Sure hope someone can help me with this. I went to replace the right front lower ball joint, and when the control arm came loose, there was a very loud bang that seemed to come from the transmission/frame area. After replacing the ball joint, I was unable to get the stud and control arm hole to line up, so I disconnected the strut to try and move the spindle around. No luck (with the ball joint bolted up, the top strut mount bolt on the spindle won't line up), and now it appears the wheels are no longer aligned. What did I screw up? Did I mess up the strut (it's brand new). I'm now wondering if the issue is the entire control arm needs to be replaced, but that doesn't seem to explain why i can't get everything back together. How screwed am I?

 

I figured it out. There was a problem with the axle shaft. Got everything back together, need to replace the shaft...

 

Glad you found it.

 

Glad to hear you solved the mystery! Keep us posted on the final result after you replace the shaft.