MDowdy
Seasoned Expediter
I recently stopped driving a 2001 Acterra. It had over 800,000 miles on it. Last August 31, I was driving north of Louisville, Ky, in Indiana, at the 12 mile marker. It was 4:45 pm, and I was in the afternoon rush hour traffic. The load on the truck had me very close to being grossed out on weight, I was in the hammer lane, in the process of passing a 18 wheeler, and suddenly the right front wheel, hub, brake caliper separated from the truck. Talk about getting my attention, this certainly did. Luckily, the driver I was passing made an evasive lane change, giving me room to maneuver the truck back to the breakdown lane. As the caliper left the vehicle, so did the brakes, for the brakes are hydraulic all the way around. Coasting to a stop, while fighting the steering wheel, trying to avoid from hitting anyone, or vice versa, finally getting stopped, then I had to extinguish the grass fire that had occurred from all the sparks, They towed the truck to Kentucky Truck Sales, I-65, exit 4 in Indiana. We learned of a safety recall on the front axles of this particular truck, involving separation of wheel assembly from truck during driving. It took 2 weeks for them to repair both sides of the truck, replacing everything from the king pins out. On September 15, I went back to the dealership to get the truck, arriving there at 11:30 pm, just before their closing for the night. I inspected their work to the best of my ability, got in the truck, left the dealership, and made it back into Ky at the I-264/I-65 interchange, when the left wheel bearings disintegrated. (Note: The dealership performed the recall on this side, also). I called the dealership and was told to ease it to the Pilot and call them the next morning. Next morning, I called, they refused to come to me, or contract a wrecker to get truck back to them. I had to drive the truck back to their dealership. (I did not get over 25 miles per hour). When they picked the truck up off the ground with the lift, the tire fell off. It took another week for them to repair it again. Three weeks after this, I was in Santa Nella California, and was fueling at the TA there. I routinely check the hub oil on the axles. At this time, I noticed the inside of the right front wheel soaked with oil. Guess what? Total failure, once again. I was towed to the Freightliner dealer in French Camp, California. It took 5 days to get parts, and get me back on the road. Their statement for the cause of problem was "improper workmanship" performed by Kentucky Truck Sales. What this post is all about is the failure of Freightliner Corporation to notify us of the recall, and the lack of ability to properly repair something from Kentucky Truck Sales, and the importance of checking the hub oil every time you stop and get out of that truck. Trust me guys and gals. It is no picnic to have a wheel come off at 70 mph in heavy traffic.
