First real dry day yesterday so car got fully washed and wheels all sparkly.
Took car out today, could smell something but assumed it was just maybe any residue wheel cleaner that had got into the discs.
A mile away and bang. Front wheel lurches. Tyre off rim. On 60 mph single carriageway.
Limp a hundred yards to safety.
Although I have a space saver I can’t get the jack under the car. Phone AA. They turn up and turns out snapped spring has basically severed the full circumference.
Annoyed with myself that I just assumed it was the wheel cleaner.
But curious if this was just a total coincidence of timing?
On the positive note (!) tomorrow it was supposed to be on an airport run and Thursday driving down to London, neither of which journeys you would want a bust spring a mile into.
AA man said to get the other spring changed at same time as so many times when one goes, the other is close behind!
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Springs seem to be a 'thing' for failing on modern cars.
At least one of our Berlingos has had a break.
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Tend to go when you set off. Hadn't had one since I switched to japanese cars.
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Bobby's sounds like a catastrophic failure. A lot are only found, as ours was, at service/MoT or becuase the user reports odd noises.
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>> Bobby's sounds like a catastrophic failure. A lot are only found, as ours was, at
>> service/MoT or becuase the user reports odd noises.
Broken spring is broken spring. Most go near the top or bottom and held in place by the cup or mounting, hence the noise. Bobbies has gone half way up, where its fairly un-contained, hence its sharp excursion onto the wheel.
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I've only experienced one (so far). It was about 1cm off the bottom. I'd been looking critically at the car for a while, because I though it had a slight lean and even had a wheel off, but didn't spot it. It was an MOT tester who got it. The broken bit was still in the cup.
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>>Hadn't had one since I switched to japanese
>> cars.
Indeed. None with mine in 22 years of ownership.
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>> Speed humps are a curse.
They are. With an older car, I loathe them.
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>> Speed humps are a curse.
>>
Not in my 2CV they're not!
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Last broken spring I’ve had was a leaf spring on an Austin Cambridge around about 1973.
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I had one on the Oxford around that time. Tried to surprise my boon companion with the humpback bridge near Gargrave IIRC. Broke cart spring on landing. She reminds me of this whenever I come undone through my own lack of gorm.
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>> I had one on the Oxford around that time. Tried to surprise my boon companion
>> with the humpback bridge near Gargrave IIRC. Broke cart spring on landing. She reminds me
>> of this whenever I come undone through my own lack of gorm.
It's a common thing. I'm not allowed to forget the towel I left at Ennerdale Youth Hostel c1986. Even though I got it back next time we were there.
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>.. the towel I left at Ennerdale Youth Hostel c1986. Even though I got it back next time we were there.
You reclaimed a towel that had been left at a Youth Hostel?!
Holy Mother of Glub.
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>> >.. the towel I left at Ennerdale Youth Hostel c1986. Even though I got it
>> back next time we were there.
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>> You reclaimed a towel that had been left at a Youth Hostel?!
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>> Holy Mother of Glub.
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...yeah, and the next time he was there was 2004. Just imagine what it might have been used for in-between! :-O
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I'm quite sure it would be in perfect condition.....If you're a DNA scientist or research fellow at Porton Down.
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>>DNA scientist or research fellow at Porton Down.
At the time of the Salisbury poisonings a couple of the consultants at the major trauma center where Miss Z was working at disappeared suddenly for a time.
They returned to lots of questions from their colleagues as to where they had been. Whilst not confirming where they had been, it came out that they were very experienced in "that sort of thing".
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"Just imagine what it might have been used for in-between! :-O "
Elaborate on 'in-between". I'm a visual thinker :S
At some point one of my ex colleagues was a Warden there.
Last edited by: Fullchat on Wed 17 Apr 24 at 10:25
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>> You reclaimed a towel that had been left at a Youth Hostel?!
I left it on the end of my bunk where the warden found it and put it in her lost property box.
It was left at October half term and retrieved the following Easter!
The hostel was closed for most of the winter.
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Only one front spring in 60 years driving - my almost perfectly reliable CRV failed it's MoT about year 7 in my 11 year ownership.
N/S front, the pigtail had snapped off about 3 inches.
The car drove perfectly well - the MoT chap had taken the car for a short run to warm up the engine and it drove perfectly. 1 day in dry dock and all was well.
Pot Holes have a lot to answer for.
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Further to say, whilst I was sitting at side of road in lay-by waiting for recovery, my hazards distracted a young Seat Ibiza driver who didn’t react quickly enough when the Defender in front slowed quickly for the roundabout.
Straight into back of him, Defender driver told me it was brand new and only had 300 miles on the clock….
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>>Defender driver told me it was brand new and only had 300 miles on the clock....
That's a pity, the paint would've still been soft (unlike the rest of the tank).
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Took the Berlingo into local F1 tyres etc place today as (a) it had wheel wobble at 70 the verged on alarming (b) there was a chirrup form one of the brakes and (c) possible noise from the o/s strut when moving the steering wheel.
The first was, of course, a balance issue with less certainty on the other two but I do have a broken coil spring on the offside.
Back on Monday to get it replaced.
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I need to get the Roomie looked at. The front right corner is rattling and the suspension all round creaks and / or knocks. I think it's succumbed to the appalling potholes round here.
Seriously thinking I might swap it. We (she) had a test drive in a Suzuki Swift on Wednesday. She declared it just as easy to drive as the Roomie (it's a CVT, and very good from the passenger seat).
Just 82bhp from a four pot 1.2 "Dualjet" engine (no turbo), but felt decently nippy. She likes the Roomie and would be happy to keep it, but what the heck.
Outgoing model of course. The new one has a "Boosterjet" motor which (a) is a 3 pot turbo, and (b) has a name that reminds me of Boris Johnson.
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Coincidence or not? - Bromptonaut
