But fortunately, our wheel and axle didn’t get past the low-cut fender of our 1965 Dodge Coronet wagon. But it gave my Dad quite a scare, and it happened at a rather in-opportune time: heading off on the annual vacation. But the NJ Freeway troopers arrived quickly, called a tow truck, and we were back on the road in about four hours. I wonder how long it took this driver to realize what was happening.
Many years ago my wife lost a back wheel while driving her brothers’ Opel Ascona (“J”car).Fortunately she was on a narrow country road so not going particularly quickly, and since the Opel was FWD and nose-heavy the loss of a back wheel didn’t cause too much of a problem.( the wheel-bearing had collapsed). If it had happenned when her brother was driving it would have been far more serious.
It looks like the green BMW is close enough that it may be towing the SUV. Obviously the rear axle is not able to power the SUV, unless it has some sort of locking differential or the thing is 4wd & being powered by the front wheels.
Ive had this happen twice I had a left front stubaxle snap on a Triumph Herald I spotted a wheel bouncing across some open ground before a sudden lurch signalling it was mine slid to a stop call tow truck learn how to replace stub axle actually seperate on those easy, Second time a rear wheel bearing on my MK2 Escort failed left axle and wheel detached going around a lefthand corner slide to stop phone wreckers to take car not worth repairing to me though they had it going again in hours Id had enuff.
Happened to a friend of mine on his 79 LUV 4×4. Seems to happen a lot on Asian truck axles…
Had a similar, but more protracted experience when I was much younger. Driving a friend’s very poorly maintained ’92 FIAT Panda across the Pentland hills, after her recovery service refused to pick up the car (as she wasn’t in it). We’d called for a tow due to a growing thumping noise from the engine compartment (after I eventually convinced the car’s owner that no, it wasn’t “just the exhaust”, but something more serious), but when the RAC refused to come out, my friend instructed me to bring her car back the hour’s drive over the hills from Edinburgh, slowly under its own power.
It made it 3/4 of the way back before becoming a 3 wheeler.
The poor punished tin-can threw its nearside front wheel on a hill road somewhere in the wilds of Lanarkshire. Mercifully not one of the ones with a precipitous edge!
Turned out the nearside engine mountings had sheared, and the thumping noise was the engine “jumping” it its bay on one side as it turned over. The vibrations effectively shook the wheel underneath right off. When my passenger and I recovered the wheel from the nearby field it had escaped into (while we waited for the sheepish RAC truck to show up and tow us after all) we found the holes for the lug nuts were all twice as wide as they should be…
Funnily enough the car behind us (the driver stopped to check we were OK having seen everything from behind) was a similar Isuzu 4×4 to the one pictured!
It’s not an Isuzu, it’s a Daihatsu Taft. I wonder how long that whole sad scene can last though, before that wheel fly off into the distance.
Had a ball joint break on a 75 LTD that my dad was driving down the freeway at about 80. Not fun, but I was impressed how my father regained control and got it to the side of the road with the only damage being the shredded tire.
Another wheel story: My brother was driving one of my old trucks and the cotter pin failed that was holding the steering wheel on to the shaft. Every time he told the story to someone, they would laugh and ask him what did he do. He’d be po’d and say what the xx do you think I did, I put it back on. He never did appreciate the finer points of driving old stuff.
Could be worse.
Lol 😀
This happened to a co-worker of mine years ago. I pulled in to work, and there he was standing outside of his – what else – brand new Vega GT with the axle shaft and right rear wheel out to “there”. It could have been so worse. Sure was happy I had a new Beetle instead of that thing.
Makes me think of the time the link between the steering box and the (rack and pinon?/ball? IDK) on an early 80s B-body with 300,000+ miles failed on my dad’s boss. Lucky bastard got lucky though cause it happened as he was entering the parking lot of his business. He took it in stride, didn’t really bug him.
Pittman arm
I’ve never lost a wheel or axle. Do remember a time, however, when I took a curve on a busy street and a trailer with a camper shell passed me. I did a double take because nothing was pulling it. Sure enough, it was mine.
I had just started teaching but people kept wanting me to work so I hooked that trailer up to the back of my Lincoln TC. It was a good situation except for the time I just described. Felt blessed as it hit nobody and I was able to pull it out of the ditch, hook it up, and drive away with no accident or ticket. Never had that happen before or since.
It’s not paranoia when something like that happens and you are gunshy forever after.
My uncle had a 30′ caravan come off the hitch on the highway, rode for quite a while on the dual axles before nosing into the dirt doing quite a bit of damage
Happened to me, too. 1973. I was 18, on my cross country journey from Detroit to the Silicon Valley. Like Paul, the fender of my 1956 Clipper kept the wheel close but I lost the brakes on a down stretch of I-80 into Salt Lake City. There were no emegency brakes. So far, that’s as I close as I have come….
Had a few wheel bearings go out, one causing a fire, but my uncle had a semi-tractor lose a front wheel on a Chicago Expressway. Back in the ’60s and he made the papers. I don’t think anybody was injured, but the wheel bounced over the median fence. IIRC, it was on the Southwest (Stevenson?) expressway. He was with a biggish local trucking company and I suspect the mechanics had to do some ‘splaining for that one. (He was the Teamster’s union steward for the company and I wouldn’t have wanted to tick him off…)
It happened to my Dad in a 1929 Whippet. They lost a wheel, but no axel. They laughed as they saw a wheel pass them on the road, until they realized it was theirs. My Dad had to fetch he wheel out of a muddy creek. This is why he always double checked the lug nuts after changing a tyre. Lesson learned.
I have had wheels come off twice, once on the Travelall and once on a Subaru Justy just as I pulled in the driveway.
My accursed Rover 2000 actually did me a favor by breaking its half-shaft the day before we were to leave Tacoma for a trip to Findlay, Ohio. Can you imagine trying to find Rover 2000 parts in Wyoming or South Dakota in 1968? We took the 1958 Plymouth convertible instead, and had no trouble whatsoever.