<VV> Strange (?) double failure

[Sethracer at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/7/2006 10:16:30 PM Pacific Standard Time,  
brentcovey at hotmail.com writes:

The  cotter keys arent the part that failed, Ned- if everythings working
right,  they have no load at all, and frankly arent needed at all- they're
just  insurance against the nuts falling off if they have not been  installed
correctly or they fail. In your case the cotter keys did thier  job.





Well - It depends on whether the failure was the stripping of the threads  in 
the nut, sort of what Ned implied, or the nut backing out - then off. Were  
there any threads left in the nut, Ned? If not, then the nut failed  and the 
cotter key would have been of no help, certainly the loading of the  suspension 
is probably enough to shear the key, if the nut is no longer doing  it's part. 
But if it just backed off, then the key installation was probably at  fault. 
Say Ned - you gotta admit this was the absolutely best place for  this to 
happen. When is the last time you raced the car?  And who did your  tech 
inspection? People wonder why the front end has to go up in the air for an  autocross 
inspection. That is why!  - Seth