First post on here, and I searched pretty hard to see if anyone had ever posted about this before. I am trying to rule out possibilities, so I thought I would ask here (the experts on our trucks) to find out if anyone has insight to the problem. I have a 2003 Chevy TB EXT LT 4.2L I6 4x4 with about 165,000 miles now. I bought it used in early 2013. It was a bit rough mechanically, and had ABS/brake issues from the start. I don't know anything about fixing mechanical stuff. I am a body/electronics kind of guy... I don't get carburetion, manifolds and such, or which way the gas and oil go in the engine! (until now, anyway, thanks to these forums and YouTube videos! I'm in the middle of a valve cover gasket replacement, which includes the really fun intake manifold bolts! As a 3-4 hour job-by Mooseman's directions-I am now more than three weeks ahead of that! Started week 4 today and realized I forgot to torque my valve cover before installing the manifold. I basically get to start from almost the beginning again!)
Anyway, I digress...
I had really bad upper and lower ball joints and had some issues with handling to start with after purchasing the truck from a dealer (that I would never go back to if they were the only ones selling cars.) I was told by one mechanic that my computer was bad and it was telling my brakes wrong info and I would have to replace the computer, wiring and probably hubs or something like that. I walked out and decided to deal with the strange noises. It always stopped when I needed it to, so I wasn't going to throw all that money at it (especially without a second opinion!) And, no, I never went back to that shop either...
I had all four stock wheels on the truck for about 6 months after purchase. There was a steel wheel and spare tire that was mounted in April 2014 because of a flat tire from the uneven wear of the ball joints. I milked it as long as possible because I didn't have the money to replace the tires. The steel wheel was ugly, but it worked and the tire was brand new. It did not match the stock wheels and the lug nuts were fully exposed, unlike with the covering cap on the stock wheels.
My truck was routinely backed into a parking spot in a parking garage while I worked a 10.5 hour shift since May 2013. In April 2015, I experienced a strange occurrence, in which all of my lug nuts loosened, and I was unaware of it. Within two days, of course, the wheel was about to come off the truck while we were driving down the highway after a night out. After getting up the next morning, I checked the ball joints and they appeared as they always did. However, the tire moved when I leaned up against it to look. I checked, and all six nuts were loose on the steel wheel.
I was a bit freaked out because I had some suspicion, but did not pursue that train of thought even though everyone told me I should. I assumed it was a fluke and set to tightened them back up. One of the stems broke, so I took it to a shop that replaced the stem and fixed the lower ball joints. They said they had never heard of all six nuts loosening spontaneously on a vehicle, and I should be careful. I agreed that it was weird, but I didn't want to think what I was already thinking. I was going to go back to get the uppers changed after I had the money for that. There was still a little movement from the uppers being shot, but nothing like that wheel being loose!
Fast forward into a Sunday in late July 2015. I bought new tires for the truck and had them installed at a Sam's Club (Goodyear 265/75/16 for those that want to know...) on the stock rims. I drove away and still had the movement from the upper ball joints, but the new tread felt great on the tires after getting pretty close to the wire again. Within two days, I had developed what went from a shimmy to a shake to a terrifying ride in an unbalanced washing machine on spin cycle! I immediately took it to the shop (at about 20 mph on the highway) and dropped it off for him to work on it. I called Sam's and told them that they better get their insurance company on the phone.
I got a call after my mechanic took off the cap from the hub and one of the stems fell out onto the floor. All six lug nuts were loose and the stems were chewed up from the nuts. Again?!? Since I had just had the tires installed and the rim put back on the truck, I naturally assumed it was the installer at Sam's who had improperly tightened the lug nuts. I filed a claim with their insurance company. After the investigation was complete, it was determined that the service attendant did in fact properly installed the tires and wheels. They had video documentation of the proper pattern being used to torque them.
My question is, is this something that is common for the left front wheel of the 03 TB? Should I suspect any other reason, other than some manufacturing defect in the original stems after 12+ years, as to why all six lug nuts keep coming loose on that specific wheel? Has anyone else experienced this (even once in their lifetime, much less twice in less that six months!)? Has this happened to ANYONE here?
