Wheels sheared x 2

Tom from Ontario · Jul 1, 2011

Son's Taurus lost a right front wheel, took rotor and bearing with it. Yesterday in my 2005 Focus wheel and tire go zooming off into a wheat field. Both cases, studs sheared off. Mechanics scratching heads. Anyone else had this happen? Need wider opinions.

toadady · Jul 1, 2011

steel or aluminum wheels? if it was steel, i'dd say over use of impact over the years/improper torque,

if was alum. i'dd say wrong nuts, or again inproper torque alu. wheels are picky picky when it comes to wheel tighting

hd6gtom · Jul 1, 2011

Tom if they are aluminum wheels and if they have been off recently, I would think the lugnuts had not been retightened. Remember ALL aluminum wheels MUST be retightened after 5 miles. I have seen them come loose in 1 or 2 miles of driving, even after torquing with a torque wrench that was recalabrated every 60 days.

glennster · Jul 1, 2011

we see it quite a bit with aluminum wheels. like the other guys said, re-torque after the first 5 miles, then at 50, then at 100 mi. generally 75-8o ft lbs.

Russ from MN · Jul 1, 2011

After reading this thread a few minutes ago I remembered I had just rotated my truck tires about 500 miles ago, a Silverado 1500 with aluminum wheels. As I hope to leave on another 500 mile trip today I went out and checked the torque on the lug nuts, no problem, most did not move, a few just slightly. I think if they are installed the first time correctly this is not neccesary. I put a little anti-seize on them and run them up to a low torque with an impact and then go around them twice with a torque wrench, and no problems.

Brad Buchanan · Jul 1, 2011

Could be lugs were overtorqued. My son was hand torqueing the lugs on his v-8 Jeep Cherokee and when we pulled it apart to change the hub founs the lugs at 175 to 180 ft/lbs, compared to the proper torque, 100 ft/lbs.

The studs were visibly stretched and we replaced all of them.

I use a fairly low power air wrench on my shop for wheels (CP734) and you have to have a light touch to avoid going past the proper torque before adjusting with the torque wrench

Brad

Bob · Jul 1, 2011

"when we pulled it apart to change the hub founs the lugs at 175 to 180 ft/lbs, compared to the proper torque, 100 ft/lbs."

The torque it takes to LOOSEN the nuts has NO bearing on how tight they were originally tightened!

We run a couple of pickups with aluminum wheels, and ALWAYS torque the lugnuts to "spec", yet, if they are on therefor a while you think you are going to break the lugwrench before they come loose.

And, yes, we use a bit of anti-seize.

Brad Buchanan · Jul 1, 2011

Right you are...I wasn't clear on that. We suspected that the lugs were not torqued properly and I had him tighten them as usual, applied the torque wrench and increased until the lug moved.

Brad

Phil in Pa · Jul 1, 2011

Wheel lugs are like oil filters. Everybody over-tightens them. I try to avoid having a shop do that stuff for me.

dgasper · Jul 1, 2011

You've picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel!

elmersooner · Jul 1, 2011

I would check the other wheels on those vehicles and do a whodunnit to make sure no more wheels fall off. I have seen studs stretched from impacts and they fail suddenly without warning--not so much as a wobble.. the loose aluminum could also be the problem, but I think they would give a little wobble before failure...just a thought.

GVSII · Jul 1, 2011

(quoted from post at 06:52:08 07/01/11) Son's Taurus lost a right front wheel, took rotor and bearing with it. Yesterday in my 2005 Focus wheel and tire go zooming off into a wheat field. Both cases, studs sheared off. Mechanics scratching heads. Anyone else had this happen? Need wider opinions.

Improper torqueing procedures used in both cases.

Tramway Guy · Jul 1, 2011

Have you ever had the torque wrench checked/recalibrated???

Kirk Grau · Jul 1, 2011

Have an old beater "90 S10 I use around the acreage here with farm tags. Had a flat tire earlier this spring so changed to the spare and took the mounted tire into the tire shop for a repair. They repaired it, put it back on the truck, and I drove it around for about a week and a half. A little unnerving to be rolling down the road and have the wheel fall off and go spinning madly any which way. Have been grateful ever since that nobody was coming down the road. Had stopped earlier trying to find the odd noise, sounded like mud flaps hitting a wheel. Walked the mile home and dragged it back to my driveway with the tractor loader traveling backwards. Lug studs were all messed up from the wheel banging around. Never knew a tire shop to not get them so tight it took a gorilla to get them loose, but that is what it seems like to me.

Kirk

big hunter · Jul 1, 2011

when I was 16 through 18 years old I had a 1966 chrysler new yorker got a flat tire on the right front. I started loosening the nuts...I thought man ole man these are on here tight, so I put my farmer muscles to work and rung the first on off. I thought geesh these things are old. So I went to the next one and rung it off...I thought geesh maybe I try turning them the other way. The last three came off no problem... Ding Dong
I ran the car around like that for a week or so.

Tom from Ontario · Jul 1, 2011

Taurus had had brakes done in licenced shop, they fixed it N/C. Focus had not had wheel off since swapping out winter tires and they were torqued to 100 by me and checked 50 miles later.

elmersooner · Jul 1, 2011

is someone out to get you?, I would definitely check that possibility. wouldn't put it past my wife if I brought another project home.

Wheels sheared x 2

Tom from Ontario

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toadady

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hd6gtom

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glennster

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Russ from MN

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Brad Buchanan

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Bob

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Brad Buchanan

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Phil in Pa

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dgasper

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elmersooner

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GVSII

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Tramway Guy

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Kirk Grau

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big hunter

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Tom from Ontario

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elmersooner

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