Impressive (component) Fails

[mk2_craig]

I replaced the front wheel bearing on my XR2 in an attempt to cure a worn bearing type noise. I may have torqued it up with wheel in the air rather than on the ground, so...

 

Exactly a mile down the road, the wheel locked up:

 

 

AA man reckoned it was a stone in the caliper, no stone found but wheel free so continued (carefully) back home and fitted another new bearing.

 

Never did cure the worn bearing type noise, probably the diff!!

[bloobloo]

This time last year, taking the caravan out for the 1st trip of the year. Saw what I thought was a bit of steam coming from under the bonnet and pulled off the motorway into the petrol station at J27 M6. Parked up in the service area where the tanker fills the fuel tanks..........

 

So, then what... Sod it, brew time whilst we assess the damage waiting for recovery!

 

I do have a pic including fire engines etc too somewhere, will dig it out.

 

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Stolen HDD means no pics of the 64 Taunus Transit - but it kangaroo'd me down the road one time after a prop shaft failure. Heading back to home after a German car meet..... the Merc 240d engine and box (mainly the box) decided top gear was too much of a cruise so dropped down, over revved the diesel lump and all kinds of chaos ensued. The virations caused the prop shaft bolts to give up the ghost (I think) and it then dug in as the front dropped onto the road.

 

After bouncing all over the place and managing not to flip it - I sat unable to get my hands to come off the steering wheel and wondering where my clean boxers were in my backpack. Never shit myself so much in my life......

Tap at the window - some german dude with a huge grin on his face handed me what as left of the propshaft and complimented me on the improv stunt show..........

[Talbot]

This one may* have been intentional.

 

Many years ago, a friend had a 205 1.9GiT. It wasn't a bad one, and he spent money on it keeping it in good order, although he wasn't particularly technically minded. The engine had not been looked after by the previous owner, and it clearly had compression issues and other problems. He (rather stupidly, but what can you do) bought a reconditioned engine from adverts that used to exist in the back of Auto-trader for exchange recon engines from various places up in that London. He had the engine fitted, and the old one went back for the deposit payment.

 

The recon engine was shit. Worse than the one that came out. Crap fuel economy, crap power, didn't like starting, burned loads of oil etc. He complained dozens of times, but because it still started and drove, the engine suppliers were uninterested. Their warranty of 3 months was almost up, when I offered to make it FTP properly, so he could claim his warranty and get shot of that engine.

 

80MPH down the motorway, slip it into second and let the clutch up. It was like stamping on the brakes, but with a lot less control. There was a very interesting* bang, lots of metally mechanical clattering, and oil started spitting out of the trailing edge of the bonnet and up the windscreen! On to the hard shoulder, and it had thrown three rods, the block was basically in half and was an utter mess. Got recovered, and got the recon engine place to accept that it was a shit engine, and they swapped it for another, which was a much better unit. (and replaced all the other knackered bits too).

 

IIRC the car was still on the road in about 2010. No idea now.

 

No pics because pre-digital. And no-one carried a camera "just in case".

[PiperCub]

^^ From Heathrow Engine Centre was it?

[sierraman]

Can't have been, he got the car back.

[PiperCub]

^^  Ha, Fair one Sir!!! 

[sierraman]

Are they still on the go? Only the very best carefully selected worn out engines go in our customers cars.

[DodgyBastard]

WP_20130319_001 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

I had a ball joint separate on a busy roundabout in Rosyth while doing Pizza deliveries in 2013. It pushed the wheel up into the arch and made the car un-drivable.

 

WP_20130318_005 by srblythe, on Flickr

 

WP_20130318_001 by srblythe, on Flickr

[fatharris]

The Omega's untimely demise deserves a mention, I feel. Snapped valve on Cylinder 3, still managed to limp it for at least another 5 miles at 30mph, in hindsight I should have kept going, but I would have eventually reached the M5 and I wasn't sure of my plan after that, so I pulled in.

 

Still got it on the driveway, it's now my executive smokers' lounge, with heated seats and a stereo.

 

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[Pillock]

Polo cambelt jumped due to a loose water pump. The timing was out so it needed a bit of welly to keep up with the car in front (the seller of the car, who knew the timing was a bit off, but was showing me the way to the M1) I'd just knocked it down a gear to try and pick up speed and then suddenly....

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I've not had that many.

