Lost a wheel

Glad nothing more untoward happened, a wheel parting company can become a lethal missile.
Is this with standard steel rims, or alloys? I've never had a wheel come loose on the Defender nor on any of my previous Rangies, but I had it happen twice back in my Land Cruiser days, once lost a wheel and once caught it before the nuts parted company completely. From what I've read it's not uncommon with those vehicles.
I've never lubricated the threads on wheel fasteners. I either loctite or anti-seize almost every other thread I ever touch.
I destroyed the factory wheel wrench in my Jag trying to undo the wheel nuts after it had been serviced by an otherwise excellent mechanic. Very annoying. The tyre-fitters at the last couple of places I have bought tyres (and I generally consider that as a job for between prison terms) use a rattle gun to install the wheel, then go asround and crack them all and retighten with a torque wrench.

Standard steel wheels.

Happened to my wife and I once in the old Forward Control when we were visiting NZ.
Left hand back wheel passed us and I wondered "what the hell ". Bounced off the road and down into a paddock. Went looking for it for seemed like hours then gave up and were scrambling up the hill back to the road and happened to glance up and there it was in the fork of a tree. Anyway , managed to get it down , back up the hill and back on using a nut from each wheel and on our way. Couldnt do it now those big 900 x 16 wheels are heavy.I cant lift them any more and have a hand winch set up to get the two spare onto the rear carrier the way its set up now. I think the 255 -100-16 XZL Michelins I have on now are even heavier than the old tyres.

Keith

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

Standard steel wheels.

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You were lucky to get away without any panel damage. My mate swapped his std wheels for mags from his son's ute that he was going to sell, but didn't notice the tapered vs square shouldered nut, the wheel came off and damaged the front wing.

16mm die nut - $50!

Still better than messing around with a thread file.

That is exactly what I said to the bloke at the tool shop! (I actually have a thread file, and probably would have used it if it was only one stud.

My wife and I were out in the Defender one day. Approaching a corner when suddenly a large truck wheel came around the corner towards us. I got stopped and the wheel hit the Defender bumper. After this a man (the driver of the truck) came sprinting around after the wheel. He got his property, we went on our merry way. A short distance up the road we saw the truck , minus a front whhel on the grass verge.

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Originally Posted by scarry

We are all sure she was going a lot faster than she "thinks"she was going.

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I'd give her the benefit of a doubt.

My Tojo troopy. Bought new. Serviced by the Tojo dealer every 12 months for rego and asked to rotate tyres while they're at it.

I'll rotate again in the intervening 6 months before they see it again next rego.

Every time I went to do the rotation I snapped wheel studs. In just over 24 months I snapped 9 studs I complained to the manager accusing them of rattling them up 'oh no sir, the mechanics hand tighten them - I'll get the mechanic to show you how to change I tyre when you come to get the vehicle this afternoon'. Really!!

Come time to collect the vehicle, mechanic with a typical cross piece wheel brace comes out 'errr...apparently I got to show you how to change a tyre!'. Out to the car park. mechanic puts the brace on, kneels down to get some action but can't move the nuts. Says got to get an extension. As he walked away absent minded, I casually asked how you tighten them? Answer 'just rattle 'em'. As they say on Myth buster 'Now there's your problem!'. Never went back to the dealer.

When originally on the phone to the manager one of our staff heard the conversation. Been on a weekend tour, Tojo troopy snapped all the bolts on a front wheel. Three hour wait for another vehicle,

Rang my bro in law ranger mechanic - says they keep a wooden box full of new studs cause Toyota break all the time.

Coming back from Cox Peninsula Tojo tray back occupants in scrub looking for a front wheel.

If you can get an over torqued Tojo stud off you can see how they get a 'waste' from stretching and just waiting to go. Measured the Land Rover studs, over 3 times the cross section of steel - never broke a landy wheel stud - coarse thread as well.

I first had extensive experience with Landcruisers in 1965-6 in the Simpson, my employer having re-equipped with them. Driving in the sandhills all the time, with oversize (9.00x13) tyres run at low pressures, we did a lot of pulling wheels on and off.

By the end of the job, every Landcruiser glovebox had a handful of new wheel studs, and most of us were adept at replacing studs as a routine part of changing wheels.

(And rattle guns were not even dreamed of.)