OK How many have changed there own wheel?

[babell2]

I have a left front flat on my MCI-9.  I have been trying to break loose the lugs with little success until today.

The big question is How many of you know the left side lugs on an MCI are LEFT HANDED THREAD? !!!! Are the duals the same on the left?

The last time I ran accost this was a 1960 ish Chrysler and I broke the stud off then. I think I was ~16

Brice

P.S.  "BK" you don't count I know you have.

[luvrbus]

Just about everybody knows stud pilot wheels on trucks or buses on the left side are left handed tells you that on the end of the stud

good luck

[Busted Knuckle]

LOL! OK Brice, yes I have and yes MCI's and most SOB's (some other brands) are also this way on all the older buses with "budd" or "stud piloted" wheels.
Newer "hub piloted" wheels have all off them standard threads.
 BK  

[artvonne]

  In the "real" world, if a manufacture uses left hand threads on the left hand side, they  do so on ALL the axles.

  But not Oshkosh. No way! I struggled with the rear duals, broke two sockets and bent a breaker bar before I figured it out. I had just done the front and those are righties, gosh darnit was I mad.

  But I was warned. Stamped ever so lightly in the ends of the studs is a poor example of an "L". Poor example because both lines making up the "L" are equal length so it lools like a arrow. l_. Poor example because its so light you wouldnt notice it without getting your eyeball right up to it.

[babell2]

Just about everybody knows stud pilot wheels on trucks or buses on the left side are left handed tells you that on the end of the stud

good luck

I guess I am now "just about everybody". This thing has a learning curve to it and I think I am just a little behind the curve.

Brice

[babell2]

  In the "real" world, if a manufacture uses left hand threads on the left hand side, they  do so on ALL the axles.

  But not Oshkosh. No way! I struggled with the rear duals, broke two sockets and bent a breaker bar before I figured it out. I had just done the front and those are righties, gosh darnit was I mad. 

I just hope that the torque multiplier I was using hasn't stretched the studs and made them un serviceable.

Brice

[Len Silva]

Just about all of us know that, and just about all of us learned it the same damn way you did.

[artvonne]

I just hope that the torque multiplier I was using hasn't stretched the studs and made them un serviceable.

Brice

  Once they snug up to the rim/wheel, and you go round snugging them all by hand, they shouldnt turn much further when you torque them, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 turn and you should be pretty tight. If they seem to turn farther before really getting tight, I would start questioning it. However, those studs are extremely strong, stronger than most the tools your using.

  I would recheck them at 10 miles, 20, 50, 75, 100, then every 100 till 500, then at 500 mile intervals. Or whatever makes sense to you. If they are trouble it will likely show up sooner than later. If you really question it, replace them. If they are loose each time where you can tighten them more than 1/4 turn, by the third time I would be hitting a truck and tire shop.

[luvrbus]

Just wait till you guys get a MCI 12 prison bus that has 5 stud pilot and 5 hub pilot on the same wheel those are fun

[robertglines1]

More surprises to come!!

[luvrbus]

A little trick that has been used for years for checking loose nuts is spray the nuts and studs with water if loose the will show rust streaks in a short time

good luck

[fe2_o3]

I learned it once on a 1950 Studebaker. Second time I learned it on a 1957 Chrysler. That lesson was more expensive, so it finally stuck. I'm a slow learner...Cable

[robertglines1]

be very careful if you fix yourself. There is a reason tire shops have cages.

[Oonrahnjay]

be very careful if you fix yourself. There is a reason tire shops have cages.   

     Yeah, this is not a simple or easy subject.  I recently put 6 wheels/tires on my bus.  I had help from a good but small-statured mechanic.   We were in a comfortable shop on a concrete floor with good light and plenty of tools.  But I immediately became thoroughly convinced that doing that job on a on the side of a road on soft, muddy dirt in the rainy dark was NOT something I wanted to do.
     I did have a great advantage in that an experienced mechanic friend (who is familiar with those buses) had taken the wheels off before they went to the tire shop.  He knew that the left threads were there; he showed me the "R" and "L" on the nuts (not on the studs, but at least they were marked).  I cleaned the nuts, painted them with POR and separated them into two cut-off two-liter soda bottles.  So, the thread thing is a bullet that I dodged - it's nice to have that happen once in a while.

[Chopper Scott]

Wait until you find a righty on the left side!! Probably a good idea to really check out the ends of the studs for that infamous L or R engraving. Consider yourself lucky. I've charged people money for that information!!!