Wolfboy Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Hi all, I'm new on here. I Built my Westie in 2008, and all was fine til putting it into a left hand bend and the top rear rosejoint gave way. This put the car into a spin, and tore the drivers side rear wheel off complete with hub, suspension, driveshaft, brake lines and handbrake cable. Has anyone else suffered this type of failure? It was a new part from westfield four years earlier and the car had covered 2500 miles. From talking to those in the know, a rosejoint should be able to take a lot of punishment, as they're used a lot in racing. A quarter of a 1/2 tonne car shouldn't trouble it. So I'm trying to find out if I'm just unlucky or this is something others have suffered. Also, I'm after a rear upright, bottom wishbone, handbrake cable and brake lines if anyone has any they'd like sold! Thanks in advance, The Wolfboy. (Aka Paul.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Maybe worth a call to Mark Walker at the factory and see what he says Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenstreak-Andy D Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Sounds very frightening! Glad you are ok! I agree with Terry. So the large penny washer, fitted to the bolt going through the rose joint doesn't stop such a catastrophic failure, that concerns me Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemk1 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I'm so sorry that happened - it just plain sucks. Can you tell us where it failed? Did the bearing fail and come apart or did he threaded bearing shaft fail where it screws into the A arm? Did you have a safety washer next to the rose joint? dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy (Sycho) Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I do recall a post on here not that long ago where one had bent, not sure if it was front or rear. I had a quick look but can't find it now. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I do recall a post on here not that long ago where one had bent, not sure if it was front or rear. I had a quick look but can't find it now. Andy It was Kimptos who has bent a front one on the track , http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic/113482-steves-s2000-build-in-the-usa/page-23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rednop1 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 pm sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff oakley Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 What you need to do is to be sure what failed first as without pictures it is hard to say. If it is actually the rose joint, then it could have seized due to lack of lubrication. It could have been damaged before and has failed afterwards, or it could be a bad one. You could have a metallurgic examination of it to see what has failed. The good thing is you survived what must have been a bad experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfboy Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 Hi, thanks for the replies. It snapped on the threaded shaft, the bearing part was intact. It was tricky to figure what had failed first, as every joint was twisted/snapped from the wheel being torn off. But from doing a bit of an autopsy it seemed to be the top rose joint. The snapped cross section showed faint ageing marks, so it may have been cracked for some time. At least it failed where it did (geographically) as we'd just been up a section of road with a steep drop on one side. Failed 1/2 mile later. You've got to count your blessings!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosKev Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Any pics? Where has it snapped,ie which side of locknut/near bearing end etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemk1 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 That is really interesting. Did either of the lower A arm mounts fail? dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrie Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I've not got rose joints, but was taught that they needed oiling once a week. Do people do that? Stainless steel and rubber boots must have made life easier, but every example I've come across has been suffering from slack or corrosion Sounds like a fatigue failure if there were "aging marks". A slight imperfection causes stress concentration, and every major bump increases the crack a minute amount, until there's so little left it fails (the rough area). The smooth area is usually dirty due to the tiny ridges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Everall Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Quite often the problem is caused by the locknut not being kept tight !!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phelpsa Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I've not got rose joints, but was taught that they needed oiling once a week. Do people do that? Not recommended, in fact positively discouraged, with teflon lined bearings. My experience of running rubber boots is that they trap water and dirt in rather than keeping it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenstreak-Andy D Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I fitted rubber boots over new rose joints on mine, but they were awkward to fit, impeded geo setup and I too had concerns they would keep dirt and moisture in, so cut them off! I replaced with Westfield supplied parts, just in case there was any come back! Not cheap I seem to remember, but you pay for quality parts IMO Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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