some days, i'm especially glad i drive a honda

on the way home the other evening, a jeep i was following shed a rear
wheel. this was not one of those negligent "didn't tighten the lug
nuts" accidents, but one of those unavoidable "axle fatigued and broke
off" types.

i've seen this kind of thing on detroit iron a number of times, but
never honda. makes an occasional failed igniter or dodgy main relay
pale in significance. especially in this instance as the driver was in
the fast lane of a 4-lane hill descent, with no shoulder to get out of
the way. we had to follow him down the hill for the better part of a
mile as he dragged his bare axle against the pavement, showering sparks
the whole way before there was a safe place to stop. i think he was
disappointed.

 

ever see the pics of teggers broken ball joint?

 

yes, but arguably, he could have caught that if he'd beem aware of the
symptoms. ball joints only fatigue when they lock up, and lock-ups are
detectable.

the jeep failure was pure bad production. short of highly expensive
aerospace-type testing, there's no way to pick up the fault, and
besides, the design is flawed anyway, so i don't think it's an "apples
to apples" comparison.

 

Yep. I'm sure aware of them now!!!!

 

& what are the symptoms?

 

the guy who posted here about a broken ball joint complained about tight
steering right before it snapped.