What parts have fallen off or falled on a pkg car or tractor

[mattwtrs]

From the sensor thread: Looking back over the years I'm lucky to still be alive. In feeders when the tractors still had shutters on the radiator a electric wire of some sort was caught in the shutter mechanism & shorted out catching the insulation and what not on fire filling the cab full of smoke in a summer thunder storm in rush hour traffic in a construction zone. The burning wires melted the air line to the hand valve too that caused a major air leak. Thank God I was going up hill and was able to get out.
In package I've had the rear axle shaft come out of the housing that had been written up for bad squeaking or chripping noise but was signed off as OK to run. If you want a thrill have the tie rod end break or come apart on a rough road! Does anyone remember the 1st P500's that had the A-frame front end(GM). When the U bolt broke you had very little control when using the brakes. I also had the gas tank fall out of a P400's & P600's when the cradle broke off the frame. I was lucky the tank did not leak or I would have been the 1st UPS terrorist truck bomber. Have you ever had a standard transmission self destruct at 50 mph? The good Lord was protecting me that day because none of the sharpnel hit the gasoline fuel line. The old P300's (535XX)did not have duel brake system so if a line or brake cylinder broke you had no hydraulic brakes. At least the hand brake would slow you down and Leaving myself an out saved a major pile up! I think this is a good starter! I'm sure everyone can share something that has happened to them!

[ExupserNaples]

I also experienced the A Arm on the 500 going its own way. Hit the brakes and a hard left ensued. Thank God noone was coming the other way. Also also on the 500 a couple rear axle breaks. While looking in the mirror I could not figure out why the wheel was 4 feet out from the side of the car. Oh when I called in the sup said, "cant you push it back in?" Also in a 700 peak day, and the rear end locked up twisting off the driveshaft....Good stuff.

[wornoutupser]

P-500-Front tire. brake and brake line all left the vehicle at one time. Rear end lock up at 55 when the pinion nut fell off and front shocks fell off several times.
I also has mirrors, a bumper and the shifter in the tranny fall off and a roof almost fall off that was loose for months.

P-7- the linkage that controls the throttle fell off.

P-8, the rod in the clutch slave cylinder fell off on Peak day, I was instructed to drive it across a 6 lane highway by my supervisor until a mechanic could drive from an adjoining center. I also had a windshield pop loose on the passenger's side and was instructed to drive it in.

P-10 the best of the bunch, I only lost a mirror on this one but it broke down regularly.

In review, UPS needs newer and better vehicles on the road. When the front tire fell off my old P-5, my wife found me on the road an hour later. She was 7 months pregnant and was coming back from the doctor with complications. Her sight of my when she passed me was a nose-down P-5 with a missing front tire!

[wornoutupser]

Almost forgot- First day back from knee surgery I had a supervisor on the car (P-5). While driving down the road the car suddenly swerved about 10 feet to the right and we hit the dirt. The sup thought thatI was trying to kill him!

THEN, while he was driving later, the car did the same thing to HIM!

That car no longer exists, UPS crushed it after it was inolved in a roll over a few days later with a part timer behind the wheel. Three drivers had written up that car as unsafe to drive, but that part timer was instructed to take it out. Years later, she still can not lift more than 10 pounds and her life is he**. Of course, the DVIR went "missing" after the facts came out!

I know it can be hard to stand up to the pressures from management, but after several personal or others experiences, you have to enforce the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules for your safety and the safety of the general public.

§396.13 Driver inspection.

Before driving a motor vehicle, the driver shall:

(a) Be satisfied that the motor vehicle is in safe operating condition;

(b) Review the last driver vehicle inspection report; and

(c) Sign the report, only if defects or deficiencies were noted by the driver who prepared the report, to acknowledge that the driver has reviewed it and that there is a certification that the required repairs have been performed. The signature requirement does not apply to listed defects on a towed unit which is no longer part of the vehicle combination.

[44 FR 76526, Dec. 27, 1979, as amended at 48 FR 55868, Dec. 16, 1983; 63 FR 33280, June 18, 1998].

I represented one guy who was going out in a P1000 where there was so much weight in the car that the springs bent over backwards. When I informed the supervisor that the car was overweight, he said (and I am not making this up) "There isn't any weight limit".

