Rangers don't drive so well with 3 wheels.

[Shran]

I have never had one come completely off, but did have two that came damn close. The worst one actually broke a lug stud off and jammed between the brake rotor and spindle, then ripped off a spindle nut and most of the stud that it was attached to.

 

[rangerbum]

I had Les Schwab do an alignment on my truck. I'd heard about this sort of thing happening before at Les Schwab, so I brought a star wrench. I went to all 4 before driving off. The left front were all loose, and MISSING one!!! I walked back in the door so pissed off that some of people sitting waiting for their cars went outside lol. And this was during one of the huge snowstorms that came through.

They put a jack under it, torqued the lugs, put the missing one on, and They didnt charge me for the alignment! And It's a damn good thing they didnt try.

 

[fordwheelinman]

Wow im glad your ok!

I rarely to almost never take my truck to a shop, but when i had to get some repairs that i didnt have the tools for, I demanded to be in the shop watching what they were doing and having them explain what/why they were doing said work. lol they were pissed, but i made sure they did everything right.

no offense, but people like you have a tendency to piss mechanics off, especially rate paid. Legally, at my shop we can not allow you to be with your vehicle while repairs are being made, OSHA and our insurance provider will not allow it. Now this doesnt mean that some people dont ignore the signs and do it anyway....that just usually leads me to stop working until they leave. Its harsh, but it has to be done.

 

[rangerbum]

no offense, but people like you have a tendency to piss mechanics off, especially rate paid. Legally, at my shop we can not allow you to be with your vehicle while repairs are being made, OSHA and our insurance provider will not allow it. Now this doesnt mean that some people dont ignore the signs and do it anyway....that just usually leads me to stop working until they leave. Its harsh, but it has to be done.

+1. Most mechanics are annoyed as hell when people want to hover over the shoulder. Even worse if you try to give advice, being that he is a professional mechanic. There's only one guy at Les Schwab that I like. The last time I had him work on my ranger, he took me into the shop and showed me everything that it's going to take before he get's started. He's an unusual character, but a hard, good worker and a great guy.

 

[aaron47]

aluminum wheels sometimes don't sit flat on the axle flange,the wheel nuts will tighten up ,and can be torqued to specs.they come loose when the vehicle is driven,and oval the rims.i haven't personally done this ,but a older mechanic i worked with has.i always hold the bottom of the wheel,and push up and in when i tighten wheel nuts on a aluminim rim.
wheel nuts do get forgotten though, about ten years ago a garage i was working in,i was doing a oil change on a car.i happened to bump the front tire,and i discovered both front tires wheel nuts were very loose.talked to the owner,and he said that he just had tires put on the front at sears.
i tightened the wheels and torqued them.he went back to sears,and i never heard back from him.he was pissed! he said he was heading for the highway ,and was going on a long trip somewhere.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Whenever I have a shop touch my wheels, i go home and check them with my lug wrench to make sure ; 1) they are tight enough, and 2) they aren't too tight. Once i got a flat and the guy at the tire shop put it on so damn tight with his impact I Broke 2 3/8 in. ratchets with a 6 ft cheater trying to get it off. Imagine being in the middle of nowhere trying to change a tire like that. I aired up the tire and drove to the shop, after he couldn't figure out how to get the 1/2 stripped lug nut off I took one of his sockets and a hammer and made it fit. Then when i showed him the ratchet he told me "you need something bigger than that" Boy was I pissed.

With aluminum wheels, you should always recheck your wheels after you drive for awhile, the heating/cooling can loosen the wheels... which I am going to guess is what happend to the OP.

They have it in big letters on my receipt whenever I go to a tire shop.

 

[aaron47]

the most annoying thing about costomers in the shop is not that they are there ,but usually in the way.i'm usually working ,and go to get a tool from my box .i turn around and there is a customer almost face to face with me.
i don't care if they want to watch,but it gives me a surprise being that close!

 

[fordwheelinman]

if they ask, thats one thing, and most of the time i dont mind, but when they just walk over, or "demand" thats not cool at all. Then to be telling me things that they have already checked and i dont need to, or be asking me questions while im trying to work, compounds the situation. Thats why i walk off or sit down half the time.

 

[koda6966]

Happened to my brother once at 65 or so mph on the way home. The tire flew uphill into a house that a friend of the family was renovating. He ended up putting a window in. It was the perfect height off the ground.

 

[Will]

Most places have a nice big window you can watch through. The tire place I go to doesn't have bays--they work on a slab next to the shop. The mounting and balancing is done inside. They are NASCAR fast and you can watch and they never screw it up. All they do is tires though. A place that is doing othere things that require removing the wheels is probably more likely to forget the lugnut step than the people that only tighten lugnuts.

I do my own work even though I hate it. But it's because I'm a cheapskate, not because I don't trust anyone.

That doesn't mean I trust anyone, just that I haven't been tested on that level yet.

My left front comes off once in a while plowing snow. Those aluminum wheels don't like plowing snow. I can feel it now and know when to jump out with the lug wrench.

 

[Randy960]

I would hate having people watch if i were a mechanic. I don't even let people help me work on things unless i really need help. And something always goes wrong everytime i take a vehicle to a mechanic. I stopped a long time ago, but I had to for an inspection.

 

[thegoat4]

When I get a guy who hovers, knows everything, second-guesses everything I do, and keeps mouthing off, I tell him, "You are not my boss. My boss's office is over there if you'd like to talk to him, and the lounge is just past it if you'd rather sit down." Then I just stand there, staring him down until he leaves.

Never fails.

 

[projectnitemare]

I always torque lug nuts, always have always will. I got laughed at by a few guys until a few weeks after I started we had a car that I wasn't working on have wheel issues. As far as busting 3/8 in rachets...that really isn't the tool for the job most will break when you stick 100 ft-lbs to them. Some places' lousy work and my rather high standards is what made me fix my cars and for now it pays my bills too I rarely see a car come back for something done incorrectly which makes me feel good at the end of the day. I don't mind a customer who is curious but when some of them cause problems we have nice policy...good bye. There are plenty of other places to deal with jerk off customers.

Matt

 

[CanadianRanger]

With aluminum wheels, you should always recheck your wheels after you drive for awhile, the heating/cooling can loosen the wheels... which I am going to guess is what happend to the OP.

They have it in big letters on my receipt whenever I go to a tire shop.

X2

Aluminum expands and contracts at a different rate then the steel studs and lug nut. I always re-torque mine after about 100-150 km.

 

[DangerRanger2010]

That's really messed up.