Un-FREAKING-believable

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csutton7

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Apr 13, 2007
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Ok it happened again---all my lug nuts were loose as a goose and two studs were broken--only thing is the wheel pretty much stayed on and the rim(Weld) didn't get munched big time and the wheel bearing seems ok(for now)----when this happened before I munched the 16.5 x 12 Weld Typhoon and the wheel bearing--so I had to buy a new wheel bearing and I've yet to replace the rim-----so I torqued everything down and double, triple checked it and then for a week I made sure everything was tight---so after that I've only checked it once in awhile........So today after driving 20 miles I come to a stop sign and I hear this weird noise, but I can't make out where exactly it's coming from, so I continue to drive to the next stop light and when I get close I start applying the brakes....well I've got the window down and sure enough it's the driver's side wheel that's making the noise and then wham there goes a lug nut down the street----so WTF I say to myself---I make it into the HOME DESPERATE parking lot, jump out and sure enough 5 lug nuts are a couple of threads from taking a vacation, the sixth one is in the street(I retrieved it) and two studs are completely broken off---these were new studs also------so the truck has been detuned big time since last August and I've done no sled pulling, drag racing, dynoing ----absolutely nothing beside driving it for work-----so what the 'ell is going on here????---those lug nuts were ape like tight when I last checked them...........all the others which I tightened in the same manner are still ape like tight......


Ok so one thing I've noticed a long, long, long time ago like 5-6 yrs is that on the passenger side wheel there's a spacer plate, but I have no spacer plate on the driver's side-----is that normal???? could that be the cause??? why is it happening now in the last 2 months and never before????? or is it because I've taken the axle out of the driver's side(because I broke it last Aug) and it's causing something to happen that can loosen the lug nuts or is it someone trying to steal my rims and tires or just sabotage me?????

This is really now pissing me off I've been extremely lucky to not have a major accident due to this---going to have to install the EMS system here soon somehow and hope this remedies the issue----

if anyone has any input I'm all ears---chris
 
Chris,

You and I are, quite possibly, the unuckiest truck folk on earth. We should start a club.

That aside, I had this happen 4 times about a year ago and after replacing my lug nuts it stopped.They all appeared fine to me and every shmuck at every tire store, but it was about my last option without assuming somebody was trying to kill me.

32 nuts later, they are continuously and firmly held on.
 
That plate is from an old TSB for a drift. ( vehicle pulling to one side or the other ) Really shouldn't affect the torque of the lug nuts unless there is a ton of corrosion. I've seen worn lug nuts and also worn wheels cause them to come loose.
 
DB--well now that's interesting---yes we are a unique with our nuts---wait a minute can I say that----oh well--but really thanks for the info that's good to know that I'm not a loner in this group(I owe ya a beer or 3)--I've got new ones, plus locking ones that will go on soon(if I make it home)---I called Don D to set me up an appt for the EMS front end transformation(it's been sitting in the garage long enough-------

vzdude--thanks also, I couldn't see how it affected anything, but I'm at a loss here----chris
 
did you reuse them after they came loose the other times?? if so the threads in the lug nut could have gottin messed up along with the studs, just a thought if you havent looked real close at them. especially if you put a lot of torque to them after the fact.
later,
ac
 
also check your wheel carefully especially if it is the same wheel that continues to near falling off, if the lug holes are wallowed out or oblong shape the problem will continue to happen regardless of new lug nuts. just a thought cause I have seen that happen before.
 
Torque Wrench, if you pull a wheel off run the nuts up to contact and then use one set at 140ftlbs. I almost lost the driver side front not long after I bought my truck, since then the lugs have been tightened religiously with a torque wrench and no further problems. If you overtighten them, you can loose material in the threads and they can work loose, same with undertightening them. My best guess is the lugnuts get a little bit looser than they should be in the thread area and that allows them the leeway needed to work loose.
 
Chris...
I had the very same problem about 3 years ago with my Enkei Wheels that used to be on my truck.You would do your normal maintenance,rotate them around,retorque them and think all was well,NOT.You'd drive down the road and you would hear the snap as the studs broke or hear the lugs bouncing off your wheel wells.

I finally figured out what it was and since have had no issue with them breaking at all.Its a combination of things actually that is causing it and I will put what I did to fix it below.I had changed all 32 of my studs 3 times until I realized what it was and it was driving me nuts.

One of the first things we found was the wheel studs.The ones we got from the auto parts house(NAPA) were not properly hardened and would stretch easily and snap when torqued too many times.My machinist is the one who found that for me by making some calls and digging up the difference in what Ma Mopar wants for strength compared to NAPA's lower standard.We did not get that figured out until the 3rd set of studs and they are the one which are in my truck yet currently.

