Matador hub nuts

[philb]

Having been worried by a post on the AEC Society forum from Paul "8539769" warning of potential hub failure, I checked thefront hub nuts on mine and, guess what, one of them was loose by about half a turn. Paul's post cites four known occurrences of the nuts working loose, two with dramatic consequences.

 

I've heard several reports of hub problems from other people, who have maintained fleets of Matadors ( a long time ago ), and it really is something you don't want to happen - at any speed. Apart from the obvious loss of control, a lot of expensive parts get damaged.

 

So.... for the few minutes it takes, pop the bollards off and check your nuts!

 

Phil

[Grasshopper]

I owned a Matador that had suffered a front N/S hub faliure. I got given the bottom brake shoe that hit the road at speed- not pretty! It was recovering another truck at the time too. The panel above the wheel still had the dents in it where the whole assembly took off, and the hub and wheel were found a good way down the road having bounced inbetween the central reservation of whatever motorway the rig was on at the time.

[Phil P]

Many years ago a Matador operated by a local garage and fitted with a Harvey Frost crane lost an offside front wheel assy with the result that it hit a kerb and rolled over killing the driver instantly and seriously injuring the other guy with him. It made headlines in the local newspaper. A couple of guys I worked with who had been in the Army said that it was known for Matadors to have front wheels come off. I had not got involved in Military vehicles then but the fear of a 'heavy' loosing a wheel has made me keep and eye on such possibilities. The Hippo front hubs obviously use a different system being a 6x4 but I do jack it up and check for loose hubs etc quite regularly. I was told for every hour you spend polishing you should spend another 2 checking.

 

Phil