Stupid, stupid tire center

[TrexMex]

I bought a new set of steel wheels and got them installed and mounted last week. Turns out that whoever installed them back on the truck did not put one of the front tires correctly, -I guess tightening pattern not followed or sumtn'- So, last friday I was driving and I start hearing this humming noise that decreases every time I step on the brakes. First guess, loose calipers/faulty cylinder.. so next day I take off the wheel only to find out the holes are worn and the lug nuts were rubbing because of mistightening and the threads on the lugs stripped on the base. So anyways, took it to the shop to complain and they didn't take any resposibility saying that I already messed with the wheel so I voided any "warranty" implied... a**holes... I bought bigger lug nuts and the tire seems secured and tight in there but now I kinda of feel unsecure on the road....

Has something similar happend to any of you? I guess I need some reassurance that my wheel won't come off while driving on/off road...

 

[dburton07]

kinda the same situation. started hearing/feeling this knocking noise that went away when i got on the brakes, thought it was somthin to do with the brakes too, come to find out.......

had 4 outa the 5 lugs on my wheel spacers come loose, could take them off by hand, and the last lug was a PITA to loosen....with a 3/8" rachet of course. but yea, scary shit knowing that i could have had my front tire fly in front of me. all torqued down now so im good.

id say run em. torque em down, put some miles on it, then do it again. thats what i did n she mint now

 

[mhughes165]

id go back there and pitch a bitch and ask to see the torque wrench that was used and for them to show u the spec for torque on the tires....and if they wont do anything get there district managers number from the store manager and raise hell, they figure since u went home dejected they got one up on you

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The tire shop I go to have a thing on receipt to check your lug nuts after 20 miles, doesn't differentiate about wheel type or anything... it was even on there when I got my exhaust put on (nothing to do with wheels). It mentions that they are not liable for any damabe because the customer didn't check them or bring it back in for them to check them.

It is always a good idea to recheck your lugnuts after you (or anyone else) have had a wheel off.

 

[shizzy]

did you go back for a retourqe? MANDATORY with alloys and not a bad idea with Steel wheels. I had an old set of Cragar's on My Cutlass and those in fact needed 2-3 retourques before they were properly tight. I worked at Tires Plus back in High school and they told everyone who worked there that we should be "more then happy" to check someones lug nuts if they pulled up and asked.

 

[Loanranger]

ALWAYS recheck your lug nuts after having any work done where the rim was removed. Most tire shops use an impact with a torque reducer on it, and they are nowhere near accurate. Every time I've ever used or had someone use one of these on my lugnuts, I've noticed differences in the torque, where some are tight and some are not. I have had a tire almost fall off (1 lugnut holding it on) when I first started driving and got new tires at Les Schwab. Luckily I was able to find 2 of the lugnuts back on the road, and was able to limp home with 3. Ever since then I only put lugnuts on with a wrench.

 

[koda6966]

scary shit knowing that i could have had my front tire fly in front of me.

I have had a tire almost fall off (1 lugnut holding it on) when I first started driving and got new tires at Les Schwab. Luckily I was able to find 2 of the lugnuts back on the road, and was able to limp home with 3.

My brother was driving home from work one time way back when he had his Blazer, and a tire came off. It went flying uphill on this guys driveway, bounced over his garden, and went right through a wall in his house. About a month later the guy got sick of having a chunk of plywood over the hole and put in a window.

I still wonder how fast he was going to make the tire do that..

 

[TrexMex]

You really don't need to go real fast for that to happen; when the tire turns loose from the truck, all it's rotational energy makes it a VERY dangerous projectile.

Update: Went to the shop, talked to the manager, raised HELL.... He offered to change my balljoints for free (No labor cost, paying for parts though) and a free alignment. I agreed to it, was thinking on doing it this weekend anyways...

I took the truck there today and didn't see the guy who re-installed my wheels. Guess they either suspended or fired him. Poor dude but he should've known better.....

....Oh and I'll make damn sure this time they torque them to spec right in front of me... They deserve me being anal and as annoying as I can get...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

....Oh and I'll make damn sure this time they torque them to spec right in front of me... They deserve me being anal and as annoying as I can get...

Check them later too, like we have all mentioned as things heat up and cool down they may loosen up. If you drove for a week on it they had to have been fairly tight from the start.

 

[TrexMex]

Will do. Thanks a lot for all the input!!!!

 

[wv_snranger]

I always WATCH the guys bolt my wheels back on at the tire shop. They generally torque them, but the bolts are still PITA's to get off at home.....

 

[reaper79]

Had it happen to me, I bought some 33's from Les Schwab and had them mounted on some rims that i took off my 83 Toyota and put them on my girlfriends 87 toyota. So they bolted them on and i drove it home from Forest Grove, Or to Portlad, Or. So about a week later i was geting ready to go wheeling and took her truck to the store to get some friends. When i got there my buddy said that one of my lugs was almost all the way off. i checked them all and they all had backed off almost all the way. I jacked it up and tighted them up and took it stirght in to les schwab and bitched, they told me that they would change out all the studs and the wheel bearing on that side. so i left it with them for the day. went back and got it and they only changed out one stud. they said that they only felt the need to do that and thats it. pissed me off and i havnt gone to les schwab since.

Les Schwab is ........

 

[rboyer]

Those torque reducers that all of these shops use on their impact guns only reduce the torque relative to the output of the impact gun. That means that factors such as how much pressure they have in their tank come into play for the amount of torque that's applied to your lugnuts and it's never going to be precise. Any so-called "professional" mechanic who torques down your aluminum wheels with an impact gun instead of a torque wrench cares more about getting an extra 10 minutes of free time than he does about making sure the job he does is top quality.

 

[MAKG]

I always insist on hand-torquing lugnuts, and I will prohibit any work under any of these conditions:

1. They refuse to use a torque wrench (Sears).
2. They make a safety related screw-up (Goodyear -- loose tie rod adjusters).
3. They attempt to defraud me (Firestone -- false claim of worn brake shoes)

If they screw up, I insist on a refund and go elsewhere. No second chances for life-threatening mistakes.