Please help!! On the road & at a loss, towed again

[jackyflash]

I am hoping that anyone can help me, because I'm on the road without many resources and at a loss. We're stranded near Ft Stockton, TX, awaiting the tow truck for the second time in 3 days.

The situation:
Drove into Houston to get something to eat & hit a pothole, hard. Immediately the wheel started making a metal on metal grinding noise and the steering felt off, as with an alignment issue. Pulled over, couldn't see any obvious problems (like a bent piece of metal) it was late so we chose to get towed to Austin to what seemed to be a reputable shop (only 4/5 star reviews online). This was also to keep us on schedule, since we were supposed to be there that night.

They worked on it today (monday) and said that the wheel bearings had fused to the spindle, and also the brake rotor was shot. They replaced the spindle, the differential, front/outer wheel bearing and front wheel seal. Told us the alignment was fine, and indeed it seemed to be when we drive it. Got on the road headed to El Paso and about half way there I felt the steering do a strange wiggle, it was raining so we thought perhaps it was wet roads but in less than 15 miles I heard the same metal scraping sound from the same front right wheel and sure enough it got worse until I had to pull over. Again, nothing I can see from the outside/underneath. But it feels like the exact same thing has happened, this time without hitting a pothole or anything else. What could be happening?? This shop has a great reputation, their mechanic was thorough and explained everything, but here we are on the side of the road and this time in the middle of nowhere. The nearest town is Ft Stockton. I don't know what to do, not sure where to take it and very worried because obviously something is causing it that even these seasoned specialists missed. Any advice out there? Please excuse typos I am posting from my phone.

[jackyflash]

Sorry-- forgot to say its a 91 Vanagon. Recently had the two front axels replaced, never had any issues with the alignment or anything. Power steering belt is off, but that hasn't been a problem either. There was no vibration or noise to indicate a problem beforehand, just driving along fine then the steering went wonky for a sec, heard the metal on metal, and it feels like the wheel is gonna fall off (but I don't think it actually will).

[mschlang]

Having no idea of the distances involved, I would try to bring it back to the shop that just fixed it. Have you jacked up the van to see if there is abnormal play in the wheel? Take the wheel off and look for indication of wear on the back side of the rotor against the caliper mounts.

[fairweather]

These are WAGs: (assuming it's a syncro)

Stripped wheels studs or nuts

Stripped axle nut/stub axle

Wheel weight or road debris got wedged in somewhere

Tire got blown when you hit the pothole, feel for bubbles/separation, may only manifest itself when it gets hot

When it is jacked up use a pipe or board under the tire to move it, the weight can mask some issues if you are trying to move it by hand.

[chojinchef]

Sorry to hear of the troubles.

Agree with having it towed back to the mechanic you just used. They already have intimate knowledge of the vehicle.
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Its a mistress; an expensive, whiney, needy bitch of a mistress. She is a chunky, dirty girl with bad skin, little motivation and yet she always makes me smile. She sure has been around before shacking up with me. She has a direct line to my wallet, plays with my emotions, is consistantly jovial yet with a sarcastic and sardonic side, is consistant in her inconsistancy, and every once in a while gives me a great ride and a fantastic memory.

[debbiej]

I don't know how far you are from the shop where the original work was done, and going back may be your best option. But if you choose to go to El Paso, there is a great shop there. PDL enterprises, they do good work.

[joseph928]

Also see If anyone of us is near buy . Get your smart Phone out and check the Vanagon Rescue Squad out. It is so much better to see it in person , and If we can't fix it we will know somebody near buy who can. Does not cost you, worth a try.
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1987 syncro westy tin top sun roof , GW2.3, rear locker, decoupler, Gary Lee tire rack & winch mount, lift, south african grill, big brakes , rhein alloy ,15 BFG AT, Fiamma 10 foot awning ,140 watt rear 85 watt front solar , mppt, truckfridge, automatic fire extinguishing system, tencent oil cooler, And a RMW SS exhaust! - 1971 bug convertible 1776 engine- 2010 Subaru turbo - 1993 Toyota 4x4 truck - 1999 Harley 95 CI, big bore, Andrews cams . Also 80-84- vans. Stock 65 sunroof bug.

