gazelle Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Just before I pulled onto an urban dual carriageway today a new noise started in the truck. This when away when I pulled away, to be replaced by a vibration from the driver's door! After a bit further the truck became a little more difficult to keep in a straight line at 50 to 60 mph. When I pulled up on the hard shoulder I found that the left rear wheel nuts had all become loose - that is except one which had sheared the wheel stud and lost the nut - so four nuts left and all loose. This was not far away from loosing a wheel. As it is it will need to be a new set of studs, and a new wheel nut to be replaced. So go on lads/lasses check your nuts - you know you want to. Cheers Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 in more ways than one. If you're of a certain age you know what i mean. Two ways to come unstuck here and neither are pleasant. Check both regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 Yep I had this happen to me once, at Hungerford on the way to Sidbury Hill. I had just overtaken a whole row of cars! It cost me plenty in taxi fare to get a replacement hub which I knew was at Sidbury. I had lost 3 nuts but was too new to LRs to think of moving a nut from each hub to limp home. Marc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazelle Posted February 25, 2010 Author Share Posted February 25, 2010 I have had the stud replaced, and stopped to nip up the nuts after a few tens of miles after the repair, and what do I find - the front one on the same side has now got loose nuts too! Both on the passenger side. Anyone got any ideas why this is happening? Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 It sort of sounds like you had a visit last night to relieve you of your wheels, but they were disturbed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 unlikely to come undone by themselves if correctly fitted/torqued up, reckon somebody is messing with your truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazelle Posted February 25, 2010 Author Share Posted February 25, 2010 Up to this week it has been sitting waiting to be repaired in a quagmire which resembles the Somme. I think that if someone was trying to take the wheels or messing they would have started on the dryer side of the truck (only one inch deep in water). The locking nuts have also been loose, but not removed. The nuts are done up with a long torque wrench set to the appropriate value for the type of wheels on at the time, according to the manual. Could it be that the state of the roads in the UK has been so bad recently with edge deterioration and potholes galore causing them to rattle themselves loose? Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diff Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Up to this week it has been sitting waiting to be repaired in a quagmire which resembles the Somme. I think that if someone was trying to take the wheels or messing they would have started on the dryer side of the truck (only one inch deep in water). The locking nuts have also been loose, but not removed. The nuts are done up with a long torque wrench set to the appropriate value for the type of wheels on at the time, according to the manual. Could it be that the state of the roads in the UK has been so bad recently with edge deterioration and potholes galore causing them to rattle themselves loose? Martin It is nearly always the left hand side nuts that work loose. Trucks often have left hand threaded studs and nuts on the left side of the truck. vibration and thr rotation of the wheel can cause them to come undone. Either someone has been tampering, they weren't torqued up quite enough, there was some dirt on the mating face or possibly there was a large temperature difference between hub and wheel when fitted causing a loss of torque on the nuts? Bear in mind that if you have mud tyres and they aren't balanced, there can be harmonic vibration which will help a wheel nut come loose. Regards, Diff Usually there is a root cause of the nuts comming loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean f Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 I had it happen several time on an old series 2, the first time I couldn't work out what was wrong, it just started getting wobbly and kept going, this ended up with 3 nuts coming off, 2 studs being ripped out and the wheel coming off and going down the road on its own, fortunately I was only doing 30 and skidded to a stop on 3 wheels with no other cars or people getting involved, the potential..... Did leave a quite impressive rut in the tarmac down the road though!. I eventually worked out it was rust on the back of the wheel causing it to not sit quite true, or at least after I gave the wheels a bloody good clean it never happened again. After the first time as you can imagine I was (and still am) a bit paranoid about check they were done up tight but it still happend again till I clean the wheels properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazelle Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Thanks guys - I now have something to look at. I know that the mateing faces had some mud still on them when I changed from muds on steel to at on alloys. When I get the chance I will take the wheels off, clean the hubs and put the wheels back on again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zim Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 I've lost a wheel on a car transporter trailer, not a nice experience looking in your mirror to see a wheel rolling down the road G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger90 Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 its not a nice expearence. just as i finished putting my new axles on.. i forgot to torque up the nereside wheel nuts. 30 miles later loast 2 nuts and very nearly lost the other 3.. luckerly no damage to the studs as i have allows.. its very easyely done boys!! cheers sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajh Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Consider lockwire in addition to setting the torque correctly. Drilling is not that difficult and wire them up so they cannot turn, there is a good reason why this is a requirement on race vehicles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Never had it happen to my own vehicle, but my mum had been visiting relatives in liverpool and the brakes failed. She took the car to a local garage who fitted new pads and sent her on the way. She drove the car back up the M6 and when she got home said she'd noticed a weird klonking randomly on the way home. I took it out for a drive to hear the noise, and noticed it only happened when holding a constant speed on the flat, accellerating or braking made the noise stop. Puzzled me for a bit and i thaught i better check the calipers since they'd been off. Went to remove the wheel and all 5 nuts were loose on the passenger side. Perhaps the mud/dirt on the hub has caused them not to seat quite correctly, and once its dried up/fallen out/whatever then the tension has come off the nuts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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