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bea5ty

Beam Failure At Harewood

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bea5ty

My mate and I were at Harewood today and on my mates run we think the beam failed and went to full travel pitching him into a curb and ripping the rear wheel off. The beam was just fitted befoe the event and was a second hand one.

 

Has anyone heard of the beam failing before?

 

th_Snapshot016.jpg

 

th_DSC00658.jpg

 

th_DSC00661.jpg

 

Thats what it did to the disk!

th_DSC00659.jpg

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pug_ham

I saw your car when it got to the top of the hill on the back of the flatbed when I was talking to Adi in the paddock.

 

We did wonder what had happened & I wondered across to have a look with Jamie Kerr (white pugs) when it was on the back you the truck to go home. I talked to you in the paddock later when you were talking to Dave Sykes.

 

Never heard of that happening before personally, have you had a look to see what has caused the beam to stay at fully compressed travel or is still holding it in that position? The shock or torsion bar should have enough force to push it back out imo.

 

Did the rear hubnut get ripped off the stub axle causing the rear wheel to come off? The disc would snap in that instance because the caliper etc is still solidly mounted to the radius arm & solid discs can snap quite easily.

 

It'll be interesting to see what caused it to fail & stick like that once you get it off the car & apart.

 

Graham.

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Jrod

From the picture it doesnt look like the stub axle has snapped so I think you might be right Graham.

 

Looks like you got away with little damage though?

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pug_ham

The stub axle definately hasn't snapped, I saw the car in the back of the truck when it was ready to leave but couldn't see it very clearly due to the sides of the truck although the majority of the stub axle (including some threads) was there.

 

Graham.

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bea5ty

As you said Graham the nut was pulled off the stub axle and stripped the threads. One thing we did think strange is that it only had less than an inch of suspenion movement and noticed it was really stiff going over the bumps on the road dow to the hill, but not having insurnance or tax until the day before the event we hadn't checked it on the road.

 

Yeh the only real damage is to the disk and wheel bering, plus the bumper where went onto the flatbed.

 

I think when ive got some time il strip the beam and have a look, we have just bunged it into the shed for now on three wheels.

Think were going to buy a reconditioned beam so at least we know it works.

Edited by bea5ty

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TT205

You any wiser yourself now? or you just locked her in the shed for now ! :)

 

Dave

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Grim.Badger

Looks like the beam stopped moving first and the extra stress on the hub nut made it break.

Ages ago I had a rear beam where one of the torsion bars was completely dead, the suspension would bottom out very easily on the appropriate side and the bar would make a thud sound when hit with a spanner, as apposed to the ringing sound a good bar should make. It could be that something similar has happened to yours BUT I would put money on it being a very badly corroded main tube and really knackered bearings causing it all to seize.

I will be surpirsed if it is easy to take apart, and remember when dismantling it that at any moment the bars could push the arms back down into place.

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bea5ty
You any wiser yourself now? or you just locked her in the shed for now ! :D

 

Just locked her in then shed for the moment because the workshop is bieng used for Kris's mini x car and the shed hasn't got a light in it.

 

"remember when dismantling it that at any moment the bars could push the arms back down into place" I bear that in mind thanks. (don't know how to quote 2 people in one post :) )

 

Just lucky we weren't doing the first round anyway due to other commitments.

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Grim.Badger
don't know how to quote 2 people in one post :(

 

You use [***quote] at the start of a sentance and [***/quote] at the end, except without the stars ;)

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James_R

So that damage is cause from twating the kerb sideways at speed?

 

But the cause of the the car going sideways, take it was a left hander? did the rear skip out and suddnely become uncontrollable??

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bea5ty
So that damage is cause from twating the kerb sideways at speed?

 

But the cause of the the car going sideways, take it was a left hander? did the rear skip out and suddnely become uncontrollable??

 

Just been over to my mates and had a look at the car, he has said he didn't hit the curb and it was the bank that did the damage, this explains why the tyre was pulled off the beed but the rim wasn't damaged.

 

The the strang thing it is that it happened before the corner, which is a second gear right hander with no braking involved and the car suddenly went left. He steared right and it went left again into the bank on the outside of the entry to the corner. He says he didn't touch the grass on the entry ether.

 

Also the hub nut was still in the the centre of the wheel which was wedged under the car and hadn't flown out which rules out the hub nut coming off and pitching him off.

 

The car was pulling very slightly right under power throughout the day but during lunch I spanner checked the entire front and back ends and nothing was loose so we put it down to the tracking being out.

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bea5ty

:blink: wow that curbs quite savage!! I didn't think I got that high!

 

From the other pics the beam looks siezed solid, the car doesn't roll it just cocks a wheel. (good pics by the way)

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Pugnut
:blink: wow that curbs quite savage!! I didn't think I got that high!

 

From the other pics the beam looks siezed solid, the car doesn't roll it just cocks a wheel. (good pics by the way)

 

you sure you're little pug isn't just taking a whizz ??

 

lol.

 

and yes great picture

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bea5ty

Who needs 4 wheels anyway, by the look of it we didnt use the back ones that much!

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Henry Yorke

Looking at the pic, I would expect more compression on the near side suspension due to the weight transfer, but there isn't any really. I guess the beam was just seized. Did it bounce at the back when you fitted it?

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bea5ty

There was a very small amout of movement and the suspension did go a small amount into droop when the back was jacked up. So as you sed it was probably siezed.

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bea5ty

After finding time to swap the beam we discovered this on the side which hit the bank!

 

DSC00687.jpg

 

The question is did it cause the shunt or did the shunt cause it.

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welshpug

:wacko: looks a very clean break!

 

the seal is shot on that too!

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