Reminder-Torque Your Lugs!

[LibertyTC]

Safety reminder to torque the lugs & locks folks!
Set at 105 lbs, a total of 5 needed re-torquing after one month of driving.
Also with fall and cooler weather, the tires were down a couple of lbs.
(good time to replace wiper blades too)
41722[/ATTACH]"]

You must be registered for see images attach

My silent armors are set at 38psi and use McGuard lugs.
41724[/ATTACH]"]

You must be registered for see images attach

Going to make it a habit to check the lugs and pressure once a month or anytime before and after an off road trip or long highway drive.

 

[tjkj2002]

Only once a month? I check mine weekly.

 

[Phil + Neela]

Only once a month? I check mine weekly.

Monthly? oh, um... [footsteps] [front door slams]

 

[Slava]

What size of Silent Armor do you run?

 

[yellocoyote]

I've had a couple of recent instances where mine have loosened on their own. Now I check them often.

Had a friend who was following us back from NE WI last weekend, towing his XJ on a trailer with a Chevy 2500 lose a wheel doing 65 mph on the highway. eek2.gif. Scary stuff. Luckily everyone was okay... but it certainly makes me more conscious of the lugs on the Jeep. Here's what his rotor looked like afterwards...

You must be registered for see images

 

[Phil + Neela]

I've had a couple of recent instances where mine have loosened on their own. Now I check them often.

Had a friend who was following us back from NE WI last weekend, towing his XJ on a trailer with a Chevy 2500 lose a wheel doing 65 mph on the highway. eek2.gif. Scary stuff. Luckily everyone was okay... but it certainly makes me more conscious of the lugs on the Jeep. Here's what his rotor looked like afterwards...

You must be registered for see images

I always wondered what would happen...

When I first started driving, my '84 BMW started vibrating really bad on the highway. I pulled over and found that I was missing 3 of 5 lug bolts on the driver's front wheel and one more on the back. :freak3: I creatively switched up the lug bolts until I could get some replacements. I was paranoid from then on and checked often with that car and always wondered what would have happened had I lost a wheel. Now I know.

 

[LibertyTC]

What size of Silent Armor do you run?

245-65R-17inch

 

[LibertyTC]

SO Jayme what happened to the fellow in the 2500, had to get towed into shop? Or was a roadside rotor replaced? U had to to get parts or what?
You are right ..luckily no one was injured as a wheel coming off can make a horrendous accident in a hurry.

 

[tommudd]

Always thought this was another one of those "common sense" things that everyone knew they should do, part of owning a vehicle. :shrug:
Course in 47 years of driving never had any lug nuts every need retightning

 

[jasond37]

I almost found out the hard way myself. Quite a few years ago I did my standard swap from winter rims/tires to summer rims/tires. I must have been in a hurry or something, but didn't torque down the rear passenger lugs. I drove it for 3 miles, just a road test to my brother's house. When I rounded the corner to his drive the wheel made some terrible noise and I stopped in my tracks. Got out and found the wheel half on the bolts all crooked, with three lugs in the road. I was only going 10-15 mph. I sure lucked out that day. It didn't vibrate or give me any indication it was loose, not until it almost fell off. I have a checklist now when doing things like that, even for when I change my oil. I think I am a bit forgetful!

 

[yellocoyote]

SO Jayme what happened to the fellow in the 2500, had to get towed into shop? Or was a roadside rotor replaced? U had to to get parts or what?
You are right ..luckily no one was injured as a wheel coming off can make a horrendous accident in a hurry.

No - we were about 40 miles north of Green Bay. It was a Sunday. So not only were we kind of in the middle of nowhere, what little shops/scrap yards that were around there weren't open anyway.

They improvised.

Not at all the safest of conditions... they removed the rotor entirely, put a block of wood between the pistons/brake pads and zip-tied that in place, then they zip-tied the brake caliper to the framework on the underside of the bed, up and out of the way of the wheel. The wheel that they lost was recoverable from the side of the highway, but kind of chewed up. He ended up putting the spare on instead, and took a couple of lugs from each of the other wheels so that he had enough.

The idea was to get him to Green Bay were there was more availability for help. But, he said it felt fine to drive. We did stop in Green Bay so that he could pick up more lugs, but then continued on home from there - still another 5 hours. It did just fine, luckily. (I don't know why we didn't think to pick up a new rotor while we were there.) p:

He ended up fixing it all during this past week. Replaced the rotor and all the lugs on the offending wheel (he said that some of them were slightly bent).

 

[LibertyTC]

Ya not the safest of roadside repair. I would have then tried to make it to Green Bay and would have got new lugs and rotor there, considering he was pulling another vehicle and was now short on lugs on other wheels.
I have 5 spare lugs & leave the torque wrench in KJ.
Many owners of vehicles never check the torque specs or even own a torque wrench.
They assume the shop put the tires on and all is well and never have them checked again after 50 miles of driving or never. Thus the writing of this article-torque your lugs!
In my recent encounter, a pick up truck doing about 35 miles and hour ahead of me, on a city street, looses his right rear tire. The tire exits quickly to the right over a curb, now airborne and though a store front window. No one hurt, however clerk inside required fresh shorts. Can you image being the driver? Excuse me while I recover my wheel.....Totally avoidable though proper maintenance, and inspections. In this situation the driver never did a pre-trip and only two lugs were found in behind on roadway.

 

[Jo6pak]

Monthly? Weekly?
Damn, I check mine when I change my oil every 3,000 miles. Guess I'll start checking them more often.

 

[tjkj2002]

Monthly? Weekly?
Damn, I check mine when I change my oil every 3,000 miles. Guess I'll start checking them more often.

Normally I check mine every sunday but if I had taken off my wheels for some reason they get checked every 50miles for at least 2 weeks then back to the weekly check.

 

[SabaII]

I think this is just one of those things that you do as you see fit. I have never had a problem with loose lugs, knock on wood, but I also only check them occasionally at best. Not a bad habit to get in to I spose.

 

[hyde]

I check them whenever I feel a wobble when I hit the brakes. Yeah.
and tires just couple of lbs down with the winter? I monitor tpms and mine goes up and down 5-6lbs daily! I don't put air unless they all go down below 26-28

 

[tjkj2002]

! I don't put air unless they all go down below 26-28

And now why TPMS is federally mandated,the same issue that led to the firestone/explorer issue.

 

[Jo6pak]

I monitor my tire pressures pretty closely. Just something that crosses over from riding motorcyle where 2-3lbs makes a huge difference. I check my tire pressure when I fill the gastank

 

[KeswickDave]

YC, funny you mention that story - just today on my way home there was a pickup truck on the soft shoulder, with a nice scrape on the pavement and a groove in the gravel leading up to his left rear brake drum! It would have to be scary to lose a tire on the highway doing 60 mph. Glad he kept it in a straight line!

 

[yellocoyote]

We were traveling in front of my friend's truck and didn't see it happen. I glanced in the rearview once and he was there... and the next time he was gone. I got on the CB just as he called my cell phone to tell me there was an issue. I'm so glad it wasn't worse than it was.