Ugh wheels tightened by an ape
Discussion
Bennet said:
I keep a cross brace in every car for this reason. I've never yet had one I couldn't undo with a cross brace. You can apply some serious turning force with a hand at each end. They're about £6 delivered from ebay.
I had a puncture once on a dirt road in outback Queensland : not waay outback, but we had not seen another car all day.Even with a wheelbrace, I ended up propping the free end up and bouncing my full weight on the cross arm to crack the wheelnuts free. I could never have got the wheel off with the standard socket thingy.
I have a wheelbrace in one vehicle, and a nifty extending handle socket extension in the other.
Bennet said:
I keep a cross brace in every car for this reason. I've never yet had one I couldn't undo with a cross brace. You can apply some serious turning force with a hand at each end. They're about £6 delivered from ebay.
About as much as you would with one hand on a bar twice as long. Which would still only be half as long as the one I keep in my car for cracking wheel bolts.The recent spate of monkeys gunning bolts on and then getting an immediate click with the torque wrench really pisses me off. I have before now made one crack them off and do it again, properly.
garage once did the bolts up on my Focus' wheels so tight that when I came to swap a flat, I actually broke the little wrench tool you got in the spare wheel kit. Basically rounded the socket out completely, misshaping and splitting it on one side. I know they're made of cheese, and are generally "use half a dozen times" if you're lucky, but in this case it was totally ineffectual!
Had to then go buy a proper set of sockets to do it and it required 2 people leaning on the damn thing to get them moving.
If that had happened on the hard shoulder....nightmare.
Had to then go buy a proper set of sockets to do it and it required 2 people leaning on the damn thing to get them moving.
If that had happened on the hard shoulder....nightmare.
I had this on my tipper truck, not a single one would undo despite various bars and heating them up. I took it to my mates garage where they managed to undo all but a couple on one wheel which broke the bit on the gun (was a snap on bit) . needless to say I'm dreading that tyre or brake disc or pads to need replacement.
Apparently, Kwik-fit have a procedure that prohibits the use of a gun to tighten the nuts and requires the nut to be hand tughtened and torqued using a torque wrench, then have it checked by another tyre fitter.
I was told this was because using the pneumatic gun, know-one could guarantee the torque was not too high or too low and there had been an accident after a tyre had been changed at a tyre centre somewhere in Europe.
I have just had some tyres fitted here in France and have to take the car back because I cannot undo the bolts !
I was told this was because using the pneumatic gun, know-one could guarantee the torque was not too high or too low and there had been an accident after a tyre had been changed at a tyre centre somewhere in Europe.
I have just had some tyres fitted here in France and have to take the car back because I cannot undo the bolts !
Apparently, Kwik-fit have a procedure that prohibits the use of a gun to tighten the nuts and requires the nut to be hand tughtened and torqued using a torque wrench, then have it checked by another tyre fitter.
I was told this was because using the pneumatic gun, know-one could guarantee the torque was not too high or too low and there had been an accident after a tyre had been changed at a tyre centre somewhere in Europe.
I have just had some tyres fitted here in France and have to take the car back because I cannot undo the bolts !
I was told this was because using the pneumatic gun, know-one could guarantee the torque was not too high or too low and there had been an accident after a tyre had been changed at a tyre centre somewhere in Europe.
I have just had some tyres fitted here in France and have to take the car back because I cannot undo the bolts !
McSam said:
Bennet said:
I keep a cross brace in every car for this reason. I've never yet had one I couldn't undo with a cross brace. You can apply some serious turning force with a hand at each end. They're about £6 delivered from ebay.
About as much as you would with one hand on a bar twice as long. Which would still only be half as long as the one I keep in my car for cracking wheel bolts.The recent spate of monkeys gunning bolts on and then getting an immediate click with the torque wrench really pisses me off. I have before now made one crack them off and do it again, properly.
I often turn my impact wrench to its lowest setting to quickly spin the nuts on then torque them properly afterward. Not the same thing as blasting them mega tight then going round and clicking the wrench which I have seen many tyre places do.
Therein may lie your problem. More pies and lifting iron would sort that out .
vinnie01 said:
soad said:
Do you pump iron, OP? Go to gym so you can build overdeveloped shoulders (and arms!).
Maybe i should I'm 5 feet 4 and 57 kgTurboHatchback said:
I often turn my impact wrench to its lowest setting to quickly spin the nuts on then torque them properly afterward. Not the same thing as blasting them mega tight then going round and clicking the wrench which I have seen many tyre places do.
My impact gun is fairly moderate, and when I'm putting wheels on I can gun it up really briefly to one or two rattles. This then leaves about an eighth of a turn before the specified 110Nm, which is perfect. Minimum effort with the torque wrench, no danger of overtightening.I think its now common place for garages to over tighten nuts and bolts on the wheels..just the way it goes.
what really does grip me is when they use the gun to over tighten the locking wheel nut. it should be done by hand and is used as a security measure over keeping the wheel locked solid on the hub like the other 4... Using a locking nut key that has worn teeth on an over tightened locking nut involves an extraordinary amount of F'ing and Blinding to get off!
what really does grip me is when they use the gun to over tighten the locking wheel nut. it should be done by hand and is used as a security measure over keeping the wheel locked solid on the hub like the other 4... Using a locking nut key that has worn teeth on an over tightened locking nut involves an extraordinary amount of F'ing and Blinding to get off!
I snapped the head off a 2' breaker bar trying to undo the wheels on the missus' Volvo. It took a 6' length of pipe and a cross brace to get them undone and it was like a gun being fired when each came undone, which left the ears ringing.
They'd been done up tight as a bstrd and from the poof of smoke that came out when each came undone, it seemed like the tapered head of the steel bolts had welded themselves to the magnesium/aluminium face of the wheel (galvanic corrosion I think they call it?). I applied copperslip to the tapered surface on the bolts and no problem since.
They'd been done up tight as a bstrd and from the poof of smoke that came out when each came undone, it seemed like the tapered head of the steel bolts had welded themselves to the magnesium/aluminium face of the wheel (galvanic corrosion I think they call it?). I applied copperslip to the tapered surface on the bolts and no problem since.
These days I always carry a steel pipe to slip on the end of the spanner for extra leverage (honestly officer). What I believe the Americans call a cheater bar.
I've been stuck before because I couldn't get the damn wheel nuts off. Even bouncing my full weight on the end of the standard jack, all I achieved was a bent jack. I had to call dad's cabs out that time.
I've been stuck before because I couldn't get the damn wheel nuts off. Even bouncing my full weight on the end of the standard jack, all I achieved was a bent jack. I had to call dad's cabs out that time.
ShiresV2 said:
They'd been done up tight as a bstrd and from the poof of smoke that came out when each came undone, it seemed like the tapered head of the steel bolts had welded themselves to the magnesium/aluminium face of the wheel (galvanic corrosion I think they call it?). I applied copperslip to the tapered surface on the bolts and no problem since.
Er. That's not a good idea. The torque setting will be for a specified condition (eg probably dry, clean nuts/bolts) to achieve a specified clamping force by using copperslip on them you have reduced the friction and so effectively massively over-tightened them...Podie said:
RobM77 said:
3. Most people these days won't do wheelnuts themselves, it'll just be tyre centres and garages doing them with powered tools, which will happily undo a 300lb-ft wheel nut.
This.People are too lazy and just use powered tools.
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