ISSN: 0022-1198
CODEN: JFSCA
Page Count: 6

When Is 100% Inspection Not Enough? An Analysis of Three Pickup Truck Front Wheel Assembly Failures
Van Kirk, DJ
Consultant, consulting engineer, and president, Van Kirk and Associates, MI

Sas, JP
Consultant, consulting engineer, and president, Van Kirk and Associates, MI

Cross, PN
Consultant, consulting engineer, and president, Van Kirk and Associates, MI

(Received 15 January 1999; accepted 13 April 1999)

Abstract

The loss of a cotter pin in the front wheel assembly of cars and trucks has been a problem for several years. This is shown by the fact that the automobile manufacturers have been committed to a 100% inspection of the process for installing them on cars and trucks. In this paper, three accident cases are presented, along with a method by which the forensic engineer can determine if a cotter pin has ever been installed on the front wheel assembly. Testing was done to show what the spindle would look like if the cotter pin had been installed properly and forcibly removed. Photographs show both the accident and test spindle for comparison.

Keywords:
forensic science, forensic engineer, accidents, cotter pins, cars, trucks, 100% inspection, spindle, front wheel assembly

Paper ID: JFS14655J
DOI: 10.1520/JFS14655J
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