Club Members Stories

The Solent And District Land Rover Club

A nasty wheel bearing experience with a warning.......

By Dave White

With the lack of time at the weekends, and the dark evenings a few of us decided to do a night run up to the Petersfield area to drive a few lanes to there, as well as up around Alton the A31.

We planned to meet at Hedge End Sainsbury's at 1930pm to make our way north via the A3. I left the house and headed across the B&Q roundabout and up the M271, and then onto the M27.

Climbing past Rownhams services, trying to get as much twang out of my old 19J lump as I could it felt like someone had stamped on the brakes??? I eased of the gas, by this time having reached the top of the hill, and slowly drifted over left towards the hard shoulder slightly suspicious.

No sooner had the near side of the vehicle crossed the lumpy white paint the drivers side rear wheel locked up, and having a bit of a turn on the steering sent the vehicle to the left even more now.

Mud terrains squealing, 2 inch lift leaning, and Davey gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles managed to slew through 180 degrees and went from 55 mph to zero within about a 100 meters!! The front of the 90 stopped six inches from the barrier with the smell of burning rubber and smoke wafting down the lanes...

Dodgy Dave and his skid marks!!!!!

Realizing that we both, truck and me, had stopped sliding I blipped the hazards on, opened the door and fell out of the truck. I had actually ended up facing back up the motorway the way I had come!! I practically fell over the Armco barrier and got on the phone to the police,  (lighting a fag at the same time) because the landy was half hanging over the hard shoulder, half in the slow lane with traffic swerving round it.  After a few seconds I started thinking about how close we had actually came to crashing I went back to the truck and managed to move the 90 onto the hard shoulder properly after the bearing cooled down slightly. Ian Grinsell pulled up a bit further on and after seeing me ok began laughing out loud... We rang the rest of the group who were waiting for us at Hedge End. 

Five minutes passed and these guys, Paul, Steve, and Richie were going past on the other side of the M27 wondering why I was facing the same way as they were going on the wrong side of the motorway J  A very helpful police traffic car arrived and was more concerned about Ians concern for me, that they had little concern for me at all!! They told the group   to move and disappeared off (prob. to McDonalds) I called the AA out and they arrived. He said to me “You very lucky as they normally end up off the road and on the roof...” to which I replied “You don’t know how close I was mate!!” 

The wheel bearing racer had welded itself to the stub axle, and the bearing and casing were metal fillings… I never quite worked out what caused the bearing to seize but am now very cautious when fitting them, and quite regular to change them after all the sand, mud, water, and gunge that likes to fill them and cause damage...

Needless, to say I have now fitted an internal roll bar!!!!   

Live and learn…

Dave

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