SteveD Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 had a guy in this moring said his brakes were binding on the front , upon inspection we found this bmw 3 series estate , turns out a spring had snapped and was digging in the tyre , he never noticed the n/s front corner was dragging on the ground or the spring sat on the hub and ratteling aroung or even the smell of buring rubber from the tyre some folk should not be on the road or even let out of the house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 What was causing the rubbing Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 the bottom of the spring should be sat on the spring platform halfway up the shock where the gator is and not where it is in the picture ,the spring had dropped right down and was digging in the tyre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Edden Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Thank god you caught it before he took a trip on the M6 and the tyre blew - I might have been next to him. Surely you get out of the car after a trip and ask yourself where the burning rubber smell was coming from?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Gibney - Lancashire AO Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Had similar few weeks ago banging noise from offside front took me an hour to realise one of springs had snapped off and was rattling about in the platform every time I went over bump. Luckily was bottom spring so rest were all still in place..... Cheaper than I thought to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Algar - Competition Secretary Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Reminds me many years ago a friend came to visit and we went out for a drive, unusually I sat in the back. Car felt horrible, was nearly car sick, which is'nt me at all. When we stopped I got out to have a look and one back tyre was down to the metal, with stands sticking out !!!! Quickly fitted the spare, car sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 what you cant tell from the pics is the tyres are run flats so have really thick sidewalls , the groove in the side wall where its been rubbing is over 10mm deep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTR2Turbo Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I used to think MOTS could be less frequent, but seeing these pictures obviously not. Is there an offence for driving a dangerous vehicle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Algar - Competition Secretary Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 I used to think MOTS could be less frequent, but seeing these pictures obviously not. Is there an offence for driving a dangerous vehicle? So did I David, but not any more !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7sRWild Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 He must be used to the smell of burning rubber...nudge-nudge-wink-wink... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue ass fly Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I once had an old boy in his metro complaining of a bit of a noise from the front brakes He thought it was a stone and asked if we could check them out Infact the o/s pad had worn through the material and back plate and then onto the piston - which in turn had worn the one side of the vented disc away and was on the vent vanes The swarf on the road wheel gave us a clue His front brakes became our display in reception under our free brake check poster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhutch Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 His front brakes became our display in reception under our free brake check poster Like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2rrr Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Similar vein, was behind a guy yesterday in a van with a completely flat front left tyre on the M56 driving at 75-80 ish. Got alongside him and tried to get his attention but being British and a complete numpty he kept his eyes glued firmly and rigidly to the front completely ignoring me waving at him from 4 ft away. 45-50 year old chappie oblivious. Just hope he didn't take anyone out when he did come to a grinding smoking halt somewhere. I wasn't staying alongside him for too long incase it blew. Broken springs seems to be getting more common these days especially on Mercs and Beemers, is it potholes or metallurgical? Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Similar vein, was behind a guy yesterday in a van with a completely flat front left tyre on the M56 driving at 75-80 ish. Got alongside him and tried to get his attention but being British and a complete numpty he kept his eyes glued firmly and rigidly to the front completely ignoring me waving at him from 4 ft away. 45-50 year old chappie oblivious. Just hope he didn't take anyone out when he did come to a grinding smoking halt somewhere. I wasn't staying alongside him for too long incase it blew. Broken springs seems to be getting more common these days especially on Mercs and Beemers, is it potholes or metallurgical? Bob i thought that, it wasn't until i got a beemer that i found out about them snapping springs. the Z4 is terrible for it.apparently its not a case of if it snaps one just when it snaps one. they make a hell of a bang when they go ive been told. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsechris Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 My Alfa 166 has had a few front springs. I've put a pair on and so did the PO. Just over 110k miles total so far. Thankfully, they tend to break in a fairly non-destructive fashion and stay constrained so no problems with tyre damage or the like. There is a plastic sleeve on the spring (for some reason) that collects water allowing rust to form. They typically break inside the plastic sleeve and unless you are eagle-eyed, easily missed from the outside. Car just sits a wee bit low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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