The other thing we found when we extracted a broken stud out of the long McGuard lugs was corrosion bind.Using the longer lugs meant there was some of the lug which was not used and when they are new and you look in them they are not clean which enhances the chance of a bind problem.As the wheels are removed and re-torqued over time the factory studs will stretch some and then get into that corrosion and junk.You then think you have the lugs torqued properly and when driven since they are loose they will snap easily due to the stress and weight.

What we did to fix this was first to use Ma Mopar's factory studs and that was not a cheap deal.The next thing I did was to buy a new set of McGuard lugs and run a tap down into the lug to clean out the leftover crap inside and remove any chance of corrosion.I sprayed them out with brake cleaner to ensure they were clean before they went on the truck.I also use copper anti-seize on my studs when I replaced the wheels before I re-torqued them to ensure they do not allow corrosion and proper torque.

Since that was done my stud and lug issues have disappeared and have not returned.I am not sure if yours is the same but I am betting it is.I hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to drop a note.Let me know how you make out with it.......Andy
 
Sorry to hear about your nuts Chris, I had the same thing happen once. It is very common with aftermarket wheels.
 
thanks guys----well the first thing is I've been using the same 3 sets of rims and 3 sets of lug nuts on and off the truck for the last 3 yrs and no issue until I broke the front axle--I've yet to replace that axle, so the truck is 2 whl drive--like I said I have the EMS warn lock out, 35spline CAD delete system sitting in the garage(been there for about 6 months now--just no time)----anyway I don't think it's the rims---I have yet to replace the weld typhoon that got trashed during the first go around and I've got weld super singles on there now----what happened the first time is beyond me and now that it happened again maybe the studs I put in that side are substandard(used the studs that came with the hub bearing from www.rockauto.com )---I'll have to try and see which hub bearing I ordered, but I did use a set of my old nuts(not the ones that were on the truck when the original incident happened, those were relegated to paper weights)-----

so with the rim being different I have a hard time blaming rims---could it be the lug nuts(old, but never an issue before)...possibly---could it be the new studs??? ....maybe----a combo of those two???....very possibly ----or am I the recipient of sabotage???.....possible I guess, but why only one tire that faces the road, so I'm now thinking it's not that-----------it's something mechanical and Andy may be totally right----right now I'm just going to run it until I here from my diff guy who is going to help me install the EMS system--I don't drive it but 40 miles or so a day, so I just need to check it a couple of times a day---if it becomes worse then I'll pull it and re-install new studs(which I think I have and I do think they are McGuards and I'll put on new nuts along with locking nuts)----you'll hear from me down the road if all gets fixed or if it happens again-----again thanks to all who've posted, the tips are invaluable-----chris
 
Chris, there's some foo in san francisco who keeps playing with your nuts. lmao you're just doomed. That's all there is to it Mr. Good luck with that.
 
Chris, I just thought of something else that I've seen. A guy had a wheel bearing hub go bad & replaced it with one from autozone. His wheels were coming loose & turns out that he had a dually hub bearing on his truck. The lip on the end of the hub where the wheel bolts on is smaller on a dually hub & allows for the adapter to bolt over top which accepts the deeper dually wheels. When used on 3/4 ton trucks, your wheel won't fit tight over top of the hub & have a space around it where the wheel can move around. This may be your problem.
 
Speaken of loose lugnuts. A waste management garbage truck had a wheel come off and go thru the median and kill a guy in a 2500 Dodge up here on I35a couple of days ago... be careful out there
 
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I have had the same trouble on my old gas 3/4 ton. I started using a torque wrench as Billsgoat said. I would torque them the drive to work with the wrench in the truck (12 miles) then retorque them. No issues since.
 
cummins724--I'll have to check that out---now that I think back I had to put on a used one after the axle break(could've been 1 ton) and maybe the one I ordered is a 1 ton---thanks for the tip--


Pangela--thanks, it's hard enough to cover one's a$$ here in this town and now to watch my nuts also is going to keep me treading lightly-----chris
 
I know I'm probably going to hear it for this, but it works! Clean your threads with a wire brush, clean the stud and nuts with break cleaner (if threads look OK) and use a drop of low strength purple LocTite. As LocTite hardens to a plastic like compound, it seals out water and acts as a really good anti seize that also locks your nuts. Your thread to tread contact is about 15-25% when torqued and not much is really holding the nut there. With LocTite, you get about 95% of the thread efficiency. LocTite melts at 500 degrees tho so if you are stopping a trailer with you brakes, it probably won't work, but if its just to get you to work and back, it'll work fine.
 
csutton7 said:
cummins724--I'll have to check that out---now that I think back I had to put on a used one after the axle break(could've been 1 ton) and maybe the one I ordered is a 1 ton---thanks for the tip--
Click to expand...

You can tell by looking at the center hole of the wheel, without a center cap. If the wheel isn't fitting tight over the hub, most likely you have the smaller hub.
 
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