Trackrod end came off hub whilst driving due to garage negligence...

billabong16

Good Evening folks,
I hope everyone is having a good break.

Some background - Last month my car was MOTd by a chain of garages, the MOT failed due to excessive movement of the steering rack. They said that new bushes couldnt be purchased and the rack would need to be sent off to be reconditioned.
£450 and a week or so later and I got my MOT'd car back, which passed the second time with flying colours.

Yesterday I visited family 70 miles away, as I was leaving I was driving down the road when the car screeched to a stop, it felt similar to like I had slammed on the brakes and the ABS was going mad. I was doing about 30miles an hour when it happened I battled with the steering to avoid hitting anything around me, but ended up in the middle of the road, blocking access.
I turned the steering wheel and instantly knew what had happened - One of the wheels wasnt connected to the steering. I got out the car and walked around - Drivers wheel was fine (Pointing straight ahead), the passenger wheel...pointing 45 degrees to the right...

So, I got under the car to see the track rod end dangling on the floor, it hasnt snapped off, it was missing a nut! I managed to get the bolt back into the hole on the hub in order to move it out of the middle of the road but obviously cant drive it anywhere because it needs a nut putting on.
I compared it to the drivers side and noticed that it is a castle nut, with a split pin.
Well...I think its pretty clear whats probably happened here...? The garage have re-fitted the steering rack etc but have failed to put in a split-pin.

The pin must have been there before, otherwise it would have been an MOT failure, as Castle nuts MUST be accompanied with a split pin to stop them coming undone.
Thankfully nobody was injured and no damage was done, but I'm very concerned that it happened. If it was 5 miles later then I would have been on the motorway, I imagine with much more serious consequences.

So...My questions are:
How should I approach the garage about this? They're not open until Wednesday now.
Is this a case of Negligence? Should I be informing anybody else about this?
Are they obliged to pay for costs incurred? Recovery to safe location, storage until Weds (no garages/parts available until Wednesday), alternative transport, time having to go back to the car on Wednesday to sort things out (when I'm supposed to be working).

Thank you in advance!

pappa_golf

Castle nuts

is this a classic car?? , cars seem to have had nylock nuts fitted for many years

billabong16

Yes it definitely a castle nut, Its a 13 year old Toyota.
I cant attach a photo of the other side because I'm a new user (I lost my old login creds)

Cheers

pappa_golf

borrow car , drop your keys off at garage and ring them on wed morn , however it will take them 30 seconds to fix at roadside

ohreally

Cant you take some photos, insert a split pin yourself and be on your way?

pappa_golf

he,s lost the nut , it fell off miles ago

ohreally

Fit nylock nut, then on merry way.

billabong16

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your responses, I think I may have missed the point here.
I've spent years working on cars so I'll be able to fix this on Wednesday when shops are open again. I've not been able to find anywhere or anyone open that will have a nut and I'm now back at home.
I'm hoping to go back on Wednesday and re-secure the trackrod end with a new nut and split pin, or nylon locking nut.

My main concern is that it actually happened...I dont like using garages at the best of times and i'm quite concerned that within 4 weeks of having replaced the steering rack and re-tracked the wheels, that the nut came off the track-rod end and nearly caused an accident, narrowly avoiding oncoming vehicles and passing pedestrians. With the adding pain of being stuck 70 miles away from home on the evening of xmas eve.

Anyway, I'm now looking at new cars but will be speaking to the garage on Wednesday to see what they have to say for themselves...

GTE_Boy

billabong16 wrote: »

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your responses, I think I may have missed the point here.
I've spent years working on cars so I'll be able to fix this on Wednesday when shops are open again. I've not been able to find anywhere or anyone open that will have a nut and I'm now back at home.
I'm hoping to go back on Wednesday and re-secure the trackrod end with a new nut and split pin, or nylon locking nut.

My main concern is that it actually happened...I dont like using garages at the best of times and i'm quite concerned that within 4 weeks of having replaced the steering rack and re-tracked the wheels, that the nut came off the track-rod end and nearly caused an accident, narrowly avoiding oncoming vehicles and passing pedestrians. With the adding pain of being stuck 70 miles away from home on the evening of xmas eve.

Anyway, I'm now looking at new cars but will be speaking to the garage on Wednesday to see what they have to say for themselves...

Good to see the nuns and kittens were safe.

arcon5

GTE_Boy wrote: »

Good to see the nuns and kittens were safe.

You may find it humorous but I suspect your the only one! The car exposed everybody around op to very real danger. All for what? The garage cut corners and saved 60 seconds.
Op was lucky. So was whoever was in his proximity at the time

facade

I'd be complaining about the MOT pass. The MOT was done after the steering rack was replaced, so if the locking pin were missing, it should have been spotted, as should the loose nut, they don't just undo and fly off, they have to break the taper and come right off.