The front pads on my work van started grinding Saturday. Not having time to deal with it this week, I changed pads, rotors, bearings and seals Sunday afternoon. The drivers side spindle nut didn't have any sort of retainer on it and was only hand tight. 
When I popped the dust cap and saw that images of countless 80mph trips up and down the interstate flashed through my mind. I'd probably noticed something wrong before the wheel headed for the ditch, but that's still a little scary. You can bet I'll be checking the rest of the fleet if I haven't been in them already.
I hate people that do shoddy work.
you should be able to tell who did the work through records?
No cotter pin etc either? Wow. That's the kind of thing that makes a technician/service manager/service advisor sit straight up in the bed covered in cold sweat.
Except this was before I bought it and I didn't get any records from the used car lot.
Was it revers thread? If not that is amazing!!!
The only saving grace is the washer is keyed to the spindle so it can't turn. Still...
I had a TR7 Sprint once, on the way up the M1 motorway (to my first wedding!) the spindle snapped off right at the nut, once I got the dust cap off the end of the spindle and nut fell out! The wheel stayed on as the disc (rotor) was retained by the caliper. It came off just before an exit, so I managed to coast off the motorway and into a pub parking lot where I could enjoy a pint to calm my nerves while waiting for the RAC truck to take me the rest of the way. I think it happening at 80mph in a striaght line was a whole lot better than 30mph in the twisties
which "spindle nut" was it?
are you talking about the big nut that holds the axle shaft tight into the hub?
if so, don't sweat it.. the hubs are pressed together and all that nut does is keep the axleshaft from sliding backwards or wobbling around in the splines. as to why it was loose- some "tech" that had it apart in the past probably didn't bend the nut down over the groove or flat that is machined into the hub just for that purpose..
if it was a lower balljoint nut, then i'd be more worried- but only if the stud is pressed into the spindle in such a way that the nut holds up the weight of the vehicle. if vehicle weight and spring tension pushes the tapered balljoint into the spindle, then it's not going anywhere unless you get airborne and the nut is just a super-plus safety feature..
ransom
Dork
12/14/11 11:18 a.m.
In reply to novaderrik:
I believe this would be the nut that captures the tapered bearings which capture the hub (Full size RWD van, I'm guessing). If it comes off, the brake caliper's the only thing keeping the wheel from departing the vehicle, and that's not going to keep the outboard bearing in place.
