This was my morning

[Madracingalley]

Well,
It stated this morning....
My first ride in A police car....
I was driving to school this morning and as I take A right hand turn onto the Arterial (mini two-lane Higway with a 45 mph limit) My front drivers side tire FALLS OFF! At first i think its a flat because i was exspecting a tire to go someday soon (found some good ones in a junkyard.. as i was going there after school) then i get out my passenger door and go around the front to look and see if it was indeed a flat.. But NO the tire was still inflated. So I looked under the front of the truck and to my suprise the rotor was on the rim... My tire fell off the rotor. I'm the idiot to blame on this stupidness cause i didn't use a torque wrench but used a breaker bar... after 5 minutes A Police officer found me and helped to lift the truck up so I could get the jack under the frame to put the tire back on.after that he went to look for the lugnuts at the intersection as i was jacking the truck up(bottle jack)... He came back with only two lugnuts found and so I put the tire back on with only 2 lugnuts (thank god I left the breaker bar and 19mm impact socket in the truck) and drove two the next intersection with my 4-ways on, pulled onto a side street after that parked on the top of a hill, set the p-brake, locked it up and asked for a ride to school... So of the kids at school said they saw me out there as there busses went by. I feel like an idiot and i'm guerinteed a slap on the back of the head by dad.

So heres the question... What should i set my torque wrench too....

 

[Ranger44]

100ft/lbs.

 

[Madracingalley]

Dang mine only goes to 75

 

[Ranger44]

Well you may be able to get by with using the 75ft/lbs setting, then maybe turn them another 1/4 of a turn. That should get it close.

 

[Roadkill]

Hmm, never used a torque wrench on lug nuts and never had one come loose yet. Must be luck. I did have lug nuts come loose after being at a garage though. Felt a god awful shimmy and vibration. Stopped and checked everything. Found the front tire loose and tightened everything back up again.

 

[Psychopete]

The torque wrench is not only to verify that it's tight, but to ensure equal torque on each of the studs that prevents the rotors from prematurely warping.

When I didn't know any better, I just tightened them up with a 4 way. I wish I could bitch slap mechanics that just tighten the shit out of them with an impact.

Never had a tire fall off before, probably just jinxed myself. Could have been worse though.

Pete

 

[mhughes165]

happened to my buddy in his ranger, friggin tires comes off when hes doin about 40 and flys past him, bouncin about 40 feet in the air after a few bounces, he finally found the tire in someones trunk and pryed it free with a crowbar, and one time hes grandfather was drivin his van and the same thing happened......but they never did find that tire, he was doin about 80 on the PA turn pike when it happened

 

[Psychopete]

happened to my buddy in his ranger, friggin tires comes off when hes doin about 40 and flys past him, bouncin about 40 feet in the air after a few bounces, he finally found the tire in someones trunk and pryed it free with a crowbar, and one time hes grandfather was drivin his van and the same thing happened......but they never did find that tire, he was doin about 80 on the PA turn pike when it happened

Runs in the family? LOL

Pete

 

[mhughes165]

Runs in the family? LOL

Pete

wheel bearing failure on both of them, lack of maintence more then anything, and ya, his dad had it happen too, i made the joke that it ran in the family