Disaster on way to Portugal!!

[travelling mechanic]

I don’t think you’re comments are useful.
No way can All these bolts can become loose at the same time.
The bolts have to be torqued to about 190n.
The checking that you refer to is suggested after 100 miles.
(Hands up !!!how many people do that?)

As a service center we recommend 50mile wheel nut retourqe but 1 or 2 a year come back in for the retourqe, we advise this because if a vehicle has an 85nm tourqe setting and previous mechanics has stretched to say 110nm then the recommended 85nm may work loose and the 50mile retourqe is to identify if the treads are infact stretched. Obviously a feel and visual and clean up of threads upon replacement of a wheel is done you may not see or feel stretched threads. But on this post I truly feel for you what a awful situation and so lucky the wheel didn't overtake you whilst driving hope you get sorted and on with your travels .

 

[Silver-Fox]

I do carry a 250nm for the fronts but need to sorce a 350nm for the rear that will do both jobs.

You could just get a torque multiplier

 

[Silver-Fox]

How do you torque them up off the floor? Don't they turn? I lower the jack a bit to get the wheels on the ground (Not full weight) to stop them turning when I torque them to 180NM .

I hold the wheel with one hand and arm then use the torque wrench with the other.

There’s a knack to it but can be done upto around 150nm

 

[Minxy]

I hold the wheel with one hand and arm then use the torque wrench with the other.

There’s a knack to it but can be done upto around 150nm

Are you related to Popeye?

 

[Steve and Denise]

You could just get a torque multiplier

I have seen these very heavy bit of kit and a great aid to loosen wheel nuts but how do you regulate the torque upon tightening the ones I have seen have no indexation on them ?
Unless I’m out of date

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[nicholsong]

I have seen these very heavy bit of kit and a great aid to loosen wheel nuts but how do you regulate the torque upon tightening the ones I have seen have no indexation on them ?
Unless I’m out of date

Good question. I await answers.

 

[Manic]

Just bought this one (delivered).

Won't be using it until the weekend, but seems solid and well made (probably in the same factory as much more expensive one!).

Amazon Basics 1/2 Inch Drive Click Heavy-Duty Torque Wrench, 25-250 ft.-lb, 33.9-338.9 Nm https://amzn.eu/d/0LC9lcF

Hope this helps.

Don’t forget to undo the load screw when not in use

 

[Rogerwyn]

Good question. I await answers.

Torque multipliers will have a rating on them eg 10/1 so for every 10nm applied would be 100nm on the nut

 

[Bill-H]

I've never owned a motorhome and didn't know about the re-torque procedure.

However it makes complete sense when you stop and think about it.

Good information.

However, the real takeaway here for me is that if you spot something that doesn't look right on someone's vehicle then trying to let them know even if you might not have a common language could actually be a life saver.

Quite the adventure dpsuk999 - glad it's ended up as a 'dinner party story' and nothing more and hope the claim against the breakdown company goes as smoothly as those things can.

I'm sure having taken lots of pictures of the various stages of the process will stand very firmly in your favour for the claim.

Perhaps that's another takeaway piece of learning for me.

Had my Hyundai i10 seviced by a local garage I'd not used before - they failed to tighten both sets of real wheel bolts. I drove half a mile and thought I'd got a puncture but found the wheels to be loose. Fortunately no real damage to the bolts which were still in situ but very loose. I had a right go at the garage, left them a stinging review on google and have never been back there since.
Bit different sitting in a car 4 feet from the rear wheels and being in a big motorhome insulated from much of whats going on at the back end.

 

[M50]

Further to my post #174
My idea of the 2T Hydraulic Car Bottle Jack has just been improved by this stolen from FB
Anyone know what it is or better still where to find one please ?

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[Steve and Denise]

Further to my post #174
My idea of the 2T Hydraulic Car Bottle Jack has just been improved by this stolen from FB
Anyone know what it is or better still where to find one please ?



View attachment 997878

Wouldn’t take much to knock one up

 

[Silver-Fox]

Are you related to Popeye?

No just good with my hands

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

Torque multipliers will have a rating on them eg 10/1 so for every 10nm applied would be 100nm on the nut

Not exactly. The gearing may be 10:1, but the inefficiencies may result in only 90|95nm at the nut.

 

[L' Hobo]

While trying to be careful of what I write.

IMO, The cheapest and quickest tool for checking, initially, any loose nut & bolt, including steel wheel nuts, is a tapping hammer.

No toolbox should be without one!

 

[St3v3]

Further to my post #174
My idea of the 2T Hydraulic Car Bottle Jack has just been improved by this stolen from FB
Anyone know what it is or better still where to find one please ?



View attachment 997878

Nice but can be replaced by a piece of wood of the right length to meet 2 nuts in line with the hub. Then rotate the wheel slightly for the next two. On a flat tyre it will be close enough to the top nut.

A hell of a lot lighter and cheaper for something you may never use and has more chance of doubling up as useful for something else. If you were a mechanic doing this all the time then of course you'd have the tool posted instead.

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[jongood]

While trying to be careful of what I write.

