lost my nuts

[pipes]

A guy came up to me and said YOU have a face like a wrench !.........I said HUH !  He then said every Time I look at you MY nuts tighten up.................Sorry bout that !

[luvrbus]

David, the shop more than likely used the nuts to pull the studs into place instead of a press so they didn't have to remove the hubs pretty common practice with some shops but it stretches the stud.
Read the number on the wheel and go to the wheel manufactures site it will give you the degree of bevel for the nuts and wheels 60,45.and etc 



good luck

[papatony]

 Been therte done that:: I had a road tracter that did the same thing we went through every thing we could think of nothing worked . Finely an older tire man put it on the machine alligned the front end   never had that problem again. Check it out.

[Fred Mc]

A number of years ago I want coming down the Siskuos mountain pass(leaving Oregon to California on I-5) in my GMPD4106 We had just decended and were on the flat when the bus started to vibrate. My son suggested to speed up to see if it would go away. It didn't and I returned to 65 mph. Suddenly all hell broke loose and I saw one wheel go past me and go into the ditch. Another wheel hit a car that was passing me at the time. There was some minor damage to the car. The bus came to a stop resting on a suspension component half way into the median.
What had happened is that the studs holding the left rear duals had all sheared causing the wheels to come off.

After I had the bus repaired and returned home I mentioned this incident to the mechanic who had done some previous engine work for me. His response was "I told you two wheel studs were broken". I either didn't hear him or perhaps thought "I still have eight left". Not sure which.

As for tire shops over tightening nuts , around here they do use air guns but then do the final torquing with a torque wrench.

Oh, and I now pay more attention to sudden vibration in ANY vehicle I drive. Not to mention examining wheels, tires, and nuts on a regular basis. 

[jjrbus]

Now I'm waiting to see the responses of those who insist tire shops know what they are doing. . . . 

It is the bus driver's responsibility to ensure it is safe.
However, that is a task often made difficult by incompetent 'professionals' who talk a good game. . . 

Gave me a good chuckle.  When I first bought my bus I was nervous about people working on It. I took it to Les Schwab in Salem Or.  I bought 2 new Michelan Steer tires and questioned the manager on proper jacking of the bus and such, I wanted to make sure they did things right!  He assured me that his help was highly trained and recieved continuous training and supervision.

I was new and way in over my head and watched as the two highly trained and supervised employee's put my lug nuts on with a 1 inch impact gun! I really had no business being responsible for a 30,000 lb vehicle on a public Hwy.

Of course when I tried to take the tires off it was with a huge pipe and broke a breaker bar. Live and learn.

                                                                                                      JIm

[kyle4501]

I was new and way in over my head . . . . .  I really had no business being responsible for a 30,000 lb vehicle on a public Hwy.

The same can be said for many of us. 
Fortunately, we have this board to assist in learning from others . . . 

[David Anderson]

David, the shop more than likely used the nuts to pull the studs into place instead of a press so they didn't have to remove the hubs pretty common practice with some shops but it stretches the stud.
Read the number on the wheel and go to the wheel manufactures site it will give you the degree of bevel for the nuts and wheels 60,45.and etc  



good luck

Thanks Clifford,  I will check that.  I learn something every day from this forum.

David

[Tony LEE]

As for tire shops over tightening nuts , around here they do use air guns but then do the final torquing with a torque wrench.

Sure they do, but that may not mean very much. Bought some new tyres yesterday and watched the experts at work. Use the rattle gun and then make a big show of marching over to the bench to get the torque wrench. Click, click, click, click, click, click ...... and not a single nut turned even a degree before the click sounded. Job done, torque wrench used. What more could you want.

Experts??

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Well Tony, at least you know that they were torqued at least to whatever the wrench was set to. Only problem is not knowing how much they were over torqued.....10 lbs.? 50 lbs,? 300lbs.? or even more? 

[pipopak]

What would be an appropriate  torque range?.

[bevans6]

I think tony was getting new tires for a car or truck.  The appropriate torque will vary depending on lug size and if it's a nut or a bolt, but it's in the owners manual.  For a bus with Budd wheels, it's 450 - 500 ft lbs.

Brian

[zubzub]

FWIW last spring I needed some new all season tires for my work van.  I hardly ever let other people work on my rides, but I don't have the machine to put install and balance tires, so I'm a the tire shop and I get them to pull the wheels and install tires and re install.   Big mistake!  Last week when I went to change my all seasons wheels for my awesome studded winter wheels.....put my decent 1/2" impact (aprox.400ft/lbs of torque) and not a nut would budge....breaker bar and cheater pipe...still no go.  Had to break out my 3/4" impact with punk tank (supposedly 1200-1400 ft/lbs) and that loosed them.  What a PITA and all 'cause I let the geniuses at the tire store re install the wheels.  just glad I didn't get a flat all summer, as I only have a 1/2" breaker bar and cheater pipe in my van and that would not do the trick.  Live and learn....then learn the same thing again....and again...and again.

[Don4107]

Zub, I hope you don't have the same luck as me.  I had a very similar thing happen on an 89 Suburban.  Took me and my considerable weight and one son on a LONG cheater pipe to break every lug loose.  Later I had broken wheel studs, constant loose wheels, son lost a wheel which also cost a brake rotor and much grief.   

I decided that if it happened again I would take it to the tire shop and INSIST that the manager take the lugs off with the factory supplied lug wrench.  Then let them pay for someone else to properly change all the studs.

Good luck,
Don 4107

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Last summer i bought new tires from a Les Schwab in eastern WA.  I asked the guy how they knew how much to torque the lug nuts to, as i know it varies from rig to rig. He said they had a chart, looked up my jeep and said it was either 95 or 100 lbs. if i remember right.  I told him and showed him that my book showed 75 lbs. and asked that he hand torque, which he did.   Shortly after i bought the jeep, (used), i had a flat tire 2 miles from town while it was raining. It took me 30 minutes to bust the lug nuts loose and i almost gave up on it. Don't know what they had them torqued to, but i have never let anybody use an air gun on any of my rigs since.

[Chopper Scott]

David, the shop more than likely used the nuts to pull the studs into place instead of a press so they didn't have to remove the hubs pretty common practice with some shops but it stretches the stud.
Read the number on the wheel and go to the wheel manufactures site it will give you the degree of bevel for the nuts and wheels 60,45.and etc 



good luck

Easy way around that is to put those studs in the freezer overnight and hang a trouble light on the hub. I do that even when I'm pressing stuff together.