well I gone and done it this time... on the way home Tuesday night with the girlfriend's truck right after I had put on snow tires on and torqued once and low and behold I lost a tire...... Felt like such an ass. so now we have a claim in with her insurance over $1300 in damage. didn't ruin any of the studs just busted up the fender and some mounting brackets. Even the wheel is okay. $500 for a stupid plastic fender... least no one was hurt. She took it fine (both her and our daughter were with us)..
I screwed up again...
- Thread starter coolasice
- Start date
Mooseman
Moderator
Been there multiple times. It might not be your fault. Years ago on our '99 Montana van, was hearing noise from a front wheel. Lost 2 of 5 studs and the others the lugs were loose. Checked the other wheels and they were fine but not quite as tight as they should be. Tightened them all up and proceeded gingerly to destination and replace all the studs on the affected hub. Had worked on it just prior and had just used the impact to tighten them. It may have been set to a lower torque for some reason. Then a few years later, wife calls me that there's noise coming from the front of our '06 Montana SV6. Sure enough, all 6 lugs were loose on a wheel but the others were all nice and tight. No idea what happened there. It was caught early enough that the studs were fine. And I think it happened one more time on that van. My theory is that aluminum wheels are more sensitive to having proper torque than steel wheels, which was the case with all of these.
Unrelated but similar circumstances on our '08 Montana SV6, lost a caliper bracket bolt and the other was loose. I had just done the brakes on it not too long ago. I was close to the dealer and was able to take me in right away. $40 for a freaking bolt + labour!
Lessons learned: use blue Loctite on the caliper bolts and torque the wheels with a torque wrench to spec. It's unbelievable how off an impact can be.
Unrelated but similar circumstances on our '08 Montana SV6, lost a caliper bracket bolt and the other was loose. I had just done the brakes on it not too long ago. I was close to the dealer and was able to take me in right away. $40 for a freaking bolt + labour!
Lessons learned: use blue Loctite on the caliper bolts and torque the wheels with a torque wrench to spec. It's unbelievable how off an impact can be.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
I never use impact on lugs. I carry a torque wrench even to put a spare on.
Only time I ever lost a wheel/tire was when my Detroit locker hit and sheared all 6 studs off the 12 bolt while pulling on to a road from a stop. Luckily I was only going about 5 mph and the tire just rolled past me as the truck settled on to the pavement. New studs and that was all it needed.
Only time I ever lost a wheel/tire was when my Detroit locker hit and sheared all 6 studs off the 12 bolt while pulling on to a road from a stop. Luckily I was only going about 5 mph and the tire just rolled past me as the truck settled on to the pavement. New studs and that was all it needed.
And if you watch much Youtube car crash videos one regularly sees tires coming off cars. And about two years ago now a small curvy area a mile from my house one came off a small truck heading toward me. Funny sight seeing a tire pass its vehicle. And I don't think the driver realized at that moment he was only running on three tires.
Funny cause I HAD used a torque wrench to install them due to the nuts requiring a special lock tool to remove them. I was going to retorque them when we got home as we had put ~30miles on since I installed.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
So you had to use the special tool tool with the torque wrench to install? Those locks can screw up the torque getting to nuts.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665
Are you sure those special small lugs are seating fully? Just seems crazy you torqued em and had issues. I have tried different lug nuts that ended up not deep enough on the studs by just a bit.
I mean freak things happen and it sucks, but it sure seems like you did the right stuff. Did you double check the others?
I mean freak things happen and it sucks, but it sure seems like you did the right stuff. Did you double check the others?
It is the same set of wheels/nuts we've been using for the past 6 years... some of the others were slightly loose but nothing nearly as close as this one. I have the wheel rebalanced since it ripped all the wheel weights out from inside and we're going to be mounting it back on here today. I'm going to be extra sure that it properly mounted this time. These rims use plastic centering caps and I wondering if maybe I didn't seat the wheel properly and the centering cap got stuck in between the wheel and the hub and got mashed in between....
Mooseman
Moderator
Was the mating surface on the wheels clean? Also on the hub/rotor? If there is corrosion on the mating surface, it can work its way loose as the corrosion rubs off. I always give the surfaces a go of the wire wheel.
Other than that, sounds like you did things right unless your torque wrench is really out of whack.
Other than that, sounds like you did things right unless your torque wrench is really out of whack.
HARDTRAILZ
Moderator
- Nov 18, 2011
- 49,665