, I found the cam bolt threads had stripped. Getting that off was a real PITA. Because there's a lip on the shocks around the nut, a nut breaker doesn't work very well. It worked well enough that I had room to saw the head off the bolt. That in turn gave me enough room to saw through the other end of the bolt inside the nut. I'm using a standard spindle bolt at the bottom until I get new cam bolts.

[MrsVlad]

I replaced my 1986 Mustang Steering Knuckle with "Flaming River" parts. Best move I made in 2010 to my old BEAST..