[jackyflash]

Thank you for your responses. Going back was not really an option, we were over 300 miles from Austin when this happened at 2am. Took until 5am to have us towed to the nearest town of Ft Stockton TX. We're truly in the middle of nowhere! I tried vanagon rescue squad but nothing came up--it said try another location. We are currently at a shop called Fernandez Auto Repair in Ft Stockton. We will probably attempt to get towed to El Paso next if my bf can get AAA in his name (we've used up my long distance tows). We are hoping to at least confirm it is the same wheel while we're here. It is not road debris, etc., this is literally the exact same symptoms it had after hitting the pothole, and by feel at least, from the same tire. Nothing appears wrong w tire itself, it's fairly new. We are thinking that Austin VeeDub somehow overlooked something--it was never clear why hitting a pothole would cause the bearings to fuse to the spindle in the first place, so we're thinking they fixed the symptom & not the problem. Charged a premium for it, too. If it is the other front wheel, that would be a helluva coincidence for it to wrong in the same way within days.

[Westified]

See if there is a U-Haul in town or nearby. Rent a dolly and one of their trucks and tow it back to Austin and get the guys to fix it. They should warranty their work or at least give you a discount. Also, call them on the phone first and explain your situation.

[jackyflash]

Update: I think we have traced the bad work to our mechanic in Ga. He replaced the front axles and did the bearings at the same time before we got on the road, he is claiming defective parts. Seems unlikely to me, I'm asking for a refund. I did call Austin Vee Dub and they told me they did check the other bearings but did not feel any play so they didn't take it apart, understandably. I have to say that their mechanic Mike was beyond thorough and we left feeling very satisfied that good work was done. We are gonna need a new spindle and bearings but the guys we're working with now thinks he can rig it up well enough to get it to El Paso. Also Winter from Odessa responded to my call through vanagonaut site and has been very helpful. Thank you all for the support, feels good to be part of the community, even if we are stranded in nowhere TX.

[Halifaxwesty]

Over tourqued front axle nut?
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84 Westfalia Vanagon
2.2 RMW Conversion
Work in Progress

My first car was a 1968 VW Bug

[minsk]

Austin Veedub has a great rep...im sure the looked over it pretty thorough
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[randywebb]

[Jake de Villiers]

[jackyflash]

Yes, they were his parts. I think he may be willing to work with us, not sure how much yet since I've had a tough time with cell reception today. All I can do is hope he makes it right or never go back, which would suck because we've had a real hard time finding anyone to do work on it. I spent close to $900 at his shop preparing for this trip, I really think a partial refund is in order.

Thanks again everyone, this has been a really stressful past few days. I am taking her to PDL in El Paso tomorrow, spoke with them today and they are expecting us. Whew. I do not recommend breaking down in west Texas.

Austin Vee Dub was really tops, I'm glad I was wrong about which wheel was going out last night. It was worth getting towed there, nice guys very knowledgeable.

[Vango Conversions]

If the bearings seized and spun, it's going to be hard to get another bearing to press in tightly if the hub and the upright have been chewed up. I wonder if the first bearing went bad, the second one may have not ben able to have a proper press fit and failed as well.

I've heard of a few bearings that are packed with a corrosion preventative grease for storage and shipping but the grease isn't rated for wheel bearing use and must be cleaned out and repacked with actual wheel bearing grease. Genius idea The bearing company saves about 40 cents by using cheap grease and the poor mechanic who thinks he bought a pre packed bearing ends up screwing up someones rig by mistake. I wonder if something like that happened?

Hope you get it all figured out

[randywebb]

his parts; his problem to fix correctly - both labor and parts

your problem to deal with

was this guy near your home? you may need a better shop, but if they are rare where you live, then you will need to gain the skills, facilities, and yoga abilities to DIY
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[stubear334]

Owning a Westy is no different than owning a boat. Expect to be towed in from time to time. It took a while, but I finally had to learn how to work on my own old cars. Twice I paid mechanics over $5,000 to get my old cars back on the road only to find shortcuts everywhere.

Guess what? You can screw-up your own car for free!! Why pay someone ??

Stu

[Wildthings]

[Gauche1968]