Horror stories
Here’s an extreme example of a bulge in a tyre’s side wall showing that the internal structure has failed. It would only be a matter of time before the tyre rapidly deflates, resulting in potential loss of control of the vehicle.
Shane Farmiloe, from Castle Vale Service Station sent us this photo showing the rear bush carrier for the lower suspension arm clearly broken at one of its mounting points.
Chris Baxter from D C Baxter (Motors) in Lincolnshire sent us this picture of a homemade wooden brake pad fitted to a Ford Transit.
Ian, from Castlehill services, sent us this picture of a seat belt repair on a 2005 Suzuki Vitara which was presented for an MOT.
When the owner of this vehicle dropped it off with Martin, at Discount Tyres in Sittingbourne for its MOT, they mentioned a noise which had been coming from the front of the vehicle when braking.
Someone attempted to remove the track rod ends. After removing a nut they replaced it with a wood screw to make what they thought was a safe repair.
It doesn’t take long to spot what’s missing here. David Albin sent us this picture of a Saab presented for test after having new brake discs fitted and there appear to be split pins on the front ball joints.
This photo sent in by Phil Green from Lincoln shows a front suspension ball joint completely separated from the lower suspension arm.
We see a lot of tyres below the legal limit and it’s regularly among the top five failure items, but we hope you don’t see many like this.
This photo was sent in by Stuart Heath of the Porsche Centre Solihull. It shows that not even high value sports cars are immune to incompetent DIY repairs. It’s not uncommon for amateur mechanics to put brake pads in the …