797 wreck?

[JTL]

I drove a water truck to our shop in Port Angeles today, and when I went into the office to hang up the key and fill out a time card, I saw a bunch of pictures of a 797 with both front tires sitting at a 90 degree angle to the truck, the shocks laying next to the tires, oil running down the haul road, and quite a bit of the muck it was hauling spread out all over the ground in front of the truck, obviouslly from the sudden stop it took when the shocks fell off!
Does any one have any idea where this happened, or what exactlly happend, or pictures to show the rest of us.
I couldnt seem to find any on the net, but I can hardly find my email from time to time!
Jason

 

[alco]

That has happened quite a bit, so narrowing it down to which incident from the description would be very difficult. What happens is the link (tie rod) that ties both wheels together fails. This causes the front wheels to spread and dig into the ground with the weight of the truck forcing them further apart and snapping all of the bolts that hold the struts to the frame. The oil on the ground could be from several sources, but is most likely from the steering cylinders as they tend to get ripped apart when it happens.

 

[Ross]

Equipment Number 612?

 

[JTL]

Equipment Number 612?

I belive so. That number rings a bell!

 

[Ross]

I belive so. That number rings a bell!

Aye .. Pretty recent failure ..

 

[ben46a]

Yeah They keep a sharp eye on the balljoints in the steering and front strut bolts now. Have updated tie rods as well. WHere was this one Ross? 612 Isnt a truck number from up here.

 

[Ross]

Yeah They keep a sharp eye on the balljoints in the steering and front strut bolts now. Have updated tie rods as well. WHere was this one Ross? 612 Isnt a truck number from up here.

Not sure the Location ... The Pics just dropped into my In-Box ..

Its a well know mining company ... Very well respected ..