Inconsistencies
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• The Vehicle Inspectorate says it may have discovered inconsistencies between an ERF workshop manual and later ERF instructions concerning the maintenance of wheel nuts on its Kirkstall axles.
The Inspectorate is currently probing at least eight cases of wheel loss on ERFs fitted with Kirkstall axles, following a call from the Road Haulage Association (CM 8-14 November).
Last week the VI was called in by the RHA to examine an ERF belonging to Arney Roadstone which had to stop near Bristol because one of its wheels was in danger of coming off. "It seems a workshop manual and later instructions from ERF and Kirkstall may be different," says Alan Bowker, head of the VI's accidents, defects and recalls branch.
However, ERF denies that differences between instructions in its workshop manual and a later service bulletin are inconsistent. "In the bulletin we've put in an alternative method, which is less scientific than using a dial gauge," says marketing director Rod England. "They are different approaches to the same problem. One is slightly more sophisticated, but with both you end up with the same result," he stresses. "It's a more practical approach — I don't think there is confusion."