A quick trip to the auto shop to see if the mechanics minded having to repair a rear end later that day took care of that problem. They ripped that stupe a new one.

[GRACEDOG]

I just had the front upper shock mounts snap off a brand new p57 with only 9500 miles on it. Talk abouy floating down the road with it blown out with air packages from the airport shuttle run. I had written it up a dozen times and the mechanic couldn't figure it out unitil it finally broke. When it did I called it in and was told to tape the shocks so they wouldn't rip the brake lines. Then CM came on the phone and asked if I was going to have late EAMs because of this. Because obviously it was my fault. Not because these new cars are junk.

[freeloader]

I wasn't a driver but I worked in the Automotive dept for a while. Had a couple instances where the drive shaft would just fall out. Had another instance where the gear shift came right out of the transmission. The driver had to shove it back in. I don't remember what model vehicles they were.

Here's one for a laugh. Some of the jumpseats in the older package cars folded DOWN instead of UP. So an on-road sup is doing a ride with the driver and the jumpseat folds down while he is sitting in it with his seatbelt on. The driver looks over and sees the on-road almost on the floor of the package car, being held by the seatbelt up to his armpits. Almost drives off the road in laughter.

[mattwtrs]

I was out shoveling snow & thought of more parts problems..
P-300?(Ford Econoline with Bubble top). 3 speed shifter on the column worn out so linkage
hangs up in between gears. Pull over, open hood use chunk of scrap wood to realign l
linkage and continue, this went on for weeks. Write up response, Parts on order OK to
run. I went on vacation, found out there were a couple of road calls so a new 4 on
floor shifter & tranny were installed. A month later I wrote up there was loud
cracking noise every so often somewhere in back. OK to run was response, a
couple of weeks later the drive shaft dropped & bounced up taking out the front
fuel tank. The tank was never replaced. The engine was starting to use oil, over
100,000 miles so you would have to fill up the oil when you stopped for gas. My next
vacation a Sup & cover driver ran the engine out of oil so I got a new(used) engine.
I had a safety ride a couple of months later and while the Sup was driving
something happened to the clutch. I told him no problem I'll drive without it, he didn't
know it could be done. After the last stop he asked if he could try driving with out
the clutch. 4 miles later he took out the tranny. Just before peak the cracking
noise started again and a couple of days later my foot went thru the floor. The car
was finally ADA'd because of claim problems. The back doors had a habit of popping
open and there were misdeliveries galore(lost pkgs) by the cover drivers. I had wrote
it up but the mechanics would give me bungy cords that were usually missing when I
would come back from vacation.

[Johney]

Originally Posted by wornoutupser

Of course, the DVIR went "missing" after the facts came out!

I would think the police, DOT or Hwy Patrol would take it at the seen of the accident.

The situation that happened the most to me was having the motor cover fly off inside the cab on the P500's and P600's. I had one car,19133, that I wrote up over and over for gas fumes in the cab; I really thought I would pass out in that car on day! I had the brakes go out on that same car while trying to merge onto an entrance ramp onto I-75, almost turned it over making that turn and was going to fast to down shift to slow it down. I called the center and was told to use handbrake to get it back to building. I made it thru shear luck through an exit ramp, 2 stop lights that happened to be green and a couple of drive by stop signs! One of the dumbest things I ever did, but I was so mad at the manager who told me to drive it in I really just wanted to get back in and get out of that car.
A friend of mine had the drive shaft fall out of a P500, threw him across 2 lanes, a median and into oncoming traffic. He didn't hit a thing somehow, just lucky. He had written on DVIR about car shuddering when changing gears, had the company wide famous"OK TO DRIVE" seal of approval written in book.

[Jack4343]

Nothing too exciting for me. Had the brakes go out once on me but it was due to a seal that came loose and the brake fluid slowly leaked out on the rear tires and I noticed it losing pedal with each stop so I was able to stop it and call automotive. Lost a rear caliper once and had to hand brake it back to the building. Went down a huge hill with a blind curve right by the building and I did it very slowly in case cars were stopped for some reason. Of course, there was due to one of the lanes being closed due to construction at the bottom of the hill. I still don't know how I got it stopped but I did.

