Any suggestions as to why some transport operators have frequent wheel loosening problems.
I have read little on the subject and have noticed some operators have suffered wheel loss from trailers.
One transport operators driver lost a wheel en rout and did not notice until his next stop some 100 miles away.
Recently I was told that on one particular trailer whist collecting a trailer the driver noticed that the markers had moved and there were 5 bolts that were loose.
The operator also had another trailer where the wheel studs were damaged by another loose wheel.
The wheel were aluminium and the trailers were around 10 to 15 years old.
some drivers reckon that the problem is that the rims are made from aluminium.
Luckily nobody has been injured by wheels falling off but if this problem not nipped in the bud then there will be other cases of wheel fatality.
Aluminium wheels are ok for cars but on a heavy truck I dont think they can absorb the heat from the drums due to braking that a normal steel rim can.This puts the rim under much higher thermal stress and because aluminium reacts with steel eg the studs,nuts and spigot,even more so when its hot, the rim actually thins out over time allowing the nuts to work loose.
Ross v stobart:
I have read little on the subject and have noticed some operators have suffered wheel loss from trailers.
One transport operators driver lost a wheel en rout and did not notice until his next stop some 100 miles away.
It might look like bad grammar at a glance, but I think you’re being truthful when you state that “I have read little on the subject”.
If you actually look into the reasons why wheels are coming off LGV’s it can be quite interesting, that is if your mind can expand beyond what Cheryl Cole was wearing last night & any other topic in your tabloid comic of choice that hides from you the reality of the world the rest of us live in.
Some of the finest engineering brains in the world are working on the problem, thing is that because no one will stand to make £millions from the solution, no one is putting much money into the research.
Bking:
Aluminium wheels are ok for cars but on a heavy truck I dont think they can absorb the heat from the drums due to braking that a normal steel rim can.This puts the rim under much higher thermal stress and because aluminium reacts with steel eg the studs,nuts and spigot,even more so when its hot, the rim actually thins out over time allowing the nuts to work loose.
The rim thins out over time, allowing the nuts to work loose
The tyre goes on the rims, do you use nuts n bolts to hold your tyres on
Or do you mean the wheel centre
In which case you’re mistaken.
Aluminium is a very good conductor of heat (and electricity), better than steel, in fact better than copper, but it’s to brittle to be used in wiring.
So an aluminium alloy wheel and steel hub will run slightly cooler than a steel wheel and hub because the aluminium wheel will conduct heat away from the hub better.
Heat, at the relatively low temperatures we are talking about, won’t make aluminium react with steel either, water will though. It’ll ‘facilitate’ galvanic corrosion of the wheel, which means that the wheel will thin out over time but the time scale there is tens of years. You’d rather expect a wheel to be removed and put back on once or twice during that sort of time scale, for hub maintenance if nothing else. That would probably mean taking wheels off, removing wheel nuts and putting them back on and making sure they are tight?
It’s the drivers responsibility to ensure that their vehicle is safe to take on the road. That includes load security and funnily enough, among several other things, wheel nuts being tight. That’s why you get those plastic indicators, so you can see at a glance if your nuts are loose.
There’s been quite a lot published on this over the years.
Basically, the wheel fasteners (studs or nuts) must be in good condition, lubricated (engine oil is ideal) and tightened to the correct torque in the correct pattern. They should be retorqued after a set interval. It’s all about clamping the wheel to the hub with an even force. If the studs are too tight they can stretch and clamping force is lost. If the suds are too loose, clamping force is lost. If threads are dirty or damaged then you get a false torque…the stud appears to be tight, but isn’t exerting enough clamping force.
The inside of the wheel and the hub must be clean and unpainted on their mating surfaces.
The stud holes in the wheels must be in good condition.
My own experience is that uncoated ally wheels actually stick to steel hubs, and are quite difficult to remove even when all the studs are undone.
Simon:
The rim thins out over time, allowing the nuts to work loose
The tyre goes on the rims, do you use nuts n bolts to hold your tyres on
Or do you mean the wheel centre
In which case you’re mistaken.
Aluminium is a very good conductor of heat (and electricity), better than steel, in fact better than copper, but it’s to brittle to be used in wiring.
So an aluminium alloy wheel and steel hub will run slightly cooler than a steel wheel and hub because the aluminium wheel will conduct heat away from the hub better.
Heat, at the relatively low temperatures we are talking about, won’t make aluminium react with steel either, water will though. It’ll ‘facilitate’ galvanic corrosion of the wheel, which means that the wheel will thin out over time but the time scale there is tens of years. You’d rather expect a wheel to be removed and put back on once or twice during that sort of time scale, for hub maintenance if nothing else. That would probably mean taking wheels off, removing wheel nuts and putting them back on and making sure they are tight?
It’s the drivers responsibility to ensure that their vehicle is safe to take on the road. That includes load security and funnily enough, among several other things, wheel nuts being tight. That’s why you get those plastic indicators, so you can see at a glance if your nuts are loose.
Apart from spelling a few words correctly, everything else that you have just spouted is horribly wrong.
Some of the car makers are saying they have done away with spare wheels because of the difficulty of gett ing wheels off.When two or more dissimilar metals are put together corrosion takes place.
Drivers checking wheel nuts would help. We all know it’s a legal requirement but health and safety and company policies force some drivers to break the law.
alamcculloch:
Some of the car makers are saying they have done away with spare wheels because of the difficulty of gett ing wheels off.When two or more dissimilar metals are put together corrosion takes place.
First we all had spare wheels, then we had space saver wheels, now we have no spare wheel at all.
Not necessarily a bad thing, until you suffer a rare puncture !
We’ve enjoyed the option of cast alloy wheels on steel hubs, commonly for over 30yrs now. I must’ve changed 1000’s of the buggers. Never have I had a problem knocking an alloy wheel off a steel hub once the nuts are undone.
We’ve enjoyed the option of cast alloy wheels on steel hubs, commonly for over 30yrs now. I must’ve changed 1000’s of the buggers. Never have I had a problem knocking an alloy wheel off a steel hub once the nuts are undone.
Depends on whether the ally wheel is coated or not, they can be really sticky
Aluminium is a better conductor of heat than steel - but it certainly is not better than copper (it is roughly half as conductive as copper, but also roughly 4-5 times as conductive as steel).
Roymondo:
Aluminium is a better conductor of heat than steel - but it certainly is not better than copper (it is roughly half as conductive as copper, but also roughly 4-5 times as conductive as steel).
Roymondo seems to know how to use Google.
Please don’t take this as an attack on yourself.
Copper is a brilliantly fantastic metal that can be used where 2 different metals need to be joined.
How else do you justify th existence of copper grease?
Simon:
Oh? You think so?
So what exactly is the correct info and what qualifies you to say so?
Where would you like me to start?
Lets start with your explanation of how wheel rims thin out over time allowing the wheel nuts to work loose.
I have a Ph.D in an engineering discipline. You may call me Dr. Chas if you wish but I’m the last person to insist that you do that.
Galvanic corrosion indeed
I didn’t say wheel rims thin out over time, I was repeating Bkings claim in amazement.
Then I said why they didn’t thin out over time, except negligibly over a very long time scale.
