Desirable nipples

Sir,

The comment of Mr. Hind’s BLMC dealer reported in January MOTOR SPORT may be true when considering horizontal ball joints at each end of a steering rock, but does not necessarily apply to vertical ball joints located at the outer ends of the tie rods. About a year ago I was a passenger in a GM product which had done under 40,000 miles. The near-side vertical ball joint parted at 60 m.p.h. on a straight road, after passing over a rough, but not exceptional, area of road surface. The driver managed to hold the car on a fairly straight course, and it stopped remarkably quickly with the front wheels pointing in opposite directions. (Without use of the handbrake Mr. Davies!)

When the car was repaired by the local agents, the worn parts were asked for but were “not available”. Do these incidents ever get reported to Manufacturers by their Agents, or could there be a deliberate policy to lose the evidence, of such events?

Dunstable.
D. E. Butler.