Steering falling off? Has this been covered?

[HT]

A little less than ideal out in the middle of a paddock … thankfully I wasn’t doing anything wild - just poking around - when I lost all steering. Climbed underneath to see my steering had prolapsed like a weightlifter’s anus.

this is the first mechanical issue with my IG. I love the old man dearly. It’ll get fixed no doubt. I guess I came here, to my brothers and sisters in driving, to see if anyone has any wisdom for me.

in case anyone is wondering, ineos road side assist (in Australia) ends without notice at the 2 year mark (3 months ago fo me).

 

[bemax]

SH..T!
Good to hear that nothing happened to you.
Imagine it would have happened here with higher speed:

 

[Clark Kent]

SH..T!
Good to hear that nothing happened to you.
Imagine it would have happened here with higher speed:View attachment 7919977

9.8m/s²

 

[Happyoldgit]

A little less than ideal out in the middle of a paddock … thankfully I wasn’t doing anything wild - just poking around - when I lost all steering. Climbed underneath to see my steering had prolapsed like a weightlifter’s anus.

this is the first mechanical issue with my IG. I love the old man dearly. It’ll get fixed no doubt. I guess I came here, to my brothers and sisters in driving, to see if anyone has any wisdom for me.

in case anyone is wondering, ineos road side assist (in Australia) ends without notice at the 2 year mark (3 months ago fo me).

Bugger.

 

[AWo]

Lucky you...

AWo

 

[OkGo]

Thankfully every one is physically safe, even if emotionally shaken. What exactly happened here...

 

[AWo]

Steering rod or tie rod? Have lost control on one wheel or both?

AWi

 

[HT]

Steering rod or tie rod? Have lost control on one wheel or both?

AWi

One of the tie rod ends (left) detached (maybe unscrewed itself?). Front right wheel is still turning.

 

[AWo]

Uhhhh...

AWo

 

[C-Mack]

Curious if there was any symptoms leading up to the failure like knocking/clunking from the side that fell off? Also, I would think as the tie rod slowly unwound itself over time the steering wheel would become more off-center when driving straight ahead and would be noticeable?

 

[OkGo]

Curious if there was any symptoms leading up to the failure like knocking/clunking from the side that fell off? Also, I would think as the tie rod slowly unwound itself over time the steering wheel would become more off-center when driving straight ahead and would be noticeable?

As in, developed a negative camber? Would it have been noticeable with the large tyres we all run? Maybe an inch out?

 

[HT]

Curious if there was any symptoms leading up to the failure like knocking/clunking from the side that fell off? Also, I would think as the tie rod slowly unwound itself over time the steering wheel would become more off-center when driving straight ahead and would be noticeable?

No symptoms that I noticed. That day id driven about 100kms up the highway. I didn’t notice anything then. I’m normally pretty astute to anything abnormal. Once at the farm, I was driving conservatively but the ground is bumpy and soft, so I might not have noticed anything then (which was about 10kms of driving).

 

[C-Mack]

No symptoms that I noticed. That day id driven about 100kms up the highway. I didn’t notice anything then. I’m normally pretty astute to anything abnormal. Once at the farm, I was driving conservatively but the ground is bumpy and soft, so I might not have noticed anything then (which was about 10kms of driving).

Interesting no symptoms leading up especially on the highway as it would be pretty noticeable as you’d probably hear/feel more tread noise from the front assuming the tie-rod had backed off enough to cause the front wheels to splay out. Roughly guessing you’d end up with about an inch or more of toe-out before the tie-rod actually fell off.

If the problem started on the highway on the drive up you’d probably have noticed your steering wheel slowly drifting off to the right even thought you continued to drive straight. Based on your description it most likely came loose off-road due to vibration as you were driving about. I shuddered to think if that had happened at highway speeds and is a good reminder for us all to routine check the steering rod jam nuts.