Nothing is too simple to screw up!

[M14]

I took my car to the dealer yesterday to have a vibration and noise investigated, which I thought was probably the result of some brake work recently done. As it turns out, two of my wheels were about to fall off, with a couple of lug bolts backed way out, and the others loose enough to allow wheel movement. Guess who the nitwit was who last removed the wheels? That's right....me! I still can't explain it. Whenever I do anything that involves removing wheels, the first thing I do is place the torque wrench in front of the tool box where I can't miss it. I mess with cars so often, I can't honestly say I specifically remember doing it that time, but it is my steadfast practice. As stupid as this was, it could have turned out much worse, so I'm lucky I guess. Anyway, it was certainly a reminder to me to take nothing for granted, and always do mechanical work in a disciplined manner, in an effort to avoid such an error. Now I guess I'll have to bribe my tech to never mention my name in connection with this embarrassing little episode.

[schnell325]

I've never ever done that.

[jonasaurus]

Thankfully nothing bad came of it!

[ersin]

DOH!

[Krozi]

That would have totally ruined your day lol...

Whenever I take the wheels off I re-check and double check before I lower the car again....been thinking of buying new lug bolts since I've removed and replaced them so many times.

[ersin]

Originally Posted by Krozi

...
Whenever I take the wheels off I re-check and double check before I lower the car again...

Really? I lower the car first then torque the bolts. It's easier as the wheel doesn't turn when it's on the ground.


Cheers.

[aznclickster]

glad you didn't get hurt

[JCtx]

Yep, always torque wheels on the ground. And to make sure I torqued ALL lug nuts/bolts properly, always go around the car one last time with the torque wrench when I'm done so I hear the 20 'clicks' again . By the way, always remember to wait at least 10 seconds after tightening each lug nut/bolt to preserve torque wrench accuracy .

And don't worry OP; we all do/did stupid things at one time. Best wishes for the new year folks.

[ersin]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

...By the way, always remember to wait at least 10 seconds after tightening each lug nut/bolt to preserve torque wrench accuracy .

Didn't know this. Thanks for the tip.

Happy New Years.

[nitro]

i did the same thing a couple of years back... BUT TO MY MOTORCYCLE!!! Was tightening the chain and apparently didn't torque the rear wheel properly. for days, everytime i stopped i would hear this knocking sound.. so i took it to the shop to get it checked out and the tech told me it was my rear wheel... moving everytime i stopped hard...

[Krozi]

Originally Posted by ersin

Really? I lower the car first then torque the bolts. It's easier as the wheel doesn't turn when it's on the ground.


Cheers.

Well yea, I drop the car down, torque the wheels, then raise it back up to see if everything is flush and properly installed. Using the star pattern is very important too.

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by Krozi

Using the star pattern is very important too.

Excellent point . And not only that, but first do it at 50 lb/ft, then full torque (I do 85). No need to retorque IMO unless they're brand new wheels.

[Race_Doc11]

Happend to me when I had the Vette....I drove for 2 days and almost got killed on the highway. All the lug bolts where loose on the driver side back wheel and could be taken off by hand. I ended up tighting them and I ended up paying nothing and the bill was over a $1000.

Originally Posted by M14

I took my car to the dealer yesterday to have a vibration and noise investigated, which I thought was probably the result of some brake work recently done. As it turns out, two of my wheels were about to fall off, with a couple of lug bolts backed way out, and the others loose enough to allow wheel movement. Guess who the nitwit was who last removed the wheels? That's right....me! I still can't explain it. Whenever I do anything that involves removing wheels, the first thing I do is place the torque wrench in front of the tool box where I can't miss it. I mess with cars so often, I can't honestly say I specifically remember doing it that time, but it is my steadfast practice. As stupid as this was, it could have turned out much worse, so I'm lucky I guess. Anyway, it was certainly a reminder to me to take nothing for granted, and always do mechanical work in a disciplined manner, in an effort to avoid such an error. Now I guess I'll have to bribe my tech to never mention my name in connection with this embarrassing little episode.