near death experience

[ascher@xxxxxxxx (ascher baer)]

in reference to this very same 164L in the above post:

2-1/2 hours out of the shop i was driving along the long island
expressway at an uneventful 80 mph around a slight s-bend when i felt the
car shift - as if pivoting over the top of the wheels slightly.  on the
second part of the s-bend the car's momentum carried it the other way,
only this time so fiercely that i had to struggle to control it.  i
immediately pulled over to the shoulder and checked all lug nuts and the
wheels for play.  no play anywhere.

i decided to keep driving slowly and then return the car to my
mechanic's, but my plan was foiled when in easing off the shoulder at 5
mph or less the car came to an abrupt halt; locking up the wheels.  a
walk around front revealed a scary sight: both wheels angled inward at 45
degree angles.  now i'm no expert, but i always thought wheels were
intended to be parallel to each other.  on gut instinct alone i looked
behind the right wheel to see that the tie rod end had come apart from
the wheel.  the "pin" on the end of the tie rod that is secured to the
wheel by a nut was out completely.  apparently the bolt had fallen off. 
a quick fix with a bolt solved that problem, but not the problem of the
wheel having hit the plastic inner fender, burned a hole right through,
and shredded the a/c and cooling belt - all while taking a chunk out of
the tire.  oh yeah, alignment was off.

to the credit of the shop i had just left, they sent someone over right
away and towed the car, replaced belt, and aligned for free.  i still
don't understand how something like this happens.  in the engine overhaul
they claim not to have taken off the tire rods, and i don't see why they
would.  might this only have happened when another shop aligned the
wheels many months ago?  

i think it's fair to say that i'm lucky the tie rod popped out at 5 mph
and not the 80 of ten minutes earlier.

ascher
91 164L
78 spider

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