Juddian:
Almost all these instances could be avoided if wheel nut pointers are used, yes they look a bit daft in the eyes of some, but a lot prettier than the aftermath of a lost wheel bowling down a street at 40mph, and the sight of the VOSA vans and Galaxies entering the operating centre for a full inspection.
That was my thinking when I put them on my wagon. I had a couple of wheels nuts come loose, thankfully they were spotted before anything bad happened, but that was enough to get me to buy a set. They do look a bit daft but that’s a small price to pay IMO.
Paul
The biggest downside to them is the ball-ache of taking them all off, and putting them back on after, for test. Although I have turned a big old pair of pincers into a tool for removing them with the aid of a bench grinder and push them back on with an old bit of metal tube the right size.
All very well asking who to blame for a wheel missing but how many of these"lost" wheels also have the drum and hub tag along for the ride?
If the hub bearing picks up and starts to sieze no piddling lock tab or vernier ring is going to stop that bugger pulling straight off the stub or banjo axle.
Bpw have had a couple go walk about lately,and they try to lay it all on maintainence of the ECO plus2 axle when in reality its a crap design.
And they know it.
Was it the Leyland hub reduction hub that had a lock tab virtually made out of a coke can? Or was it one of the Kirkstall ones? Certainly remember a mod with a big plate that went right round the nut and two allen bolts to screw into the annulus carrier.
hi all, i’ve been in the maintenance game for over twenty years and in my experience most wheel losses tend happen in a short period after fitting , usually its down to wheels being mounted on poor contact surfaces like loose rust, paint, grit, dirt,etc which eventually works its way out while the vehicle is being used, manufacturers paint wheel surfaces and as long as they’re clean when fitted theres not usually any problem, i’ve seen some companies sand all paint from mating surfaces to solve wheel loss but all this does in my experience is cause the wheel to rust and then its not fit to use after a few more removals, i was speaking with a tyre fitter who pointed out that torquing wheels nuts within seconds of running them down with an air gun is not enough as the nuts and studs are usually hot therefore a second torque check is required after 30mins or 50km travelled( makes sense to me), i’d like to know how drivers do a regular check of wheel nuts when some vehicles are fitted with wheel trims covering wheel nuts and manufacturers nut caps which are an absolute nightmare to remove on 4/6 weekly operators licence inspections(i’m sure drivers do not have the time to remove these on a daily basis). if the wheel is spray painted correctly,cleaned properly when fitted, good studs and nuts torqued correctly, and then checked on a regular basis the next few weeks then it should never come off. like most things these days its usually down to not enough time to do a thorough a proper job because it doesn’t please the shirt and tie brigade and balance the figures, when will common sense come back in to play
sallygoodwin67:
hi all, i’ve been in the maintenance game for over twenty years and in my experience most wheel losses tend happen in a short period after fitting , usually its down to wheels being mounted on poor contact surfaces like loose rust, paint, grit, dirt,etc which eventually works its way out while the vehicle is being used, manufacturers paint wheel surfaces and as long as they’re clean when fitted theres not usually any problem, i’ve seen some companies sand all paint from mating surfaces to solve wheel loss but all this does in my experience is cause the wheel to rust and then its not fit to use after a few more removals, i was speaking with a tyre fitter who pointed out that torquing wheels nuts within seconds of running them down with an air gun is not enough as the nuts and studs are usually hot therefore a second torque check is required after 30mins or 50km travelled( makes sense to me), i’d like to know how drivers do a regular check of wheel nuts when some vehicles are fitted with wheel trims covering wheel nuts and manufacturers nut caps which are an absolute nightmare to remove on 4/6 weekly operators licence inspections(i’m sure drivers do not have the time to remove these on a daily basis). if the wheel is spray painted correctly,cleaned properly when fitted, good studs and nuts torqued correctly, and then checked on a regular basis the next few weeks then it should never come off. like most things these days its usually down to not enough time to do a thorough a proper job because it doesn’t please the shirt and tie brigade and balance the figures, when will common sense come back in to play
Funny you should say that, and i can hear the sharp intakes of breath for you daring to mention such a thing.
Back in the bad old days of tapered wheelnuts requiring a good pair of bollox to tighten 'em enough and not a torque wrench in sight, myself and a mate were on tip work, 2 year contract.
Obviously punctures were a regular occurence and we kept a couple of spare wheels jacks and wheelbraces at the site we were working out of and…shock horror…changed our own…((Christ imagine asking some of the modern crew to do that, first they’d have a kitten then strain their flimsy backs and scam 6 months on the sick plus a claim)).
