A Harrowing Tale of Incompetence - How I destroyed a steering knuckle (1 Viewer)

[ClassyJalopy]

This is a tale of one mechanics incompetence causing almost $3000 worth of damage!

A couple of weeks ago while chasing a drivetrain vibration, I had someone repack and re-tighten the front bearings. They apparently torqued the bearings nut too tight and also expanded the the c-clip that holds the axle in place too much. The result was a disaster. I was driving abt 75-80 mph on an interstate when I heard a loud twang noise from right front. Stopped on the shoulder and didn't see anything too out of place.
Took the first exit and jacked the right side up and rotated the wheel - everything was quite. I did notice the hub was rather hot but everything else was in place. So I turned around thinking I could make it home (about 70 miles to go).

About 50 miles later I started hearing a grinding noise and the wheel started feeling loose. Pulled over and saw the axle is pulled inwards (away from hub) about 2 inches. Decided it was too dangerous (had my three kids and wife with me) and got it towed to a well-reputed shop.

This morning I got a call from them saying the bearings failed causing the poorly installed c-clip to jump off and letting the axle pull out partially and chew up the splines. They are also claiming the spindle, steering knuckle and the hub are all toast. The wheel tilted inwards at the top and the tire rubbed up against the soft brake line - it was within millimeters of being burst open!

Here's the parts list they are recommending:

 

[ClassyJalopy]

What makes it even worse is that I had installed a brand new OEM CV axle just 2 weeks ago which is now all ground up. The mechanic who did this job doesn't have a shop or proper business - he comes to people's houses and do these small jobs. I have had him do brakes and other stuff for me with no issues in the past.
Here are a couple of pics of the damage:

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Recovery begins
Used steering knuckle arrived at the door today. Not a bad haul for $120 shipped. It does look like it was pulled out of Titanic from the bottom of the sea. Still nothing that can be improved with a little elbow grease and some paint! pics here -> A Harrowing Tale of Incompetence - How I destroyed a steering knuckle

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Reserved

 

[nitteo]

almost the same thing happened to me last year. I did my whole rebuild of my front driver myself. IT IS NOT THAT HARD, PRETTY STRAIGHT FORWARD stuff. Learned alot and saved mega bucks. i have a thread on it here in mudd.

 

[SlowBuild]

Thanks for the warning.

I’m a novice but I’ve done this job and was pretty careful about it. I’ve since had a dealership replace my front brakes and I’ve been meaning to recheck my torque for the last 20k miles since then. Recently I’ve developed a ‘clunk’. This reminds me to get on it soon!

‘expanded the the c-clip that holds the axle in place too much’

I’m curious about this. I’d guess it’s impossible to put in too fat of a c-clip. Do you mean it was stretched open too much trying to install it and wasn’t able to spring back into shape? Maybe he didn’t have clip pliars?

I guess it’s all speculation since obviously the clip is long gone. I’ve heard others who have lost their clip but not burning up the whole assembly. I wonder what all else was going on? The discussions about packing nut torque are mostly about the potential damage (over time) caused by too loose a torque I don’t hear much about it being too tight.

@2001LC I’d be interested to hear your opinion on OPs situation.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

‘expanded the the c-clip that holds the axle in place too much’

I’m curious about this. I’d guess it’s impossible to put in too fat of a c-clip. Do you mean it was stretched open too much trying to install it and wasn’t able to spring back into shape? Maybe he didn’t have clip pliars?

I'm guessing he reused the original circlip instead of replacing with a new one. @ClassyJalopy - Any idea if he reused or replaced circlip with new? Very, very unfortunate what happened, but good on you for having the instinct necessary to keep your family safe! I'm sure you will be hounding the mobile mech to cover the costs for repair, right?

 

[ClassyJalopy]

almost the same thing happened to me last year. I did my whole rebuild of my front driver myself. IT IS NOT THAT HARD, PRETTY STRAIGHT FORWARD stuff. Learned alot and saved mega bucks. i have a thread on it here in mudd.

That's what I am leaning towards. The labor quote alone is $900!

 

[vman07]

I guess the mechanic did not measure the wheel bearing preload?

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Thanks for the warning.

I’m a novice but I’ve done this job and was pretty careful about it. I’ve since had a dealership replace my front brakes and I’ve been meaning to recheck my torque for the last 20k miles since then. Recently I’ve developed a ‘clunk’. This reminds me to get on it soon!

‘expanded the the c-clip that holds the axle in place too much’

I’m curious about this. I’d guess it’s impossible to put in too fat of a c-clip. Do you mean it was stretched open too much trying to install it and wasn’t able to spring back into shape? Maybe he didn’t have clip pliars?

I guess it’s all speculation since obviously the clip is long gone. I’ve heard others who have lost their clip but not burning up the whole assembly. I wonder what all else was going on? The discussions about packing nut torque are mostly about the potential damage (over time) caused by too loose a torque I don’t hear much about it being too tight.

@2001LC I’d be interested to hear your opinion on OPs situation.

