Hi there I’m a newbie to this, iv had my class 2 for 2 half year and 6 weeks ago the propt shaft snapped and propt shaft bearings popped out there house on the chassis on my w reg scania p220 4 low 4 high with mileage that could get Richard Branson to the moon and back about 5 times , the company who repair the vehicle automatically said it was driver error without hesitation although they’ve said three different excuses.
Now iv been put under investigation for the past 5 weeks and I was wondering if anyone has experienced this before.
It’s a real knock in confidence and causing alot of stress when I believe it was mechanical failure and my company is taking the side of there
So if anyone can give me some advice that would be great thanks
They are talking crap, it’s mechanical failure caused by a time-expired component due to the fact that they run an old snotter that should have been exported to Africa a decade ago.
Harry Monk:
:roll:They are talking crap, it’s mechanical failure caused by a time-expired component due to the fact that they run an old snotter that should have been exported to Africa a decade ago.
+1
They are certainly talking bollox!
Ive known propshaft centre bearings go on motors not even a year old!! Plus you cant knacker a prop shaft through driver abuse in my oppinion, clutch and half shafts will go long before a prop.
if the propshaft snapped, how can that be driver error?
if you get a disciplinary for this, refuse to accept it, it is not your fault, unless of course, you have been ragging the arse out of the truck
the centre bearing can fail at any time through the stresses that are forced upon it by the propshaft, sometimes, it is the bearing itself that fails, other times, it can be the housing that the bearing sits in
basically, if they try and blame you, they are looking for a scapegoat to hide the fact that their chosen workshop that does their maintenance and 6 weekly inspections are not worth a five knuckle shuffle, and just tell them to ‘Do One’
i own trucks, and would in no way blame the driver for such a failure as what you have mentioned
They are talking crap, it’s mechanical failure caused by a time-expired component due to the fact that they run an old snotter…
^^^^This.
Harry is correct. Life expired wagon. If the company is going to try and shaft you, get legal representation (Soilcitor with a background of industrial law)
A company tried to do this to me once and, stop money from my wages to pay for the damage and I told the boss that if he did that, then I would grass him up to VOSA over his maintenance and funnily enough he changed his mind about it. 
I’m have same thoughts on the matter m8
It’s totally unacceptable that the company I work for that’ the bosses have never turn a wheel in a hgv nevermind got the licence
And have supervisors but no transport manager who been there and done it
The propt shaft on that truck is in 3 sections , the one closest to the gear box snapped but not at the joint ,1 st section bang centre of the shaft which was hallow and not solid which the recovery guy pointed out was unusual but I reckon the bearings where worn and greesed up and that’s what caused it to pop
Usual ■■■■■ try to a avoid paying for it,
Harry Monk:
:roll:They are talking crap, it’s mechanical failure caused by a time-expired component due to the fact that they run an old snotter that should have been exported to Africa a decade ago.
With Harry on this- it takes an awful lot to snap a prop and in a old motor its down to fatigue and age.- a prop on a truck is one of the components that is deliberatly over engineered so one slip off the clutch wont break it.
it’s a common problem. the bearings become dry, but they are sealed so unservicable. it should have been replaced a long time ago when the mechanic checked how much play there was.
Funny thing is that it just had inspection lol
Or service, the truck has done from central Scotland to London and back 2 days out of the week for 12 year , trying not name my location or company 4 legal reason keep myself right
I bet someone on here seen me broken down on a66 around 6weeks ago
G8YMW:
Harry is correct. Life expired wagon. If the company is going to try and shaft you, get legal representation (Soilcitor with a background of industrial law)
I think you are about to become a victim of someone elses error. agree with all the other guys, but seek legal advice - you can have some consultations initially free - see yellow type pages.
this’ll be the bit that broke.
The company taking money for alleged servicing aren’t going to admit they failed to notice the bloody prop was knackered.
Your gaffer must be soft in the 'ead, he’s paying them for doing nothing other than signing the inspection sheets.
limeyphil:
this’ll be the bit that broke.
0
I’m no sure if it was that bit I have photos on my phone of it
All I know from what I seen that two prop shaft bearing pop out the u clamp housing and the 1 st section from the gearbox to the middle section had snapped bang on the middle of propt , I will try get pics up , all I know is that the bearing shouldn’t have popped and that’s whats caused the damage to the 1 section of the prop before I realised which was 2 secs after they popped
Tell 'em to do one.
pb260001.jpg by macplaxton, on Flickr
This Scanny prop bearing went pop and I don’t think the wagon was even three years old at the time. The other thing those things were good at were eating starter motors.
In a case such as this the driver isn’t responsible for this type of component breaking down, whether it was a sealed bearing or the type that has grease ■■■■■■■ fitted it doesn’t come under the drivers remit but the workshop staff. If the fault is picked up on an inspection or service all well and good, later damage, breakdown, downtime etc has been avoided and the part would be replaced during the service.
A failure between periodic inspections is just bad luck and s…t happens, sometimes a worn or damaged centre bearing can be detected during driving but you have to have some experience of what to listen to or feel for, to point a finger at the centre bearing. I suspect in this case the bosses are leaning towards the ‘Driver should have noticed something wasn’t right’ approach and if the workshop are trying to pass the buck also, they will have laid it on to the gaffer that it wasn’t down to them.
In truth its a mechanical failure of a component that through its failure has caused further damage which could not be avoided, unless, signs of wear or failure had not been detected during a previous workshop inspection. If the workshop says they found no problem then how could the driver be blamed for a part failure he has nothing to do with. Franky.
time to look for a new employer 
A company running ancient vehicles making such a huge fuss over a minor breakdown sounds to me like a tin pot operation run on a shoestring that’s about to go belly up. Run for the hills…
I snapped a propshaft on a Bedford TK tipper over forty years ago.Like the W reg Scania,the TK had a hard life reversing up ramps with 10 ton of lime for over five years.Its down to genuine wear and tear.
I was going up a steep bank in a quarry when the one snapped on me.Its a rare thing to happen.Just an old lorry and down to fatigue as others have said.