I do agree with Jack, but I tend to be, maybe a bit more diplomatic.
Welding is certainly the way to join two pieces of metal together. And I would doubt that your problem was what caused the tire problems. Those were just crappy tires. I got rid of them as soon as I could.
But the real lesson is that if you have a chronic problem, you have to find out why, and fix it. Your symptoms by themselves didn't scream "impending shock/spring tower failure", but did warrant much closer inspection/diagnostics to find out why.
Be thankful no one was injured. Sound like you may be looking for a new vehicle though. I'd imagine the cost to repair will be more than what the vehicle is worth at this point.
Regards,
Dave
My 1992 XLT had a bad camber problem for quite a while. Shop adjusted it
> several times, sold me tires when the inner edges of mine wore thru to the
> belts, and then we'd repeat the whole thing six months later. The last
> time, they told me a kit would be required because the camber was so far
> out. I didn't do that - it just didn't sound right. I started looking
> around for other answers... but not soon enough, it turns out. >
> On the highway, at 75MPH, a loud bang! The car is leaning a bit left, and
> pulling a bit right. The ride is very rough. I pull over, to "bounce test"
> the shocks. Left front won't bounce. No bounce at all. ?
>
> A close inspection of the wheelwell reveals the true problem: the support
> pillar for spring & shock has welds holding it to the frame. All but one
> weld have corroded and given way. The pillar broke free, twisted - crushing
> the shock - and moved upward six inches. The brake line hose is pulled
> taught, almost torn off the caliper. The last weld is the top inside one
> (nearest the engine); had that one failed too, I might not be here writing > this.
>
> My questions:
>
> Q: Why did the Massachusetts vehicle safety inspection miss a coming failure
> this serious?
>
> Q: Why is Ford using welds as structural supports, carrying the full load? >
> Q: Why, after several recurrences, did three shops still miss the real > problem?
>
> Q: Were the Explorer rollovers caused by tires, OR IS IT POSSIBLE THAT A
> VARIATION OF THIS WAS THE REAL CAUSE?
>
>
> Now, I am stranded trying to arrange repair. And I feel lucky, because this
> problem could have easily killed me.
>
>