I really hate being overtaken........

sheerluck · 6th July 2014, 05:50 PM

......by bits of the car I'm driving.

Last week, I was heading to work in SWMBO's Merc ML, when I started to get a faint vibration on the highway at 100km/h, followed a short time later by the car starting to shimmy.

Fearing a flat tyre, I went to get off the highway onto a local road so that I could park up somewhere safe and check. Just as I pulled into the filter lane to turn right, there was a BANG, and I looked in the passenger mirror to see the rear wheel bounce off streak past me and land in a thicket of trees and undergrowth a little way up the road.

The driver behind me saw what happened and stopped, giving me a chance to throw the car back over to the left on it's three wheels, and dump it on the grass verge.

Time to check underpants, and try to slow the heartrate down........

I get out, and can see two wheel bolts that have clearly snapped, and three that are missing (one was later found with the wheel).

So what happened?

The wheels haven't been off for months, so I know it's not something I'd done. But I had parked in a couple of dark parking areas in less salubrious parts of the world over the previous couple of days. For 3 bolts to be missing, they must have been loosened, putting enough stress on the remaining 2, that they snapped. All the bolts on the other wheels were still set at the required 120nm when checked with the torque wrench.

So come on, who have I upset?

**pop058** · 6th July 2014, 06:06 PM

Happened to my old Disco last year. No wheel changes or other (logical) explanation. Walked back a couple of hundred metres to recover the wheel and found 2 of the wheel nuts along the way. Stole a couple more off the spare to get home.

It shot me left down through the roadside drain and onto someone's nature strip. No "wardrobe malfunction", but close

**p38arover** · 6th July 2014, 06:15 PM

This is what happened to a friend's (Terry Boyce for those that know him from the LROC) RRC when an errant wheel from a trailer hit them.

It passed between him and his wife.

sheerluck · 6th July 2014, 06:16 PM

So who have we both upset then?

You ended up with more damage than I did. The final damage tally was:

A mudflap
A scrape on the rear bumper
a suspicious stain on the driver's seat

sheerluck · 6th July 2014, 06:21 PM

Originally Posted by p38arover

This is what happened to a friend's (Terry Boyce for those that know him from the LROC) RRC when an errant wheel from a trailer hit them.

It passed between him and his wife.

In many ways it was fortuitous that it was a left hand wheel that came off, as 50kg of wheel and tyre heading into traffic with a closing speed of ~150km/h could have done some serious damage. People have been killed in such a fashion.

Sounds like Terry and his wife were very lucky that day too.

**Bytemrk** · 6th July 2014, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by sheerluck

So who have we both upset then?

Maybe you have upset no one....... possibly some scumbag trying to help himself to wheels he doesn't own?

**Mick_Marsh** · 6th July 2014, 08:11 PM

Did you know, the moment of inertia will cause wheel nuts to rotate.
What this means is one side tightens whilst the other side loosens.
There were one or two models of Italian cars (Alfa of Fiat or both I think) that had left hand threaded wheel nuts on one side and right hand threaded wheel nuts on the other.
Yes, I've been overtaken by a rear wheel too. Lost a front one as well.

So, it might not have been someone you have upset. They're still waiting to exact their revenge.

**JDNSW** · 6th July 2014, 08:24 PM

Left hand wheel nuts will loosen, and right hand ones tighten if they are a bit loose. (I have never actually lost a wheel, but have had them come loose, and detected it before anything serious happened.)

LH thread studs on the LH side have been used quite commonly, usually on larger vehicles, occasionally on light vehicles. The studs and nuts will be marked in some way, studs usually with an "L" stamped into the end, nuts usually with a notch on the angles between the flats.

John

**scarry** · 6th July 2014, 08:30 PM

The BIL was slowing down at the lights and saw his trailer overtake him

Luckily only ended up with one written off trailer.

Many years ago i saw a wheel come off the front of a coach which was travelling on the old Pacific Hwy at Springwood.It disappeared after bouncing onto the roof of a car in one of the many car yards that fronted the Hwy in those days..
By the time the coach stopped the brake fluid coming from the front brakes was well alight.

**superquag** · 6th July 2014, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Left hand wheel nuts will loosen, and right hand ones tighten if they are a bit loose. (I have never actually lost a wheel, but have had them come loose, and detected it before anything serious happened.)

LH thread studs on the LH side have been used quite commonly, usually on larger vehicles, occasionally on light vehicles. The studs and nuts will be marked in some way, studs usually with an "L" stamped into the end, nuts usually with a notch on the angles between the flats.

John

Me too !
A week or so after buying Sarah, noticed a rapidly increasing vibration and roughness at speed. By the time I stopped the steering wheel had started wiggling. Yep, both Left side wheels had loose nuts... Several took more than a full turn to seat.

RH side wheels were fine, but I drove off very carefully, after having a little Meditation Time. .

A previous Mazda 4WD van (import, identical body to Ford econovan) had 6-stud wheels, with LH threads on the Left side. Never had a problem from using a wheel-brace only.

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