and please use their services
Don't overtighten your nuts...
- Thread starter Lyndsey
- Start date
Garry Edwards
Moderator
- Messages
- 12,343
- Name
- Garry Edwards
- Edit My Images
- No
The other side of this is that they must be tight enough...
A few weeks ago I got a garage to fit my spare to the front. I know the guy, he's very conciencious and I saw him use a torque wrench to apply the correct torque, but a few days later the front wheel would have fallen off if I hadn't become concerned at the noise and pulled into a layby to check. All 5 nuts were very loose and 3 were nearly gone.
The car is a big, heavy 4 x 4 that has allow wheels. But the spare wheel is steel, it had surface rust and this had clearly caused the problem
A few weeks ago I got a garage to fit my spare to the front. I know the guy, he's very conciencious and I saw him use a torque wrench to apply the correct torque, but a few days later the front wheel would have fallen off if I hadn't become concerned at the noise and pulled into a layby to check. All 5 nuts were very loose and 3 were nearly gone.
The car is a big, heavy 4 x 4 that has allow wheels. But the spare wheel is steel, it had surface rust and this had clearly caused the problem
OP
- Messages
- 113
- Edit My Images
- Yes
It doesn't bear thinking about what could have happened there @Garry Edwards 
Mine is also a 4x4, bought secondhand recently - so taken in for timing belt as this history was unknown...
I will be honest and say I know very little about cars - I can handle routine maintenance, checking tyre tread depth and looking for wear, topping up fluids etc. But I didn't know that correct torque for wheel nuts was even a 'thing'!!
If something needs doing that we can't sort easily at home, off it goes to the garage, and away I drive when it's done...
Our wheel is now off, new stud into hub (which was a job in itself), and wheel back on... I definitely learned a few new words while the old man was working on it, he has just managed to get to work on time
We live and learn, and though it might seem a bit over the top, I will be asking mechanics that work on my cars in future to tighten up wheel nuts with a torque wrench... And then listening out for funny noises!
Mine is also a 4x4, bought secondhand recently - so taken in for timing belt as this history was unknown...I will be honest and say I know very little about cars - I can handle routine maintenance, checking tyre tread depth and looking for wear, topping up fluids etc. But I didn't know that correct torque for wheel nuts was even a 'thing'!!
If something needs doing that we can't sort easily at home, off it goes to the garage, and away I drive when it's done...
Our wheel is now off, new stud into hub (which was a job in itself), and wheel back on... I definitely learned a few new words while the old man was working on it, he has just managed to get to work on time
We live and learn, and though it might seem a bit over the top, I will be asking mechanics that work on my cars in future to tighten up wheel nuts with a torque wrench... And then listening out for funny noises!
Garry Edwards
Moderator
- Messages
- 12,343
- Name
- Garry Edwards
- Edit My Images
- No
Well, you do get funny noises... it started off with wheel wobble on the motorway, suggesting that the wheel was unbalanced, this got worse and then there were noises, at which point I pulled off the road, suspecting that a wheel bearing had gone, only to find that the nuts were loose.... I don't do any maintenance myself but fortunately did have the wheelbrace supplied with the car, which was good enough to get me to my destination. a 2.5 ton car with only 3 wheels on the M1 might have been a problem
- Messages
- 21,341
- Edit My Images
- Yes
Does he need to drill out the offending stud? Arent they splined into the hub so can be hammered out?
And Garry - knowing your luck, the wheel was probably loose because someone was trying to nick the wheels. Happened to me once and they were disturbed, left them almost undone...
And Garry - knowing your luck, the wheel was probably loose because someone was trying to nick the wheels. Happened to me once and they were disturbed, left them almost undone...
- Messages
- 15,804
- Name
- Neil
- Edit My Images
- Yes
Torqueing a wheel nut is really only necessary to prevent over tightening. Garages generally use rattle guns and too much torque can destroy locking wheel nuts and their sockets, So they set the torque on the rattle gun lower and finish the job with a torque wrench. A normal wheel brace will provide more than enough torque to go the job at home.
OP
- Messages
- 113
- Edit My Images
- Yes
@Byker28i - he had to drill away the remains of the wheel nut to get the wheel off... Then sawed off half the stud and knocked it out of the hub... Then pulled the new one back through with a stack of washers on it to keep it straight - kept him busy for a while, can't have him enjoying a morning off!
- Messages
- 21,341
- Edit My Images
- Yes
Pipe wrench with a little heat to get the collar off. (if you can get at it). Old socket with a large washer and old wheel nut to pull it back through again.
Yup been there also!
- Messages
- 2,080
- Edit My Images
- Yes
I was under the belief that once tightened up, the nuts should be checked and re-torqued after a few miles (think it was 100-200 miles).
Garry Edwards
Moderator
- Messages
- 12,343
- Name
- Garry Edwards
- Edit My Images
- No
You're probably right. The problem started at about 25-30 miles