Serious problems with my scenic mk2.

[dgraham1892]

Hi I have a megane scenic 2, 2005 that I bought privately,( wish I didn't now).
It's a long story but I'll shorten it as best as I can.
I had a knocking noise coming from my front drivers side wheel. After I took it to the garage for two new tyres I then discovered that a bolt had been grinded out the wheel hub (maybe explaining the knocking with an imbalance?)
After a few days, the knocking got very loud so decided just to park it up on the drive until I could get someone to look at it.
I decided to take it around the corner to see if it was still as bad but as I reversed out the drive, the opposite side (passenger side wheel) came clean off and the car smashed into the ground.
Three bolts had snapped clean off and the forth popped out leaving the car on the ground.
With the help of a passer by, we got the car back on the drive by putting the wheel back on with one single bolt.
So the problems I have since then are that now the car is on axel stands, engine not running and in gear the wheel discs were still moving by hand. I started the car and put it into 2nd gear. Drivers side was spinning fine but the passengers side isn't at all.
I know a little about cars and take it the drive shaft is broken on the passenger side but I don't understand why the drivers side would still spin by hand when in gear and no engine on.
I went through all the gears to make sure the gearbox and clutch is still ok and all seems fine with that.
I don't want to scrap the car but also don't want to/can't afford to pay the £900 to repair it.
Any advice from an expert would be great. Thanks!

[GiveMeABreak]

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

It's hard to tell from what you have posted up, but are you thinking the garage is at fault for not fitting your wheels back on correctly? You may have a case against the garage if it can be proven that they did not correctly fit and check that that the wheels were on properly and torqued up. I would keep any of the bolts that came off in case they need to be examined as evidence.

The driveshaft seems an obvious issue, but also if the car has fallen onto the ground, I would also be checking for any other damage to the steering gear, discs, calipers and anything else in the area.

[xantia_v6]

I would not be too concerned about the one side spinning and the other not, it could just be normal operation of the differrential.

The knocking sound was might have been due to loose wheel bolts on the side where the wheel fell off.

It is hard to say whether the garage is at fault without having more information on the work that they did and the history of the car.

Does the car have original or after-market wheels?

It is possible that one or both front hubs have been damaged by all of this, you really need an independent inspection.

[elma]

What is the £900 quote for? I would've thought 2 hubs from a scrap yard, a pair of brake discs and some new wheel nuts would put you back on the road. Was your original knocking noise all the time or just at certain times?

[dgraham1892]

Thanks for the replies! I'm not too bothered about blaming the garage, although it's quite a scary thought if that had of happened on a motorway. I would just really like the car back on the road again.
I have a new hub and was willing to get another if the car is salvageable.
So maybe if the driveshaft is gone on one side, it could be why it's still spinning on the other side?
I know someone with a scenic and when he changes the break discs, he has it in gear to get them off.

[dgraham1892]

900 was for exactly what you said and two new driveshafts. Plus labour. Rip off I know!

[dgraham1892]

Sorry also knocking noise was only after I got the tyers on.

[elma]

I don't think you need driveshafts. The car would've made noise when you were turning. As Mike said before what you've seen with the wheels off of the ground doesn't mean any things broken. It sounds like your wheel bolts were hugely over tightened and probably already broken. The noise was likely the wheel slapping around only 1/4 secured. Are you handy enough to change a hub yourself or has it got to be a garage job for you?

[dgraham1892]

Yeah I'd be ok replacing the hubs. I've already got one complete unit with abs sensor so I'll just get another.
Sorry so just to clarify,
Wheels off the ground, car running and in gear, 20mph on the speedo and only one wheel going around.
Thanks again everyone.

[Hell Razor5543]

What happens if you put it in reverse?

[dgraham1892]

Same thing, just the one wheel.

[Hell Razor5543]

Same wheel?

[dgraham1892]

Yes mate. When it's in gear both in reverse and 1,2 or 3rd, one spins no problem the other turns very very slowly. Like 1cm a minute. Both have had break calipers taken off so no resistance.

[Gibbo2286]

The simple test to see if it's just the diff action is to stop the wheel that's turning (chock it or lower it to the ground) if nothing's broken the other wheel will spin.
As for the broken wheel studs that's usually caused by driving with the studs not properly tightened and continuing to drive despite the knocking noises getting louder.

[dgraham1892]

Thanks Gibbo! I'll give that a try at the weekend. I'm just glad all hope isn't lost on this car. I'll keep this post updated and let you know how I get on. Thanks again!