 

1980 W reg 323i, came around a roundabout in Milton Paradise Keynes and the car just veered left, pulling the steering wheel pretty much out of my hands. Front passenger wheel bearing seized completely solid. Recovered back, pulled the hub off but had to grind the inner race off. It had seized and spun on the stub axle before welding itself on. Sweet.

The car caught fire 6 months later on the M1. Near J29 I detected smoke, pulled over and did the correct thing, recovering my jacket, the fire extinguisher and pulling the CD player out before letting it burn.

 

This 1996 323i Coupe had a slight* misfire. Not my doing. A local garage had the head off, skimmed it, built it all back up but failed to notice the fucking massive melted bit on the piston crown. It made it 25 miles home but it smoked a bit until I pulled the coil pack off and removed the spark plug.

 

 

 

 

[catsinthewelder]

Cam pulley failing on a 2001 Megane spat off the cambelt killing the engine for the 3rd time in 1000 miles.  Waterpump failing and loose crank pulley killed the other two.

 

Vac pump seizing on a 4x4 Transit last year saw us recovered back from Exeter with the van coated in oil.

[cms206]

Oddly enough they wouldn't do an exchange unit on the gearbox.

 

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[Jimbob McGregor]

I’d just bought my Murvi (Ducato 2.8 idtd) for nearly £12k back in 2015. It was my new home after ten months of living in a horsebox and I was very chuffed with it. After getting it down from Perth I drove it for another couple of days.

While taking my son to school got a major wobble from the rear end while doing 60mph. Pulled over to find that the NS rear wheel was about to make a bid for freedom. Had to change the wheel bearing next to a busy road on a filthy, freezing winter day and discovered a brand new wheel bearing that hadn’t had the locknut properly staked in place... Glad it didn’t let go in a less opportune moment/place! OK, not a component failure.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

This was a good one. 2005 116i that dropped a valve on the M23. Rather than stop when the engine sounded like a Gatling gun, they kept going. The piston disintegrated, falling into the sump whilst the rod and gudgeon pin flailed about, destroying the bore. It then dropped another valve.

 

Still, it did 100'000 miles, not a bad run for an N45 shitbox.

[Zelandeth]

Oddly enough they wouldn't do an exchange unit on the gearbox.

 

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That must have made some interesting noises and I imagine a heck of a bang!

[richardthestag]

crumbs a fair few over the years. I have non digital photos of some will need to got into loft brrrrrrr to get them

 

broken crank on A series in a moggie minor, initially caused by cronic overheating due to wrong dizzy fitted and no temp gauge. crank fractured between #1 main and #1 big end. #1 piston was made from wood.

 

broken driveshaft on brothers 1100 austin, what actually happened was all but on bolt on the joint had snapped which caused the driveshaft to twist and lock that wheel and the diff. in the middle of a main junction.

 

ford 105e diff grenaded on kingston bridge when I was giving it some wheels on its recently rebuilt 997cc engine. raw powa. it went bang and when I got to the roundabout on the other side the diff was locked and I span it 180 as I tried to turn on the roundabout.

 

brake master and servo failed on 1500TC triumph just when I needed it, ok I might have been a tool. xr3 pulled out from side road I flashed him because he was blocking my progress. he gave me the bird so I left it as late as I could before braking and then realised I had no brakes. bent the steering wheel and lifted my arse of the seat but stopped with about an inch to spare. 

 

brake fail on my 105e, huge lesson learned, I had just fitted cheap but new shoes all round. the week before I had to execute an emergency stop on the M4. the engine had been breathed on a little I had it up to a ton (indicated of course, but on my mates TR7 who was following me, 105e speedo only went up to 90). I was not shy about exercising the full rev range on my smartly engineered and balanced 997cc engine . alas standard drum brakes all round. Anyway the emergency stop went well, if you consider veering across three lanes and onto the hard shoulder and overtaking at least one truck while on the hard shoulder. anyway escaped that one. following week heading up the M40 to the 105e owners club national day, exited the m40 with the speedo needle off the scale. stood on the brakes and they were rock hard and showing no signs at all of slowing the car. t - junction at the end of the slip was approaching rapidly, dumped into 2nd gear - no synchro on first and aimed to steer left praying nobody in the way. went around the corner just and span the car 180. stopped and crapped myself. 105e show was just a couple of miles away so very nervously drove to it. bought new ferodo brake shoes from the spares stand. the old linings taked from the car were absolutely rock solid, screw driver and hammer could not mark them. have not fucked about with cheap brakes since.

