LUG NUTS that is... I was driving down the high way today in a Coronet I just bought and a wheel almost flew off. Luckily I felt something weird and pulled off. ALL the lug nuts were loose on the whole car! The front right was the worst, they were all finger tight and one was missing. I never thought to make sure they were tight when I hopped in and drove off, it was the last thing on my mind at the time. I sure will from now on though. ...So just as a warning, Check all the stupid stuff that you would never think to check when driving off in a new Old car that you have never driven. It might save your life.
It was before my time, but the shop I work at had just put the finishing touches on a full restoration on a 66 Chevelle. They supposedly had the clean up guy install the wheels and tighten the lug nuts. Well, on the way down the hill into town the right rear wheel flew off and did some pretty nasty work to the quarter!
I checked mine this mornin',,,they are still there! Seriously,,I heard a noise went I was driving my truck and stopped at a light last summer and eased off and the noise stopped only to start again when I gave it the gas. I got home and eased the truck back and forth and the noise continued,,,I removed the passanger hubcap and out fell a lug nut,,,, I started trying to tighten up the others and they were all tight,,,no movement,,,on 19 out of 20,,,one came completely off,,,,I guess I just missed one,,,not any trouble since! HRP
I had a wheel come off of my '53 Ford once at speed when I was about 18, and to this day I am horrified of losing a wheel, I have to check them and recheck them. Didn't damage the car too much but I was shaking for an hour. What year Coronet?
You have got to be joking did you fail physics .the only reason that cars dont come with leftys today is gorillas twisted every one off . chrysler found out the hard way ya cant fix stupid .c
Happened to me last month....plow truck, sheared the studs, wallowed my new aluminum wheel, and is making for an even longer winter.
I lost a wheel once because of the big "Schwabby" shop put the wrong wheels on my '59 pickup. Seems the wheels were incompatible with the riveted drums. I made it 15 miles and then suddenly my front tire passed my truck and took off down a side road. Thank god I had a worn out gutless 235 slinger in that truck, I hate to think what would have happened at speed. Coincidentally, I'm not the only one who this has happened to. Big tire stores don't always do the best followup, twice my uncle tossed tires off his shop pickup, once he was way out in the woods...not cool.
I had the guys a Sears balance my Tires ONCE, and as I pull out on the street I heard my wheel scrape the fender stoped to check and there wasn't even one nut on the wheel. Went back to the shop and the guy was standing there with a dumb look on his face and the nuts in his hand. I guess that was the stupid side of Sears.
Drugasm and Squablow : Its a 67 Coronet 440 2 door hard top. Stangernwings: Im not joking, Im not afraid to ask questions, and I never took Physics. And the idea makes since to me now. but I still think its a stupid Idea to make half the lug nuts on the car different than the other half. Unless your going to run 600 MPH on the salt flats or something RodStRace: typo
I was a service manager in dealerships for twenty years, 3 different times techs forgot to tighten the lugs on different customer cars, and yes the wheels came off!!!! People make mistakes, like leaving the drain plugs loose, or not checking to make sure the old oil filter seal comes off with the old filter before installing the new oil filter! It's the simple jobs that end up costing you the most, everyone double checks the big stuff, (torque specs. when building engines etc). One more big problem that happened often, over torqing the lug nuts so it was impossible for customers to change a flat after tire work done in dealership! USE TORQUE STICKS....
Last summer I had new tires put on the wifes carravan, Had them on there 1800 miles. She was coming home from town with 5 daycare kids in the car and said it felt like she had a flat, got out and looked , did not see a flat tire so proceeded home. Lucky she was only 3 blocks from home doing 20 mph when the drivers front wheel fell off.she got it stopped, but the tire proceeded to roll along, bounce off the front of an old mini truck and into a yard over a 6 ft fence. All the studs were sheared off. She had the van towed to the tire dealer, they paid to replace the studs, worn down ball joint, from skidding along on it, plus whatever other suspention stuff it needed, then the body shop for a front fender and touch up the paint. They were having trouble finding a repacement wheel, so we also got a complete set of wheel from them. She was lucky she was not on the freeway when it let go!! she
I have a friend who runs a local tire store. Nothing leaves there without being checked with a torque wrench. They used air impacts for years but starting getting warped rotors on the newer cars and loose wheels.
Once a month baby! Everytime I check tire presure. Which reminds me... I ask my wife to do it but she's a perv! (Not my nuts doll, the cars!)
I had the rear wheel come off my Farm tractor once-can't figure out still how exactly all 8 log nuts worked loose, but it's hard to tell on my tractor if it even has the wheels on so I didn't feel it work loose and it was the left side and I always watch what I'm hauling over my right. Lifting a fluid filled tire on a 28" wheel to put it back on, on a hillside, was a good lesson.
I check them when I get new tires as they are usually too tight. I have to use a cheater pipe on a 4 way to loosen, then hand tighten. I'd hate to have a flat and be unable to get wheel off.
I lost them all off the drivers side last year going to a show. Got lucky that the truck sits so low that the wheel can't come out. Dam Spider Caps!!!
Most folk don't know what that means, I will NEVER pick a fight with someone that can do that. When I was a kid I use to wrestle skidder tires off of Clark Ranger 666's.
Why is it that the wheel always picks up speed after it comes off? And it's not because the car is slowing down, either. Damn, they sure can go a looong way, can't they! I sent an L60-15 on a mag down a road a ways, across a busy highway, across a pasture, finally stopped in a creek.
The Jalopy Journal
