Ugh wheels tightened by an ape

[saaby93]

stuart313 said:

Success.

What did the wheel end up like if youve removed it leaving those 3 nuts on

[Pan Pan Pan]

The tyre company I use in Maldon Essex, actually ask me what torque I want the wheel nuts set to.
The care they take with customer cars is very good, such that I never go anywhere else for tyres tracking etc now.

[stuart313]

saaby93 said:

stuart313 said:

Success.

What did the wheel end up like if youve removed it leaving those 3 nuts on

I put them back in before they ended up down a grid or something, just thought I would get a picture of the bar I had to use, only just undid them as well. Good news on two fronts as well, I walked back up the road and found the trim that had ende up in the bushes after driving on a puncture.

I have now cracked all the nuts and hand tightened them all back up, all of them were well beyond the tightness they need to be. How do people cope that are miles from home in the dark and rain. It seems yet another part of vehicle repairs that are being taken out of the hands of a DIYer.

[MGJohn]

Podie said:

glasgowrob said:

My tyre fitter annoys the hell out of me

Buzzes the wheels up then walks round making sure his torque wrench clicks on each bolt


Had the cheek To moan about my mechanic buzzing the wheels up "don't know why he can't torque them up properly like us"

Really does make you wonder

Yes clueless and it's widespread.

When having pro-work done on my cars such as new tyres fitted, I always ask that my alloy wheel nuts, particularly those with a nice stainless steel capping, are undone and tightened up using manual, not power tools. Apart from over tightening, the numerous impact pulses easily damage the flats making roadside wheel removal difficult or even impossible using the car's tools. As several on this thread have stated.

Shortly before I purchased my MG ZT, the previous owner had paid a few hundred quid to have new pads and discs all round. I suspect overuse/abuse of power tools because the only way I could shift all twenty wheel bolts was by using my 3/4" Breaker bar with a long extension. Totally unnecessary and a sign of lazy-pro incompetence. Can be both inconvenient and worst case, dangerous. Here's what I used and I'm sixteen stone !:~



EDIT to add @ 13:34

Here's what amateur spanner man me with limited access to power tools use to undo stubborn plugs or Bolts. One of the most difficult is the Plug in the PG1 Gearbox fitted to many cars. You need access inside that plug when splitting the gearbox for bearing renewal etc. It has a form of thread lock which is not necessary but using that means it is almost impossible for the DIYer to remove once the gearbox is removed from the car. So I always loosen it whilst the gearbox is still on the car using this set up. Works every time :~



Another bolt which is often overtightened ( not by the factory as on cars I've had from new do not need this sort of set up to remove ) is the 22mm CRANKshaft Pulley Bolt on Rover K-Series. When renewing the timing belt on my son's Rover 25 some years ago I had to use the above overkill set up and then the socket drive to remove it. It had been over tightened in previous ownership. My son sat in the car with it in 5th gear and foot firmly on the brake pedal. Even then it was not easy to undo.:~



This set up was not good enough until the axle stand was used to support the load and effort required to crack the Bolt it was so very tight :~

Edited by MGJohn on Saturday 30th May 13:34

[MGJohn]

mrf said:

I always put a small amount of copper grease on wheel nuts / bolts...

Why

Had more than one car where the bolts sheared rather than come free due to corrosion, ever since, small dab of copper grease, torque up, come undone relatively easily. also always clean up the hub face and copper grease that also to stop the wheel corroding onto it. Better than standing at the side of the road kicking at a wheel to try and break it free on a cold wet night

Me too. Also the hub-wheel interface needs is a thin smear of cooper grease to avoid corrosion welded wheel to hub scenario. A very small amount on the threads of the bolts or studs including the tapers helps too. Grease on the Nut/Bolt Tapers will avoid Nut/Bolt shear off as has happened to two of my family's cars, none of mine. Corrosion can "weld" the taper to the wheel enough to shear it when trying to remove.

You do not want to find as I did about thirty years ago, high up on the moors in the middle of nowhere in your Sunday best on a windy rainy night trying to change a punctured tyre. Cars had full sized spare wheels back then.

That was the first time I came across lazy-pro overtightened wheel nuts on my MG. Somehow managed to remove them only to find the wheel stuck fast corrosion welded to its hub. I did the refit nuts loosened and move the car a short distance which freed the wheel nicely and then soon on my way. Whilst crouched down alongside the wheel, a strong gust of wind blew my coat up over my back which was then blasted by an exceptionally heavily loaded fall of rain soaking right through my shirt and vest to my back. Experiences like that are a harsh teacher. The Gods conspired against me and my partner that night ...


I have never had problems with over tightened nuts and corrosion welded wheel to hubs on any car since. Because soon after getting the cars, even new ones, I check for these things and apply the merest smear of copper grease. Does not take long in the comfort of your own home and job is so much easier then.