Thread: Wheel Nut Indicators

Buy a torque wrench and torque them to the correct amount. Pat

speaking for myself, with the number of them up here, i take great delight in occasionally moving one around a notch or two when i see them on the mining vehicles up here

as for the OP...... people survived for long enough without them..... i'm sure you will prove no exception

Loose wheel nuts on Defenders are quite uncommon (due to the large PCD and large wheel stud diameter), and are invariably due to incorrect tightening or tightening with dirt between the wheel and hub. While a torque wrench is the ideal way of tightening them, this is not really necessary; if tightened correctly they do not come loose - ever. (In fifty years of driving Series Landrovers and 110s I have had exactly one case of a loose wheel, due to my failing to remember the final tightening after lowering the jack on a front wheel.

Consequently, I would regard them as complete waste of money. They are perhaps more useful on those vehicles with smaller studs and smaller PCD - I have had problems with persistent loosening of wheel nuts on some other vehicles in the past, especially IH 120/1200.

A more common problem is overtightening by tyre service places, and it is just possible that they may deter them!

John

match mark them with a paint pen after you tighten them up with a torque wrench.

paint pens are about $8 and do a whole lot more besides and the marks dont fall off or get moved.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

paint pens are about $8 and do a whole lot more besides and the marks dont fall off or get moved.

..... nor stolen. I've had valve dust caps stolen so I reckon these would go, too (as would the new tyre pressure monitors attached to valve stems).

I drive buses for a large bus company in the Hunter Region and after a wheel fell off a school bus a few years back caused by loose wheel nuts, Wheel Nut Indicators are now used on all buses in the fleet. It makes it easier for the driver when he is doing his vehicle check before driving the bus, to notice if a wheel nut has moved. I believe they should be used on all heavy vehicles.
Having read the above posts I think it is a personal descision to use them on light vehicles though!!!

I don't believe large studs or large PCD has anything to do with greater safety or less chance of losing a wheel through wheel nuts coming off as stated by JDNSW, if you look at the majority of wheel losses, most of them are on trucks with enormous studs and PCD.
However I do believe dirt, corrosion and crap (JDNSW) behind and between wheels is a major cause of wheel nuts ending up loose.
My Son lost a wheel on his 94 Disco returning from Bendethra, with some spare nuts he refitted the wheel and drove home, not telling me of this incident resulted in the same wheel coming off while I was driving it.
The cause was alloy corrosion on the back face of the alloy rim and rust explosion on the hub.
I actually needed a disc grinder to remove all the crap and a file to touch up some areas, so I pulled all of the wheels and it was only the one that came off that had the buildup of corrosion.
I reckon what happens is that the wheel nuts tighten the rim to the hub with a pile of crap between and a few miles down the road the crap either compresses further or is vibrated out from between the rim and hub, leaving the nuts loose, leading to the wheel eventually coming off, Regards Frank.

They have their pros and cons. We have them on our emergency vehicles, but it all comes back to pre start checks and if they are done correctly. The biggest problem people are just lazy and dont do pre starts properly. It would depend on cost wether they are worth while for general use.
A friend has a late model Nissan and Nissan has mandated they be fitted as he has had several issues of the wheel nuts coming loose, after servicing.
These may not fit alloy wheels either.