Cars breaking

[Daniel]

Something that happened to someone I know on the weekend made me think of posting this.

Have you ever had a bit break on your car while you've been driving it that has made things a bit dangerous?

I had two things break on my 504 when I was driving it. The wiper motor rusted through and started working only on the drivers side in the pouring rain. Went back home and fitting a replacement only to find the motor was reversed so fitted the other motor we had and all was good. Then when I was driving along a country road late at night and trying to stop to turn into a driveway and heard a band as the cap broke off the connection for the brake booster so I had no power assistance for my brakes so the car sailed on merrily past where I wanted to turn off. Luckily it didn't happen when I was coming up to a busy junction as I would have just gone through :-/ Managed to get to a store a few miles away and called my dad who had a whole brake booster sitting in the garage and an hour later my dad arrived and took about two minutes to fit the replacement connector and I was on my way again. Never been so scared in my life.

Have you ever had something break on your car while you've been driving and don't say something like the catch on the glovebox or something inconsequential like that. I want to hear of life threatening failures and how you sorted them :)

[AndyRAC]

While following WRGB ,my car developed a misfire, however this cleared up, but while I was down in Wales there was a rattling coming from under the car were the gearstick is. Shortly before I arrived home I was having trouble pulling away from a standstill - no low down power. Got home - started it last night to get petrol and think the exhaust has finally gone, maybe not dangerous but I wouldn't have got home if it had failed down in SWales.

[Dave B]

My left-rear tyre recently decided it couldn't be bothered being airtight. It wouldn't have been a problem but for the fact I was doing 50mph through the Dartford tunnel at the time :s

Oh, and I once ran out of petrol which in turn caused the power steering to fail and me to end up in a field instead of taking the corner as planned :eek:

[Daniel]

My left-rear tyre recently decided it couldn't be bothered being airtight. It wouldn't have been a problem but for the fact I was doing 50mph through the Dartford tunnel at the time :s

Oh, and I once ran out of petrol which in turn caused the power steering to fail and me to end up in a field instead of taking the corner as planned :eek:
Oooh fun :D I used to have to roll start my car in the mornings downhill. I know the wonders of having power steering and no engine :cheese: Would have for it to happen on a motorway or something :mark:

[Mark]

I've had to bump start my car going backwards off my drive before, not only no power steering but no brakes too.. So it was either get the engine started, or crash into the wall opposite :p

[J4MIE]

The spring on the suspension broke while trying to get out of Cardiff on Saturday night :s So so glad it didn't happen whilst rushing to get to Cardiff a few hours previously. Turns out that the spring had cracked ages ago and was only held on by a small part of it :\

With the Saxo the idling control valve (or something) broke so it would rev freely of its own accord at random... not the best of ideas when going quickly along the motorway and suddenly noticing traffic stopped ahead, I can tell you :eek:

[GridGirl]

Ohh where to start...

My old Renault 5 used to die on me all the time at traffic lights. I don't know the exact technical term for it but it was something like the choke filling with petrol and not releasing. You can tell I'm good with cars, plus it was a long time ago now but after five or so minutes it would work perfectly again.

My 206 once lost all gears as I was 2 car lengths away from Five Ways island in Birmingham which is one of the main routes into Birmingham City centre in rush hour. Luckily it decided to work again after a few minutes although there were alot of irate drivers behind me.

My last mishap was when the clutch went on my car while we were on the M62. It was at night and there wasn't much traffic so we ground to a halt on the hard shoulder.

[Azumanga Davo]

I had the indicator stalk fall off the steering of the Ford Louisville I was learning in. Very awkward... :D

And the less said about the Datsun(s) the better on this subject... ;)

[Malbec]

Have you ever had something break on your car while you've been driving and don't say something like the catch on the glovebox or something inconsequential like that. I want to hear of life threatening failures and how you sorted them :)

I had two, both on my beetle.

Firstly I had a nut go loose on the drivers side windscreen wiper so while the motor turned the wiper didn't. Not fun driving on the motorway in torrential rain but it was also my fault as I'd had to replace the entire wiper arm a week before and obviously hadn't done the nut up tightly enough.

Second time was when I was driving on a dual carriageway at 50 when the windscreen just shattered. No stonechip, no bird hitting the windscreen, it just shattered. It obviously wasn't triplex either as the fragments started dropping into my lap but at least that meant there was a hole to see through....

The clutch cable snapped on my Scirocco once, had to drive the five remaining miles without the clutch which was nice.

[306 Cosworth]

All i've had go so far is the Clutch Cable on my Corsa, but I was only a mile away from home, was bloody hard getting it into gear though but just about managed it, oh and forgot to mention I was in a dirve thru MacDonalds when it happened, so everytime I hard to move forward I had to turn the engine off put in 1st and then bounce along haha!! Managed to get a brand new clutch cable and fit it myself for £13!