IMO, The cheapest and quickest tool for checking, initially, any loose nut & bolt, including steel wheel nuts, is a tapping hammer.

No toolbox should be without one!

Exactly what the testing station guys used to do, quick and simple, any doubt tap it again.

 

[dpsuk999]

While trying to be careful of what I write.

IMO, The cheapest and quickest tool for checking, initially, any loose nut & bolt, including steel wheel nuts, is a tapping hammer.

No toolbox should be without one!

I agree however with my set up and the spacer, the nuts are deep inside the milled hole and therefore the only way to check would be with an extension bar, socket and wrench, and that’s after taking off the outer wheel PITA

 

[fishplug]

Wouldn’t take much to knock one up

I was going to say that the one in the photo looks like it's been fabricated at home.

Not a difficult thing to make as you say, and you could even bypass the weld by bending half of the bottom one way and half the other and then screwing it into a block of wood to act as the foot.

 

[chaser]

Have you seen the back street Indian garages on you tube, when doing anything that should require a torque wrench they have socket wrenchs of different lengths and change it for the ones needing different values.
They even recondition engines in this way.

 

[L' Hobo]

I was going to say that the one in the photo looks like it's been fabricated at home.

Not a difficult thing to make as you say, and you could even bypass the weld by bending half of the bottom one way and half the other and then screwing it into a block of wood to act as the foot.

Why not just use an extendable axle stand?
Just make certain it's the heavy weight one, they tend to extend further.

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[Steve and Denise]

How about a piece of plywood with a few holes off set along the length of it light and cheap

 

[WESTY66]

Wow you’ve had a lucky escape dpsuk999 The thing I will take from this is that in the unlikely event I’ll upgrade to twin RWD I’ll do the tightening by the book myself, I’ll just get the fitter to give me the wheels and I WILL recheck them after the specified period, even if I have to pull off the motorway to somewhere safe!
I do all this now with my fiat, I won’t let anyone put my wheels on (unless it’s in the workshop having a service in which case they strip the front brakes) and even then I check them before leaving, and yes I’ll re check them when I get home. For the fiats it’s not too bad, only 180 NM for us

 

[dpsuk999]

Wow you’ve had a lucky escape dpsuk999 The thing I will take from this is that in the unlikely event I’ll upgrade to twin RWD I’ll do the tightening by the book myself, I’ll just get the fitter to give me the wheels and I WILL recheck them after the specified period, even if I have to pull off the motorway to somewhere safe!
I do all this now with my fiat, I won’t let anyone put my wheels on (unless it’s in the workshop having a service in which case they strip the front brakes) and even then I check them before leaving, and yes I’ll re check them when I get home. For the fiats it’s not too bad, only 180 NM for us

Thats my learning from this too trust no one and question everything!

 

[WESTY66]

One other thing on the torque wrenches is that they must be screwed right back to zero NM after use, it prolongs the accuracy of the wrench.
And yes you can get them recalibrated but I’ve never done one, it’s not really Swiss watch accuracy with big nuts and bolts, although I get it’s important to an extent, and if they’re looked after and wound back they will last a good while, not like we’re using them day in day out

 

[chaser]

It beats me though why the garage wouldn't tighten the wheel nuts up, you put the wheel on and tighten it up , what possible reason would they leave it loose?

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[fishplug]

Why not just use an extendable axle stand?

I was really only commenting on the device in the photo as the question had been asked where to buy one.

I can't see why an extendable axle stand wouldn't work.

My own personal solution is a cordless impact gun which does the job of removing the wheel nuts on my PVC in seconds without needing any bracing. Combined with some 1/2 inch torque limiters for re-fitting it's worked well for me so far.

Mind you I don't have dual axle anymore so it's not really an issue now.

 

[Steve and Denise]

It beats me though why the garage wouldn't tighten the wheel nuts up, you put the wheel on and tighten it up , what possible reason would they leave it loose?

Lax stupidity?

 

[Minxy]

It beats me though why the garage wouldn't tighten the wheel nuts up, you put the wheel on and tighten it up , what possible reason would they leave it loose?

Muppets.

 

[Abacist]

It beats me though why the garage wouldn't tighten the wheel nuts up, you put the wheel on and tighten it up , what possible reason would they leave it loose?

My local tyre place had a relief manager in and he changed the guy doing my van. Result was rear near side wheel nuts only done up finger tight! Shit happens!

 

[L' Hobo]

Thats my learning from this too trust no one and question everything!

It's a good Mantra to have.

When I had my Coach business, the only mechanics I trusted worked in my workshop.
Since I retired and have a tyre change on my Fiat etc., I get the tyre people to fit the tyre while I oversee (if I can't I go elsewhere) and replace it on the axle. I do the rest my DeWalt rattle gun and torque wrench.

As someone pointed out to me many years ago, at 70mph, the lives of 50+ people & safety of 15ton of Coach, depended on those few inches of rubber that actually touch the road.
They HAVE to be right!

PS. I probably shouldn't say this but, it still amazes me when I read on here, how many Funsters take their vans out of weeks in storage and take them abroad without staying in them for a few days on a British campsite to check things are working properly?

Am I getting too cautious in my old age?

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