A few weeks ago, a driver in our center had his steering wheel come completely off as he was getting onto the expressway just after leaving the building. He crossed two lanes before stopping and hit nothing. He did have to change his pants after though. LOL! He had sheeted his truck up the day before because it wouldn't stay cranked and the mechanic forgot to bolt the steering wheel back on. We got a few days of "pre-trip" PCM's because it could've been avoided if he would've pulled hard enough on his wheel before leaving the building.

[wornoutupser]

Nope, it was in the car when it went back to the hub. UPS usually will leave a damaged car at the building for a few days before towing it off. This car went strait in to Orlando, DVIR and all.

[Captain America]

Had the starter fall off a 5. Mechanic had me mess with the wires and push start. Try that with an automatic.

[2Slow]

I've had the brakes fail on an exit ramp... Exciting!
Had a shifter fall off in my hand. I was in the building at the time so I carried it over to the mechanic and told him I was having trouble getting it in reverse.
Several blown engines.
Stuck throttles,
broken steering boxes (more than one),
Windshield wipers that would not turn off,
and lots of garden variety breakdowns.
It's all part of the fun when you're driving a truck that is older than your Christmas helper...

[old brown shoe]

Once while driving a bubble top econoline van in a rain storm on a two lane highway the the hood pooped open and the windshield blew into a million pieces in my face.
I had a eighteen wheeler on the side of me and one coming up behind me fast. All I could do was hit my emergency flashers and look down at fog line and get slowed down and off the road. I was covered in glass and shaking like a leaf, so they brought me a different truck to swap out. Thought that was the last day of my life.

[Cementups]

Originally Posted by wornoutupser

P-7- the linkage that controls the throttle fell off.

I had my throttle cable break on my old P7. I was pretty far out and the last thing they wanted to do was send out a wrecker. They asked me over the phone if I could tie open the throttle with my shoelace enough to getme back to the building. I tied it open at about 75% and rode it in. They were quite thankful since I saved automotive a good chunk of change. Luckily for them I had a little automotive knowledge so that I could make the temporary fix.

I know most of you would say that I should have waited fo rthe wrecker since I get paid by the hour but it happened when I was headed back in at the end of the day. I wanted to go home. I had the resources and the know-how so I made it happen.

[satellitedriver]

Not all, but most, of the things posted on this thread has happened to me.
Funny how there is a commonality nation wide.
Stuff happens. If it's mechanical, it will break
What yanked my chain was when I was turning and checked my mirror and saw my rear right wheel sticking out about two feet.( the axle and wheel had slid out)
The mechanic tried to have me written up for not checking the axle hub bolts on my pre-trip.
He lost that fight.
PAX

[DS]

cemetups,the same thing happened to me in my 3rd week on my own.
my accelerator cable broke in an old p800,when I called the district mngr answered the phone and told me to take the engine cover off,stick my foot in there and bring it back that way.It was a bitter cold night,but I did as I was told.I was shivering when I got back but I made it.

[satellitedriver]

Originally Posted by Cementups

I had my throttle cable break on my old P7. I was pretty far out and the last thing they wanted to do was send out a wrecker. They asked me over the phone if I could tie open the throttle with my shoelace enough to getme back to the building. I tied it open at about 75% and rode it in. They were quite thankful since I saved automotive a good chunk of change. Luckily for them I had a little automotive knowledge so that I could make the temporary fix.

I know most of you would say that I should have waited fo rthe wrecker since I get paid by the hour but it happened when I was headed back in at the end of the day. I wanted to go home. I had the resources and the know-how so I made it happen.

That's why I always carry duct tape.
Ya just never know what your going to have to fix.
PAX

[filthpig]

I have to consider myself lucky. Knock wood, I have not had a failure that endangered me. I have had breakdowns, but they have been of the variety that did not endanger anyone. I've broken a driveshaft, lost a few clutches, and stuff like that. Oh wait!! Once a mechanic left a rag in the engine compartment and it caught on fire at my first stop. I guess the air got a chance to get to it. That was interesting! I put the fire out though.

[over9five]

A lot of these problems had been previously written up in the DVIR.
Did anything happen to the mechanics who put "OK to run"?
Were they fired, suspended? Or does that only happen to drivers.

Did they at least apologize?