We kept the threads well oiled and not once ever did we have a wheel come loose.
The same cannot be said of rusty threads and wheel tapers, i’ve often seen loose wheels back then when things were rusty.
Now this might be wrong and probably tempting the wrath of the modern techies here, but clean and lightly oiled taper seats always seemed to seat better, once tightened properly we honestly never had a moments problem, and cos things weren’t seized we could change a wheel in about 15 mins.
Juddian:
Almost all these instances could be avoided if wheel nut pointers are used,
The biggest downside to them is the ball-ache of taking them all off, and putting them back on after, for test.
I’ve never taken the nut pointers off the trailers for test and the testers have always managed to tap away to their hearts content without any comment or advisorys. Different matter for the pointer caps I use on the unit though, I once forgot to remove them and a loud ‘‘Ahem’’ and a disgruntled ‘‘you’ll have to take them off pal’’ soon had me dashing round the unit with a carrier bag popping them off and collecting them up
I’ve been painting wheels on every side for over 20 years spigot and cone ,sloshed oil everywhere ,after the air gun ,2 good cracks on a standard wheel brase on the cones ,and a quick check on the spigot wheels ,touch wood no one lost any yet .
sallygoodwin67:
hi all, i’ve been in the maintenance game for over twenty years and in my experience most wheel losses tend happen in a short period after fitting , usually its down to wheels being mounted on poor contact surfaces like loose rust, paint, grit, dirt,etc which eventually works its way out while the vehicle is being used, manufacturers paint wheel surfaces and as long as they’re clean when fitted theres not usually any problem, i’ve seen some companies sand all paint from mating surfaces to solve wheel loss but all this does in my experience is cause the wheel to rust and then its not fit to use after a few more removals, i was speaking with a tyre fitter who pointed out that torquing wheels nuts within seconds of running them down with an air gun is not enough as the nuts and studs are usually hot therefore a second torque check is required after 30mins or 50km travelled( makes sense to me), i’d like to know how drivers do a regular check of wheel nuts when some vehicles are fitted with wheel trims covering wheel nuts and manufacturers nut caps which are an absolute nightmare to remove on 4/6 weekly operators licence inspections(i’m sure drivers do not have the time to remove these on a daily basis). if the wheel is spray painted correctly,cleaned properly when fitted, good studs and nuts torqued correctly, and then checked on a regular basis the next few weeks then it should never come off. like most things these days its usually down to not enough time to do a thorough a proper job because it doesn’t please the shirt and tie brigade and balance the figures, when will common sense come back in to play
sallygoodwin67:
hi all, i’ve been in the maintenance game for over twenty years and in my experience most wheel losses tend happen in a short period after fitting , usually its down to wheels being mounted on poor contact surfaces like loose rust, paint, grit, dirt,etc which eventually works its way out while the vehicle is being used, manufacturers paint wheel surfaces and as long as they’re clean when fitted theres not usually any problem, i’ve seen some companies sand all paint from mating surfaces to solve wheel loss but all this does in my experience is cause the wheel to rust and then its not fit to use after a few more removals, i was speaking with a tyre fitter who pointed out that torquing wheels nuts within seconds of running them down with an air gun is not enough as the nuts and studs are usually hot therefore a second torque check is required after 30mins or 50km travelled( makes sense to me), i’d like to know how drivers do a regular check of wheel nuts when some vehicles are fitted with wheel trims covering wheel nuts and manufacturers nut caps which are an absolute nightmare to remove on 4/6 weekly operators licence inspections(i’m sure drivers do not have the time to remove these on a daily basis). if the wheel is spray painted correctly,cleaned properly when fitted, good studs and nuts torqued correctly, and then checked on a regular basis the next few weeks then it should never come off. like most things these days its usually down to not enough time to do a thorough a proper job because it doesn’t please the shirt and tie brigade and balance the figures, when will common sense come back in to play
like sallygodwin ,been in the workshop way too long …Being with a dealer ,the manufacture states before refitting wheels wire brush the wheels mating surfaces and the hub ,to remove any rust and paint etc ,apply light oil to the treads,dry rusty threads may give a false torque,and retorque after 30 mins if stationary ,or as i do go for a roadtest where loads are applied and then retorque…Bosses may moan at me for taking 30 mins longer than the "book times " well actually they don’t been in the game toooooo long to care ,first time fix is my priority ,and i don’t care if boss or the customer is nagging me ,when i sign it off i can sleep at night
