. maybe the last straw for it.
Wheel came off during towing, how did that happen?
- Thread starter pacem
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. maybe the last straw for it.
Is the owner confusing "axle" with "anything related to the axle assembly"? Axle does not look broken to me. The rotor is missing, and one stud is broken, but I am not sure if this is a c-clip axle or one that is retained by the brake. To me, the axle shaft looks fine, as is likely the rest of the axle.
The error is mine. I had pacem forever. I tried to post yesterday and could not recover the account. I could not remember what email address I registered under, so I re-created it. I had to reinstall Windows a few months ago and it lost all the cached usernames/passwords to my frustration.
Today I was able to remember it. Here since 2003 but don't post much. I can't believe almost 2 decades went by so fast.
I get it, it looks weird, first post and all. About the wheel disintegrating into another dimension inquiry.
If they were loose, they got looser as you drove and fell off one by one. At one point, you had only two nuts holding the wheel on. Then the second-to-last nut fell off, and the stud with the final nut wasn't up to the task of holding up the truck. So it broke off and the wheel went flying...
Can you write up a message for the owner, I told him about the lug nuts, he said he tightened them 400 miles ago... and I don't know if you have to retorque them or what. I had a F250 once upon a time and never did that, ever. And nothing fell off even while towing 10K lbs.
He blames me for overloading the thing and breaking the axle.
I am thinking even _if_ the axle did break, why did the lug nuts disappear ?
He told me, if you disagree, feel free to consult an independent mechanic. So here I am.
would it be accurate to say that the lug nuts should not have come off even while the axle was broken? Which may not be? There is just something here that doesn't add up but I lack technical in-depth skills to pin it down.
He blames me for overloading the thing and breaking the axle.
I am thinking even _if_ the axle did break, why did the lug nuts disappear ?
He told me, if you disagree, feel free to consult an independent mechanic. So here I am.
would it be accurate to say that the lug nuts should not have come off even while the axle was broken? Which may not be? There is just something here that doesn't add up but I lack technical in-depth skills to pin it down.
to remove any liability. He is a mechanic, he does a lot of auto work, repairing auction-bought salvage type vehicles and he also knows I am not as mechanically astute as he is. I mean I know what an axle is, but I don't know how to ascertain one is broken. would it be physically broken, or something inside of it?
Has a dozen cars, some well maintained, others he lets go to h3ll like this one, a beater for such work. It was fine around town apparently but not fit for long trips as it turns out.
If he actually did admit to his vehicle being in that bad shape, or the nuts working themselves loose, he, as a small business owner working on buying/fixing/reselling cars would open himself up to a lawsuit. I am not going to file anything, and at this point we are even Steven. I lost time and money and he has to repair this thing.
I don't think he will be stupid enough to file something against me for breaking it, we didn't have any signed contract or anything.
to keep things in perspective, this could have been much worse than it actually was.
but I do need some ammunition in case he he files a lawsuit or god knows what, and I don't like how this gets pinned on me.
anybody in DC area is welcome to stop by for a case of beer or several and examine in it person with a verdict.
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I think the simple answer here is to find a matching wheel/tire at a junk yard and give it to the guy so he can fix the truck up and sell it.
Maybe you can find some lugnuts and rotors at the junk yard as well.
You probably owe him the wheel at the least since it's just gone and you couldn't find it, but probably don't owe him a new axle.
Maybe you can find some lugnuts and rotors at the junk yard as well.
You probably owe him the wheel at the least since it's just gone and you couldn't find it, but probably don't owe him a new axle.
After reading what you posted I'd say the guy is neither much of a mechanic nor a friend. I guess I'd avoid ever borrowing anything from him in the future.
that's pretty much the conclusion I came to.
But I am a slow learner so that's what it took. Banging my head on the wall. I mean I would not have loaned out this truck for the purpose of towing. It's barely road worthy around town.
He has a much nicer Ford he uses for more serious towing jobs but he had to loan me a POS.I was foolish enough to accept it.
Are you serious?
That's what he does. He knows all the junk yards and can fix it cheaply.
If he's a mechanic then he can see from the pictures that the axle is fine. If he knows you are not mechanically astute, and is willing to take you for a ride... then he's no friend.
i say you're out a rotor, some pads, and a wheel. And a wheel stud. Axle shaft? At this point I'd pay a local mechanic to fix it, and have him write down that it does not need an axle (or axle shaft). Pay to have it towed to this mechanic, then have it towed to your "friend". Then never call him again.
I mean, stuff happens. It did break on your watch. You're stuck with this mess. But if he's going to be a stickler over some piece of junk...
i wonder if it'd be cheaper to offer him $500 for it, then offer it free to whatever place it was towed to.
i say you're out a rotor, some pads, and a wheel. And a wheel stud. Axle shaft? At this point I'd pay a local mechanic to fix it, and have him write down that it does not need an axle (or axle shaft). Pay to have it towed to this mechanic, then have it towed to your "friend". Then never call him again.
I mean, stuff happens. It did break on your watch. You're stuck with this mess. But if he's going to be a stickler over some piece of junk...
i wonder if it'd be cheaper to offer him $500 for it, then offer it free to whatever place it was towed to.
So what are you on the hook for? If nothing then drop the issue and move on with life.
What are you having difficulty with?
First, 4 lug nuts didn't just "come" or "work" off- they were not there in the first place.
Second, that axle is NOT broken ( it would also have flung out if it were)
Third, you are being set up to be taken for a ride ( assuming your account is accurate as we are only hearing one side)
fourth, loading had nothing to do with this at all.
Second, that axle is NOT broken ( it would also have flung out if it were)
Third, you are being set up to be taken for a ride ( assuming your account is accurate as we are only hearing one side)
fourth, loading had nothing to do with this at all.
How were you able to borrow a truck for a trip like this, without renting it?
In that case, the rotor should've still been there. It's not like it got ground down to nothing and/or flung off by dragging it on the ground. And the fact that, even if it did drag on the ground, the caliper should've held it in place and you'd still have the remnants of a chewed up rotor. So with that being said, here's what I think happened: The rotor was never there to begin with. Someone (for who-knows-what reason) removed the rotor, bolted the caliper on, and then bolted the wheel on. Since there was no rotor, the wheel studs stuck out farther than they normally would. The lug nuts were probably the "capped" style, and whoever installed them probably "tightened" them until the stud bottomed out on the capped end. Which means they weren't actually tight at all, and backed off while you drove down the road. There was probably one lug nut barely hanging on when the wheel started wobbling every-which-way and snapped the stud off.
Nothing. I am not the hook for anything. I was just trying to figure this out for my own curiosity more or less. And to figure out the BS he has been feeding me.
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