Carlton, you may consider doing a sticky on this one.

I know of two Gen 1 LCAs that have failed catastrophically in the past few weeks. Cracks developed around where the lower ball joints are pressed in, and the arms failed, sending the wheel up into the fender well and separating the steering knuckle away from the lower control arm.

Both failures were on '98 Frontiers, which, as you know, share parts with the Xterra. On another 2002 Xterra I know of, the owner caught the developing cracks before they failed and replaced the LCAs.

If this happens at any sort of speed, you're going to crash.

Check your LCA's often guys...at least with every oil change. You don't want this to happen on the road, as the damage could be severe, and someone might get hurt.