Plastic washer missing

Translation: "I'm guessing that if it was critical it wouldn't be some tiddly bit of plastic..."

If I'm reading this right then you are talking about a nylock nut? if so then the nylon is critical as it stops the nut from coming off the trackrod end.

That's what it sounds like to me. Vim, go and get a new nut and replace the one on the car *now*. The nylon is a self-locking device that stops the nut falling off. Now imagine what happens if it comes undone and the balljoint taper drops out of its home.......

You shouldn't reuse nyloc nuts for that reason.

Just read it again and you are talking about the nylon insert in a nylock nut, a friend of mine had a picture of this published in this months MOT thingy. Yes it is very dangerous, on older cars it's job was done by a split pin and if the nut became loose then the split pin stopped it leaving the car and resulting in steering failure.

But if it *is* a Nyloc nut the one useful bit of info that Fred left out is that you can get them from lots of places (Screwfix comes to mind) for pennies.

the bit you are on about, its a white plastic cup washer that the nyloc nut sits in, i wouldnt worry about it, ive seen loads where they are missing, you dont even get a new one with a replacement joint, you will find them on the lower swivel joint of peugeots & citroens as well.

Have you ever had total steering failure? he should *not* drive the car until he has been to a Pug dealer and got the correct nut, it will cost about a quid and if his life is not worth that then the person in the car he may hit is!

you should have put " around the bottom of the nut" hence the confusion.

Fred (Don' snipped-for-privacy@hidden.co.us) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I think you misplaced this...

A nyloc is a nyloc.

though if it were still saturday, a dealer might be the easiest place to get one.....

Its what I call a taper puller, as you do up the nut it pulls the taper into engagement with the female and this helps it to stop spinning. like a nylock it only works the first time .... it bends back on itself when the nut is done up tight. Its just to speed up production in the factory, so feel free to throw it away.

steve the grease

What a crock of shit. The nut isn't just going to fall off just because it's a nyloc with the plastic missing. If it were then the castellated nuts on my Capri should have wedged in the split pins if they had moved which they hadn't in a good few years of being on the car.

Please explain how a nut can become loose with a split pin in it? Really. I'd be very interested to see how you come up with this.

Well if the nut becomes loose the only thing stopping it from falling off is the nylock, try getting an MOT without either a splitpin or a nylock nut.

The splitpin stops the nut from turning if fitted correctly so the nut can't become loose, I have had to turn a castellated nut hundreds of times to get an old splitpin out. It could be because of rust or the fact the splitpin was forced in or it could be that the nut has slighly undone and the splitpin has caught it?

Have you ever done a Allegro or Mini front wheel bearing?, I know that different to a track rod end but yes I have seen many loose nuts with splitpins in them. My advice as I thought the OP was talking about a nylock nut was sound, I advised safety which is what any mechanic should do.

I'm trying to imagine the bliss of a balljoint taper dropping out. I've always had to use either a lot of torque on a scissor type splitter, or a lot of battering the end of a fork type one to shift them...

Indeedy. If the nut has been done up properly in the first palce, there's little chance of the taper seal breaking or the friction twix nut and arm disappearing letting it spin free.

Besides which, the moment there's ANY looseness any driver worthy of a license should feel it and pull over IMMEDIATELY. Split pin, nyloc or not.

Yes I have, thanks, and yes I agree. *If* Pug dealers do them for a quid or so then fair enough, go there. I have only my experience of buying a single

As it happens it sounds like it isn't a Nyloc problem anyway, reading the rest of the thread.

"Fred" The splitpin stops the nut from turning if fitted correctly so the nut can't

Hmm, split pin slid into small hole drilled in mild steel, opn to salt and water from the roads. Loose nut or corrosion, take a wild stab in the dark as to the most likely...