[MrJan]

Not particularly dangerous but very annoying, the cat went on my brother's FIAT Uno. Wouldn't have been so bad but we were on Epynt (at the top of the dual carriageway for those that know it). After a good day watching the rallying we couldn't get the car started as it had lost a load of power (not that an UNo has much power anyway) and eventualy had to find someone to give us a bump. By a stroke of luck we hadn't realise that there was still a stage running so loads of people were about to give us a hand. Trouble is that the journey from Epynt to Exeter is bloody difficult when you have bugger all power and are worried about stalling in case you can't start the thing again. Thankfully we made it home but will never take such a poor car up there again.

[Daniel]

[quote="Dylan H"]

Scary. I remember reading somewhere in a magazine where they were test driving a C4 and the lovely panoramic roof just cracked with no warning :mark:

[Magnus]

Fuelinjection pump
Lights + all electricity(generator somehow escaped from engine)
ABS system*2=no brake assist
Clutch - leaking slave cylinder
Overheat
Broken whishbone
Engine loose (both rubbers snapped and engine twisted...)
EGR pipe
Wipermotor in heavy rain :(
and more...
All in Saab 9000+Volvo 245s and 244 and 740 til 2003 when I left this era of carowning for newer cars...

[jim mcglinchey]

I had just turned left off the main road into a side street in a Mini Metro and the drivers side front wheel fell off. The wheel was still bolted to the hub, but the bolts that held the hub on to the arm had sheared. Another time I was driving a car that Id bought in Glasgow down to Stranraer and after 30 miles or so it didnt feel right but I didnt want to stop. When I finally looked and pulled the plastic wheel trim off the drivers side front wheel, the big, hub retaining nut fell out, and the only thing keeping the wheel on was the brake caliper.

[MrJan]

I had just turned left off the main road into a side street in a Mini Metro and the drivers side front wheel fell off.

:laugh: :rotflmao: :laugh:

I bet it wasn't funny at the time but that image is comedy gold. Reckon you must have been livid

[Mp3 Astra]

Me and my Dad were on the M25 on the way to Brands Hatch, with our trailer tent in tow. This trailer tent has a box on the front to store camping equipment. It's very useful when you lock it. We forgot to lock it and at 60 mph on the M25, it flew open and made a huge noise, bent backwards and took one of the locks off it. Amazingly nothing fell out but it could have been very dangerous for other road users if a gas canister or a fork had fallen out. That'll never happen again, I assure you!

[306 Cosworth]

I had just turned left off the main road into a side street in a Mini Metro and the drivers side front wheel fell off.


The fact that you were driving a Mini Metro when that happened just adds to the funny factor of that! Must've been quite horrible tho just to go skating along on the disc brake :s

[Dave B]

I had just turned left off the main road into a side street in a Mini Metro and the drivers side front wheel fell off. The wheel was still bolted to the hub, but the bolts that held the hub on to the arm had sheared. Another time I was driving a car that Id bought in Glasgow down to Stranraer and after 30 miles or so it didnt feel right but I didnt want to stop. When I finally looked and pulled the plastic wheel trim off the drivers side front wheel, the big, hub retaining nut fell out, and the only thing keeping the wheel on was the brake caliper.
For added effect while you visualise Jim's incidents, whistle the theme to Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em :p

[Easy Drifter]

Broken brake line on a MGA in Toronto. Nursed it home on handbrake.
Broken brake line on Nissan Pulsar. Nursed it back on handbrake. This was out in the country.
Broken clutch on same. Nursed it home 50k and then to shop. Made shifting interesting and avoiding red lights lots of fun
Partial gearbox failure on Pulsar 1300 miles from home. Kept popping out of 5th. Solution: jam lever with 1 1/4 inch wrench, box of Tic Tacs and shop rag.
Alfa Romeo; Throwout bearing. Driveable but difficult. Throttle cable several times. Ballpoint pen jams throttle open to driveable speed.
Broken A arm on race car twice. Mowed grass for 1/4 mile once. Went off and into spectator fence 2nd time. Had a beer. Pulled car out of fence. Put helmet on undone. Got in car. Put 2nd beer between legs. Crossed finish line and got out holding beer. Finished 11th. Paid money to 10th. Had been in 3rd with 2 laps to go.

[KILOHMUNNS]

Blocked fuel pipe in an AX GT in the fast lane of the M1 while going up hill, sudden loss of power but thankfully no one behind and a nice lorry driver who guided me in to the hard shoulder.

Exhaust fell off Citroen AX on the A45 dual carriageway (nice shower of sparks at night).

Windscreen wiper column fell off in my Renault 5 while driver at night in the rain. Also electric failure on the lights again at night, had to drive on just the hazzards on a very dark country road.

Automatic gearbox failure on Megane Scenic, fun trying to get it to the garage when the gears chance when they shouldn't.

[Allyc85]

On my old escort TD I was in the outside lane overtaking a lorry when the diesel pump belt snapped. The engine cut n so I had no Power steering or brakes and I only just about dragged it onto the hard shoulder. It was lucky the lorry driver behind was switched on and realised I was in trouble so slowed n gave me a gap to get to safety.

[Stuartf12007]

A Blonde

[Daniel]

erm

[Allyc85]

A Blonde

eh?