A side note: The wheel was pretty much destroyed according to my mechanic (who would not put it back on the vehicle because of liability issues), because the holes had been bored out by the lug nuts. I am not sure if that is necessarily true, because they are aluminum... Can these be fixed? Or, do I have to find a match and buy that too...?
Thanks for reading this incredibly long post and for any help you can give me. I think I'm down to only one viable reason this is happening, if this isn't a manufacturing issue. *Crossing my fingers*
Brendan
Anyway, I digress...
I had really bad upper and lower ball joints and had some issues with handling to start with after purchasing the truck from a dealer (that I would never go back to if they were the only ones selling cars.) I was told by one mechanic that my computer was bad and it was telling my brakes wrong info and I would have to replace the computer, wiring and probably hubs or something like that. I walked out and decided to deal with the strange noises. It always stopped when I needed it to, so I wasn't going to throw all that money at it (especially without a second opinion!) And, no, I never went back to that shop either...
I had all four stock wheels on the truck for about 6 months after purchase. There was a steel wheel and spare tire that was mounted in April 2014 because of a flat tire from the uneven wear of the ball joints. I milked it as long as possible because I didn't have the money to replace the tires. The steel wheel was ugly, but it worked and the tire was brand new. It did not match the stock wheels and the lug nuts were fully exposed, unlike with the covering cap on the stock wheels.
My truck was routinely backed into a parking spot in a parking garage while I worked a 10.5 hour shift since May 2013. In April 2015, I experienced a strange occurrence, in which all of my lug nuts loosened, and I was unaware of it. Within two days, of course, the wheel was about to come off the truck while we were driving down the highway after a night out. After getting up the next morning, I checked the ball joints and they appeared as they always did. However, the tire moved when I leaned up against it to look. I checked, and all six nuts were loose on the steel wheel.
I was a bit freaked out because I had some suspicion, but did not pursue that train of thought even though everyone told me I should. I assumed it was a fluke and set to tightened them back up. One of the stems broke, so I took it to a shop that replaced the stem and fixed the lower ball joints. They said they had never heard of all six nuts loosening spontaneously on a vehicle, and I should be careful. I agreed that it was weird, but I didn't want to think what I was already thinking. I was going to go back to get the uppers changed after I had the money for that. There was still a little movement from the uppers being shot, but nothing like that wheel being loose!
Fast forward into a Sunday in late July 2015. I bought new tires for the truck and had them installed at a Sam's Club (Goodyear 265/75/16 for those that want to know...) on the stock rims. I drove away and still had the movement from the upper ball joints, but the new tread felt great on the tires after getting pretty close to the wire again. Within two days, I had developed what went from a shimmy to a shake to a terrifying ride in an unbalanced washing machine on spin cycle! I immediately took it to the shop (at about 20 mph on the highway) and dropped it off for him to work on it. I called Sam's and told them that they better get their insurance company on the phone.
I got a call after my mechanic took off the cap from the hub and one of the stems fell out onto the floor. All six lug nuts were loose and the stems were chewed up from the nuts. Again?!? Since I had just had the tires installed and the rim put back on the truck, I naturally assumed it was the installer at Sam's who had improperly tightened the lug nuts. I filed a claim with their insurance company. After the investigation was complete, it was determined that the service attendant did in fact properly installed the tires and wheels. They had video documentation of the proper pattern being used to torque them.
My question is, is this something that is common for the left front wheel of the 03 TB? Should I suspect any other reason, other than some manufacturing defect in the original stems after 12+ years, as to why all six lug nuts keep coming loose on that specific wheel? Has anyone else experienced this (even once in their lifetime, much less twice in less that six months!)? Has this happened to ANYONE here?
A side note: The wheel was pretty much destroyed according to my mechanic (who would not put it back on the vehicle because of liability issues), because the holes had been bored out by the lug nuts. I am not sure if that is necessarily true, because they are aluminum... Can these be fixed? Or, do I have to find a match and buy that too...?
Thanks for reading this incredibly long post and for any help you can give me. I think I'm down to only one viable reason this is happening, if this isn't a manufacturing issue. *Crossing my fingers*
Brendan