I'm guessing he reused the original circlip instead of replacing with a new one. @ClassyJalopy - Any idea if he reused or replaced circlip with new? Very, very unfortunate what happened, but good on you for having the instinct necessary to keep your family safe! I'm sure you will be hounding the mobile mech to cover the costs for repair, right?

Pretty sure they reused the c clips. The left side c clip also came off. Both c clips were sitting in the grease cap - their mouths expanded to point of no return!
The bearings were so tight they chewed thru the bearing race and the outer hub!!

I will check the classifieds to find a used steering knuckle and hub.
As for cv axle, I think I will just replace the outboard half shaft instead of the whole acle.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Wow. Crazy. Thanks for sharing.

It is interesting how much rides on that single precarious clip being in place. I did both my axles on my 99 recently and while not terribly hard or complicated I could see many mechanics not doing it correctly. You essentially have to have the factory manual or know the factory process by heart. Simple stuff, but you really can't afford to do anything not "by the book".

 

[Mbchance]

Sorry this all happened to you. You should definitely go after that mobile mechanic. It could have caused a wreck and yet that guy could get away without recourse?
If he’s worth anything, he would at least own up to his mistake.
Thanks for sharing and showing others who might know much about the install process. It might just save someone else’s vehicle.

 

[FxFormat]

Damn sucks man, i thought you always did your own maintenance and repairs? I guess he over tightened the bearing nuts, crushing it together, and the rotation of the axles slowly just ate away at it until it disintegrated, and that caused the axle to have to much play and made the C clip back out. Trying to visualize the events that lead to this.

 

[nissanh]

Ask them to remove parts and post the images here. I think your spindle and hub is OK.

 

[atnolan94]

Man....sorry this happened.

sounds like the c clips were too big after the fresh grease in the bearings and they popped off. That’s what spun the cv around in the drive flange.

are you sure there’s a problem with the bearings? I think it’s possible this is just a new cv and flange situation.

 

[aging fleet]

@ClassyJalopy, having read a lot of your posts over the past year, I have a basic idea of how much time and effort you've spent getting that LX sorted out. It's heartbreaking to see all that damage. Hope you can get this resolved quickly and get a break from the perpetual maintenance cycle you're in.

 

[gregnash]

Damn dude that really sucks. But here is one thing you could do, go take each of those part numbers and get their prices from ToyotaPartsDeal.com and take it back to them and haggle them on the price.. For instance 43201-60020 which is the steering knuckle/spindle body they are charging you over $920 for and on the website you are looking just over $630. That is almost a $300 mark-up!

Also, you should be able to get the outboard tulip of the CV shaft and possibly replace that to save some cash if the internal tulip is still good. I would take the time to do everything myself if I have the money and time but that really is what it comes down to, the money and time. Good Luck dude!

 

[SlowBuild]

Man....sorry this happened.

sounds like the c clips were too big after the fresh grease in the bearings and they popped off. That’s what spun the cv around in the drive flange.

are you sure there’s a problem with the bearings? I think it’s possible this is just a new cv and flange situation.

I guess this is what I was getting at above. If the clip popped off and the axle backed out enough to spin against the flange, maybe it could drill its way through, grinding down flange and shaft splines and heating everything up. I just skimmed through the ‘Bearing Repack GURUS’ thread again and no one reports any damage from too tight bearings, only excessive wear from too loose ones. Also, I’ve read of nuts being tightened up to 70 ft-lbs to get proper preload spec with no issue. Seems like it would take a real deliberate force to actually over tighten these to such a degree that it all seized up. Wouldn’t you have to practically crush the bearing into its race?

Maybe way too little grease and the bearing overheated? How does the other side look re: grease and preload?

 

[JunkCrzr89]

I guess this is what I was getting at above. If the clip popped off and the axle backed out enough to spin against the flange, maybe it could drill its way through, grinding down flange and shaft splines and heating everything up. I just skimmed through the ‘Bearing Repack GURUS’ thread again and no one reports any damage from too tight bearings, only excessive wear from too loose ones. Also, I’ve read of nuts being tightened up to 70 ft-lbs to get proper preload spec with no issue. Seems like it would take a real deliberate force to actually over tighten these to such a degree that it all seized up. Wouldn’t you have to practically crush the bearing into its race?

Maybe way too little grease and the bearing overheated? How does the other side look re: grease and preload?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[flintknapper]

"ClassyJalopy wrote:

The bearings were so tight they chewed thru the bearing race and the outer hub!!




^^^^^

This would be nearly impossible short of running the bearing pre-load to 100+ ft. lbs. Loose bearings are generally the problem, not tight ones. What concerns me most about the photos is the very 'dry' look of everything and no evidence of fresh grease ever having been there.

Yes, I know grease can virtually melt away when a hub or components get REALLY hot, but there would have been terrible noise associated with the kind of damage we are seeing. But all of that dirt, rust and grime doesn't point to a bearing repack ever having been done. Or at least I wouldn't want anyone doing that kind of sub-par work on mine.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]