davidcarr
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 posted on 2/2/06 at 02:30 PM |
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Loose nuts - oo err
Sorry that my first real post isn't locost related but ..
I was driving home along the motorway last night when I noticed that the front of my Rover (no ribbing please) started making a strange rumbling at
the front. I slowed down and pulled off at the next junction which was only a couple of hundred yards.
I'd had a flat in the front offside tyre a couple of weeks previously so my first thought was to check there. When I looked, one of the wheel
nuts was missing! and all the others were loose enough to undone by hand!
I went back to the garage that changed the wheel this lunchtime to complain that I could have been killed and all they had to say was that it
wasn't their fault. He reckoned it could have been due to some corrosion between the hub and wheel causing it to untorque. He gave me a new nut
(how generous) but seemed less than willing to give me an apology (if I'd made a mistake I'd be less than willing to admit it too given
the ramifications). The whole thing p****ed me off a little bit since he seemed to be telling me that that happens sometimes and it was my fault
cause it says in small letters at the bottom of the receipt that you should check them after 24 hours/50 miles. This of course absolves them of any
responsibility How convienient.
I guess my question is, am I missing something here? What do you think? Is he right or did they perhaps forget to put one of the wheel nuts on/not
tighten them properly? Has anyone else had this happen? Surely if this happened often, you'd have a lot of dead people!
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graememk
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 02:43 PM |
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i had that happen to me at a local fast fit centre, my gf brought my car back saying its shaking i have a look and it has 4 very loose nuts.
again, its not our fault, didnt you check them mate ?
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britishtrident
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 03:02 PM |
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Known characteristic on Rovers ---
Rovers always need the wheel nuts checked for tightness a few miles after a wheel has been changed --- the stud diameter is a good bit larger than
most cars so the stud dosen't stretch so much with "normal" tightening torque -- as a result if the wheel isn't perfectly
seated when tightened it will be a lot more prone to slackening off. When changing a wheel it is always best to take the car round the block and
recheck the nuts for tightness.
One good thing is once you have heard the sound of a slack wheel once --- you will spot it a lot more quickly next time, its a sound you never forget
;-)
[Edited on 2/2/06 by britishtrident]
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davidcarr
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 03:10 PM |
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Fair nuff, I'll check them when I get home
And you're right. If I'd known my wheel was coming off I wouldn't have carried on that couple-hundred yards, I would have stopped v
quickly indeed.
I wonder how long it would have taken to actually fall off? Seemed to start very suddenly.
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gingerprince
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 03:15 PM |
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quote:
I went back to the garage that changed the wheel this lunchtime to complain that I could have been killed and all they had to say was that it
wasn't their fault.
Whilst they possibly did miss a nut, you'll find that it's standard practice for garages/tyre fitters etc to advise that you check wheel
nuts/pressures after a few miles from fitting. Usually this will be printed on your receipt.
It's to cover their 4rses.
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Danozeman
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 04:57 PM |
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No tyre places use torque wrenches either and often employ monkies to do the work. I took mine to a kwik fit once for a tyre and when they put the
wheel back on i asked them to use a torque wrench. The blank look of the lads face said it all. The foreman did it in the end.
Dan
Built the purple peril!! Let the modifications begin!!
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk
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steve m
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 06:28 PM |
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my Nuts are fine (now!!)
but i did have all 4 spinners on my 2+2 elan decide to unwind them selves at speed, all because of mr 16 yr old tyre expert twit did not know you had
to smack them hard with a hammer after spinning them on,
The excuse given was somthing like
"you dont need to do spinners up very tight because as you drive they do them selves up, because they are handed"
my mates response who was with me, at the time, who had owned a 4.2 e type with wires and spinners
said "fine, you are correct but every time we hit the brakes, they undo themselves"
i always carried a copper mallett after that, and regually gave the all a smack now and then
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muzchap
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 08:07 PM |
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I had the same thing happen on my Lotus Elan - I'd been doing 150mph in it... Then slowed to 30 going through a village and heard a rumbling -
got out - checked everything, then tried the nuts 2 fell off in my hand and the others were pretty loose :-(
Suffice to say - I was panicky...
