Ever had your wheel come off at 55 MPH? I did... (1 Viewer)

[Dozer18]

I have had this happen TWICE in new to me 40s. First time I was headed home from work only a few hundred yards from the house and the left rear wheel falls into the wheel well. I put it in 4wd and dragged it into a parking lot. Spent the next hour or two putting new studs on in the rain. Got it home and decided I'd put a new fuel filter on (diesel) since I was already wet. To make a long story short next thing you know the cruiser is rolling down my drive without me in it and ends up on its side. That was a bad day. Second time I had just merged onto the highway in rush hour morning traffic, I get up to speed, feel a crash and the left rear wheel passes me and goes over the next overpass. I held up traffic that morning. Wheel ended up in an empty parking lot two hundred yards down the road. Fortunately it didn't hit anyone's car.

That's a heck of a story, man! Definitely a bad day, but as long as nobody gets hurt, every day with your Cruiser is a good day!

 

[SteveH]

I once left the studs loose on my FJ60 and my wife told me the front wheel was clunking when she returned from her commute, and indeed they were loose - and a couple were gone.

Ever after, I have left off the wheel center cap (from every car) until I do the final lug nut torque. That way, you have a visual indicator that 'you're not done yet' - as far as torquing the lugs. You can even hide the center caps in your garage, in case you get mentally lazy (or old). Ironically, the miserably-designed center caps on an FJ60/2 prevent this very approach, but I use it on all my other vehicles.

 

[roma042987]

I worked as a line mechanic for a dealer for 6 years where this kind of stuff was not acceptable. what I personally started doing was hand starting the lug nuts only one or two threads on each wheel. Then I would come back with an impact (with torque extension) and tighten each wheel. This way if I somehow left a wheel loose it would be apparent as soon as you tried to move the vehicle as opposed to somewhere down the road.

 

[mattressking]

Crazy, I've seen it happen, but never had it happen to me before...Big fan of two checks per wheel with torque wrench. Doing that, has been great since I first started working on cars back in high school.

I do recognize Ffx Pkwy, used to commute up and down that everyday. Whereabout on 286 was it?

 

[Dozer18]

Crazy, I've seen it happen, but never had it happen to me before...Big fan of two checks per wheel with torque wrench. Doing that, has been great since I first started working on cars back in high school.

I do recognize Ffx Pkwy, used to commute up and down that everyday. Whereabout on 286 was it?

It was in Burke, southbound towards South Run. Amazing that the wheel didn't hit someone else on that road...