Wheel fell off near Scipio Utah (1 Viewer)

[Stuparman]

I just had my front passenger wheel fall off going 80mph down hwy 15 in Utah. The wheel studs sheared off. I'm looking for ideas on where to take for repairs.

Edit: all fixed up. Any ideas what would cause all 6 wheel studs to break? Torque was checked before trip, went from Washington to Arkansas and made it back to Utah before the break. Mostly driving 70-80mph.
We were exceptionally lucky for where it happened. Yesterday was driving through the Navajo and Hopi lands in Arizona, very remote with few services.

 

[ikarus]

Sorry to see that. Are you heading north?

In SLC, you could take it to a few places but they're most likely closed til Monday.

- State Automotive

State Automotive

State Automotive's expert mechanics provide auto repair for all types of cars, trucks and SUVs at our facilities in Midvale, Utah.

www.stateautomotiveutah.com

- Geoffrey Beers at Agility Customs, he's their Toyota expert

Geoffrey Beers

Geoffrey Beers is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Geoffrey Beers and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.

www.facebook.com

https://www.agilitycustoms.com/

- Impulse Offroad

Impulse Offroad - Off Road Custom Shop in Murray, UT

Impulse Offroad is an off road shop in Murray, UT specializing in 4x4 suspension, tires & wheels, gears & axles, and off-road accessories.

impulseoffroad.com

- A Rusted Development

A Rusted Development

We are your locally owned automotive repair and tire shop that specializes in 4x4 vehicles and general automotive repair.

ardoffroad.com

- Brandon Ashcraft, mechanic

Brandon Ashcraft

Brandon Ashcraft is on Facebook. Join Facebook to connect with Brandon Ashcraft and others you may know. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected.

www.facebook.com

Of course you can get parts from Cruiser Outfitters
- Cruiser Outfitters - Google Search - https://g.co/kgs/cXR9MPC

You can also join this FB group and people will be able to help you out:

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

www.facebook.com

 

[CharlieS]

You could probably do it in a hotel parking lot, if you have a tool kit.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

We have all the parts you need @ Cruiser Outfitters, new, used, complete wheel hubs, etc

I'm in California playing with GX550's. Let me spool up something at the shop.

 

[Stuparman]

I was able to get towed off the freeway, borrowed a floor jack from the tow driver. His son fetched some new studs and lug nuts for me and I did a roadside repair. Should be good to get home, but my front end is apparently due for a thorough rebuild.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

@Stuparman, shoot me a PM. I've got a parts engineer (Olly) who has built pleeeeeeeennnty of 80 axles and owns an 80. He'll get you setup!

PM me your phone number.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I was able to get towed off the freeway, borrowed a floor jack from the tow driver. His son fetched some new studs and lug nuts for me and I did a roadside repair. Should be good to get home, but my front end is apparently due for a thorough rebuild.
View attachment 3606681

View attachment 3606708

Copy, glad to hear it's mobile.

 

[Stuparman]

Copy, glad to hear it's mobile.

I appreciate the help. I rebuilt my front end with parts from you guys years ago, but neglected to replace the wheel studs. Guess the factory ones wear out around 196k. I think I'll be in for a 24 pack when I get home.

 

[DivByZero]

Oh damn! To go to your question of what could cause this, the bolts clearly fatigued. Only two reasons I can think why that would happen:

1. Lug nuts were over-torqued and caused the bolts to stretch, leading to poor/inconsistent clamping force along the threads, combined with the weakened metal resulting in failure.
2. Incorrect lugnuts/wheel type or fitment, causing lateral movement against the sides of the studs, resulting in fatigue and fracture over time.

Some pics of the wheels and hardware involved would help determine what went wrong. From the pics I can see of the broken studs, it doesn't seem like there was corrosion or anything else in play, the bolts are just straight up sheared. Something caused them to exceed their mechanical limits.

 

[Stuparman]

Oh damn! To go to your question of what could cause this, the bolts clearly fatigued. Only two reasons I can think why that would happen:

1. Lug nuts were over-torqued and caused the bolts to stretch, leading to poor/inconsistent clamping force along the threads, combined with the weakened metal resulting in failure.
2. Incorrect lugnuts/wheel type or fitment, causing lateral movement against the sides of the studs, resulting in fatigue and fracture over time.

Some pics of the wheels and hardware involved would help determine what went wrong. From the pics I can see of the broken studs, it doesn't seem like there was corrosion or anything else in play, the bolts are just straight up sheared. Something caused them to exceed their mechanical limits.

My guess would be over torqued. Ive mostly used a torque wrench, but I'm sure over the years I've hit em with the impact a bit too hard. The wheels and lug nuts were factory cone style. Wheel holes didn't appear worn at all.

 

[BILT4ME]

Wow!
Glad you're ok.

That could've been ugly.

I just finished my rear axle. Will start the front in a couple weeks.
This is my major PM cycle. I rebuilt everything at 225K, now I have 356K and I decided to replace all wheel studs as well. I don't think they've ever been changed.

 

[greentruck]

My guess would be over torqued. Ive mostly used a torque wrench, but I'm sure over the years I've hit em with the impact a bit too hard. The wheels and lug nuts were factory cone style. Wheel holes didn't appear worn at all.

The later alloy wheels used the washer style nuts. IIRC, the earlier ones did use cone style, but not sure what year that changed. Guess it's not a factor here, but it is something to be cautious about in case others reading this aren't aware of this changeover. The lug nuts must match the wheels.

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Don't rule out foul play.

I lost a wheel after hiking a remote trail in the grand canyon. At first I blamed it on driving 30 miles of road with deep ruts made by a truck with a wider wheel base than my. I figured the ruts were wedging my wheels apart and caused the lug nuts to fatigue.

But I equally suspect foul play. I had been hiking for 2 days and when I returned to the trailhead somebody had piled a bunch of trash on my hood and put a bunch of logs in front of the rig.

My belief now is some tree hugger didn't like seeing my big gas guzzler offroad vehicle at the trailhead and decided to loosen some lug nuts.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

My belief now is some tree hugger didn't like seeing my big gas guzzler offroad vehicle at the trailhead and decided to loosen some lug nuts.

A littering treehugger who had also driven in and had the correct lug nut wrench to loosen yours? Seems unlikely to me, although 6 going all at once for OP is a bit suspicious.

Could this have happened due to a loose wheel bearing?

 

[simple]

That's happened to me twice now over the years (was never foul play lol) in two different vehicles. Caught it before the wheel fell off in both cases. Fatigue can happen for any number of issues. Glad everyone is ok and I'm sure you'll change out all your lug studs.

 

[Marco Lau]

Don't rule out foul play.

I lost a wheel after hiking a remote trail in the grand canyon. At first I blamed it on driving 30 miles of road with deep ruts made by a truck with a wider wheel base than my. I figured the ruts were wedging my wheels apart and caused the lug nuts to fatigue.

But I equally suspect foul play. I had been hiking for 2 days and when I returned to the trailhead somebody had piled a bunch of trash on my hood and put a bunch of logs in front of the rig.

My belief now is some tree hugger didn't like seeing my big gas guzzler offroad vehicle at the trailhead and decided to loosen some lug nuts.

Treehuggers and Billy Bobs are like oil and water.... maybe its not the rig..lol

 

[Rifleman]

Stuparman Losing a front steering tire at 70 MPH definitely qualifies as a BIG TIME oh sh!t moment, Then surviving it without a scratch, or totaling your truck, I'd say a thank you prayer to the big man upstairs just might be in order​