I think it sucks that you paid good money and they did that. You just don't expect that kind of Shoddy service when dealing with wheels.
My advice - if they treat your wheels like that - don't let them anywhere near the engine
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britishtrident
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 08:23 PM |
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Elan +2S peg drive hubs were put on the wrong way round at the factory -- they were fitted the oppsite way from every other car with knock off
wheels if you swapped the hubs over it curred the problem. --- left handed should have been on the left side, right handed on the right, this is
because braking puts much higher angular decelerations on the spinners than acceleration.
Bit of a swine of a job to swap the hubs -- on fronts the split pins on the bearing adjusting nuts weren't accessible, on the rear the rear
hubs are almost impossible to get off the tapers, but worth doing previous to that I had drilled the spinner ears and used locking wires.
[Edited on 2/2/06 by britishtrident]
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steve m
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| posted on 2/2/06 at 08:56 PM |
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yes, some were wrong, mine were right!!
as i built the car from bits, assuming the lotus manual was correct, err poss not !!
i also wire loced the ears to one of the slots, and never again had a problem
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NS Dev
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| posted on 3/2/06 at 09:13 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Danozeman
No tyre places use torque wrenches either and often employ monkies to do the work. I took mine to a kwik fit once for a tyre and when they put the
wheel back on i asked them to use a torque wrench. The blank look of the lads face said it all. The foreman did it in the end.
Actually, I would strongly dispute this!
I would be the first to criticise "monkey stations", but Two places I have used recently both surprised me.
Firstly an absolute hats off to BRITANNIA TYRES in Hinckley (and other places), for one they are unbelievably cheap (will beat the prices offered by
the online tyre suppliers, and the britannia price is fitted vs unfitted on the net) and secondly their fitters ALWAYS use a torque wrench, well in
fact the fitters back the torque on the windy gun right off, spin the nuts up "nipped", then call their supervisor to finish them off with
the torque wrench.
A mate then got a puncture in Plymouth while we were down there on a job. Nipped into Quick Fit (NOT a place I would normally go!!!!!!!) to get it
sorted, and again they torqued the wheel up properly after checking the mating faces.
Retro RWD is the way forward...........automotive fabrication, car restoration, sheetmetal work, engine conversion
retro car restoration and tuning
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ChrisJLW
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| posted on 3/2/06 at 09:49 AM |
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I release and retorque my wheel nuts every time I have the wheels removed by any garage. I've never had the car back with the correct torque
setting, the last tyre garage used a torque wrench but the spanner monkey was leaning all his weight into it!
I've lived a life that's full.
I've traveled each and ev'ry highway.
But more, much more than this,
I did it side-ah-ways.
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britishtrident
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| posted on 3/2/06 at 02:16 PM |
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Best wrench for wheels is an old fashioned 6 leg wheel spider -- it just gives the right leverage for car & light truck wheels.
Air guns are a dammed menace on wheel nuts.
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craig1410
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| posted on 3/2/06 at 10:25 PM |
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I've had two situations where reputable garages failed to tighten nuts/bolts. The first time it was the wheel nuts which were loose after brake
discs were replaced. Even worse, the second time it was the brake caliper on the nearside which was left hanging by a few threads. One of the
retaining bolts had fallen out and my wife reported a strange "clunking" sound, especially when she was reversing. When I got home that
night I rolled the car back and forward and knew immediately what was wrong. The one remaining bolt was hanging by about 2 threads and this was all
that stood between a clunking noise and total brake failure!!
I went to the garage owner's house that night and demanded that he find me a suitable bolt since I only had one left and the shops were shut. He
was very apologetic and opened up the garage and found me a bolt. I fixed it when I got home but while giving the car a road test the rear engine
mount fell out onto the road!! It hadn't been refitted after the job (clutch change). The next morning I was waiting outside the garage and told
the owner what had happened. He said he would personally go round the whole front of the car with a spanner and he gave me half my money back as a
gesture of goodwill. He handled the issue quite well I think and I think one of his employees was lucky to escape dismissal.
[Edited on 3/2/2006 by craig1410]
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