 

Another brake fail on my year old 1988 Cav company car, master failed on snake pass. hairy moment to say the least

 

Front damper fail on GTI Golf Mk2 caused some brown trousers in an emergency stop on that front o/s corner which just locked up everytime I touched the brakes

 

I do drive a lot more considerately these days

 

broken main bearings on my stag v8 was pricey

 

turbo fail on 1.6hdi shitroen was similarly expensive, suddenly realise how much the little engines rely on their turbo. it was undriveable on any incline.

 

will find more I am sure

 

 

 

[cms206]

That must have made some interesting noises and I imagine a heck of a bang!

Wee bit!

 

Took it out in the morning, banging at the back end.

 

Signed on 0635, left garage 0645.

 

Phoned in at 7am - "We'll get you a change of bus on your next run."

 

Phoned in at 8am - "Short for schools, we'll get a PS out to replace it on your next run."

 

Phoned at 9am - "The school buses aren't back yet, we'll get you a change of bus on your next run."

 

Phoned at 10am - "Next run, no drivers spare."

 

Phoned at 11am, backshift have started; by this time I've got trouble keeping to the board - "Early shift never cracked a light, you're due off for your break at 11.50 - I'll bring a bus down to cover the break, just dump the Dart somewhere nearby when you get back to Paisley."

 

11.10 - I've lost 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

 

11.15 - Terminus achieved in 4th; it is at the very bottom of a village. It smells really bad. Phone in - "Just try to limp it into the garage"

 

11.25 - Manage the climb to the top of the village in 4th, turn right at the lights, get about 200 yards... a god almighty bang, can't see the road behind me, selects 1st and takes off like a rocket.

 

11.26 - grinds to a halt.

 

Furthest point from the garage, outside a shop. Marvellous.

 

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[fordperv]

I can play this

 

My saph engine failed on the way to fordfair a couple of years back so got it recovered

 

Here's what I found

 

There should be a valve in here

 

 

There should be a piston in here

 

 

Where can they be

 

Oh wait ive found them they are hiding in here

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

CVH? Looks like one.

 

Worst blow up I've seen was a Mark 2 2.3 Granada in 1987. It was three years old, had done 60'000 miles - without an oil change. Woman driver, company car. It had finally chucked a rod on the M4 near Hungerford but Wimmin was unfazed by the noise. So it chucked another rod and finally siezed.

 

The STINK when the sump was removed from the scrap engine.   It was near enough melted.

[Coprolalia]

Inner CV joint blew itself to bits on the Scirocco on the A30 going up Fraddon hill towards Indian Queens.

 

With a mate when the OSR wheel bearing disintegrated on his ZX going towards Havant on the A3. OSR wheel overtook the car. Trouser-faecal matter interface.

No photos of car fails but will this do?

 

 

Ripped the aluminium hub through the wheel racing.
Track was a tad rough and lawnmower racing calls for drifting. Sideways action across washboard ruts caused the failure, which was nursed round the rest of the track back to the pits.

[xkjagnz]

Slight crack in an alloy after encountering a pothole

 

[fordperv]

CVH? Looks like one.

 

 

No mate a 2.0 twincam, my saph is a 2.0gls

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Aaah.

[MikeR]

this resulted in some interesting handling issues at the time !!!

 

[bunglebus]

Ah MK3 Escort or more likely Orion? TADTS

[xtriple]

1473 by david towerss, on Flickr

 

1472 by david towerss, on Flickr

 

1469 by david towerss, on Flickr

 

Yamaha TDM 850 piston. It was January a few years back when my wife was learning to pass her test, we had been riding round Torquay, Paignton, Brixham doing everything correctly, all speed limits observed, riding like Nuns. Got home, had a cuppa, went to start the TDM, nasty noise and 'THUNK!' no more turning over. Had to use the Bonnie in the rain and sleet for the afternoon session. Stripped it down and one piston was smashed, all the bits still there (as you can see) but severely buggered. I was going to rebuild it but someone offered me more than I paid for it broken, so it went. I really liked that bike.

 

Yes, she passed

[bunglebus]

Image147_zpsc8606f99 by RS, on Flickr

 

Richspics168_zpsa8428e6c by RS, on Flickr

[155V6]

Both of the Transits at work have had the bottom pulley disintegrate in the last year,both have happened in the yard after I've loaded them