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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Joe<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Glad no one was hurt by this incident.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Seems strange that a NyLock nut came loose but without that nut the full weight of the car and the spring force are pushing the ball joint out of the knuckle.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Do a complete inspection of the knuckle – safety first and always.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Maintenance schedule – less driven vehicles really need increased maintenance schedules.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>When the weather warms up more here I will do a safety check for all the lights and complete front end check with brakes checked – this is my normal maintenance routine before driving the Tiger every year.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.5in'>Last summer I did an even more comprehensive check on the Tiger and found numerous little problems – torn ball joint boots, air in the brake lines, rear brakes needed adjustment, Panhard bolt very loose – good thing it was a long bolt or it would be lost to the highway gremlins forever plus a small fuel leak.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>These days with the fuel; everyone should routinely inspect the condition of any fuel hose – if cracked, replace.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> Ron Fraser<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Tigers <tigers-bounces@autox.team.net> <b>On Behalf Of </b>Joe Brown<br><b>Sent:</b> Saturday, March 08, 2025 11:09 PM<br><b>To:</b> Jay Laifman <jay.laifman@gmail.com><br><b>Cc:</b> tigers@autox.team.net<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Tigers] Check Your Nuts<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>I was also wondering about how it came loose. We have a bunch of rough roads around here and I have to cross over several cattle guards. I wonder if the nut came loose and then hitting pot holes and cattle guards knocked the pin loose. I hope and pray that the hole in the knuckle hasn't been worn out a little bit. I'll have to see how the new ball joints fit. I'll keep everybody posted.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks,<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Joe Brown <o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Sat, Mar 8, 2025, 9:45 PM Jay Laifman <<a href="mailto:jay.laifman@gmail.com">jay.laifman@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><p class=MsoNormal>Wow. That is really scary. Thanks for the warning. <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>I see what you are saying about the castle nuts. However, I have to say, in all the years I've taken off ball joints or tie rods, I've never ever had one just slide off, and they always needed a tool and a lot of force. So I'm wondering if something else happened there. <o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Sat, Mar 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM Joe Brown <<a href="mailto:jbbrown1980@gmail.com" target="_blank">jbbrown1980@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><p class=MsoNormal>So, I took my Tiger out yesterday for a short drive and as I was just about home (maybe a hundred yards from my driveway) the right front suspension dropped to the ground and I skidded several yards before stopping. All I could think of was the old stories about exploding ball joints. <o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>I walked to my house and threw a floor jack and some jack stands in my truck and drove back to the Tiger. I managed to get the front end jacked up and discovered that the nut on the lower ball joint was gone and the lower A arm had dropped to the road. My suspension pieces are at least 30 years old and the ball joints were held on with nylock nuts. I managed to wrap a ratchet strap around the upper and lower A arms and I was able to slowly drive the car into my garage. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>I am very lucky that: <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>1. I was going pretty slow at the time<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>2. The front end landed in some loose gravel on the side of the road<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>3. None of the body work was damaged<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>4. And nothing else in the suspension looks to be damaged; just scraped up<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>If this had happened 5 minutes earlier I would have been doing 60 on a winding road and I would have wound up in a ditch.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>So I'm ordering a new set of ball joints and I will drill them out for castle nuts so I don't have to worry about a nut working its way loose again. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Regards,<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Joe Brown<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>_______________________________________________<br><br><a href="mailto:tigers@autox.team.net" target="_blank">tigers@autox.team.net</a><br><br>Donate: <a href="http://www.team.net/donate.html" target="_blank">http://www.team.net/donate.html</a><br>Archive: <a href="http://www.team.net/pipermail/tigers" target="_blank">http://www.team.net/pipermail/tigers</a> <a href="http://autox.team.net/archive" target="_blank">http://autox.team.net/archive</a><br><br>Unsubscribe: <a href="http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/tigers/jay.laifman@gmail.com" target="_blank">http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/tigers/jay.laifman@gmail.com</a><br><br><o:p></o:p></p></blockquote></div></blockquote></div></div><div id="DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br /><table style="border-top: 1px solid #D3D4DE;"><tr><td style="width: 55px; padding-top: 13px;"><a href="http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient" target="_blank"><img src="https://s-install.avcdn.net/ipm/preview/icons/icon-envelope-tick-green-avg-v1.png" alt="" width="46" height="29" style="width: 46px; height: 29px;"/></a></td><td style="width: 470px; padding-top: 12px; color: #41424e; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Virus-free.<a href="http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient" target="_blank" style="color: #4453ea;">www.avg.com</a></td></tr></table><a href="#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2" width="1" height="1"> </a></div></body></html>