wheel fell off

[P361 DOD]

Had a strange scenario today. While driving the ex the back wheel fell off. now that's strange in itself but it gets worse as when i found the wheel cap three of the bolts were still fixed to the cap, which means they could not have come undone. Puzzled I am. also need another alloy if anyone 's got one spare as my holes are now elongated

 

[Bruces expo]

Wow sorry to hear about this , glad you reported no incidents or injury's , So your saying 3 out of 5 lug nuts stayed on the studs ?

 

[P361 DOD]

No all the nuts had come off the studs. I found the hub cap about 400 yards back up the road, 3 of the nuts were still in the hub cap lugs so they could not have come undone. the only way that can happen is for the threads to strip, but that doesn't appear to have happened

 

[Bruces expo]

o. okay sounds as if the lugs were stripped out then , seen it happen a few weeks ago to a Chevy caprice with Big 26" rims , the tire shop stripped his lugs and his wheel came off and got stuck under the car

 

[corkey]

did you have different lug nuts put on lately ?
maybe they are the wrong thread

 

[P361 DOD]

That's the conclusion I came to. I did change the wheels some time ago from steel to alloys they came with a set of nuts. both trucks are UK models but I guess the studs could be different

 

[chrisquelch]

if the threads are ok on the studs they must be striped in the nuts. if the nuts dont match the studs the rest of your wheels may be loose.

 

[P361 DOD]

Hi Chris I've thought of that already the wheels and nuts that are on there came from you. any chance they were from usa and not uk model, the nuts I mean. Also if your breaking another one can I buy a set of wheel nuts from you.

 

[chrisquelch]

hi the wheels and nuts came from a uk spec explorer it was the black one in the pics on my ebay items . i dont think there are 2 sizes of studs on uk explorers as have sold many sets of alloy wheels and nuts that have replaced steel wheels with no reported problems .
cheers chris

 

[P361 DOD]

I don't think there is a difference really I'm just clutching at straws

 

[chrisquelch]

ok checked nuts and studs on 3 explorers a 97with steel wheels 98 with steel wheels should have alloys and a 99 with alloys all nuts and stude the same. the only thing i can think is the wheel hadnt seated right back on the half shaft and with use went right back against the shaft leaving the nuts loose if the nut are still in the hub cap one or othere of the threads must be damaged. i would change all the studs and the nuts on that shaft if it where my car and check the rest are ok .
cheers chris

 

[P361 DOD]

Thanks for looking Chris. studs being changed this weekend, weather permitting

 

[tlutz211]

Can't rule out sabotage! Have you pissed anyone off lately? (just kidding) stranger stuff has happened...

 

[P361 DOD]

Well the sun was shinning today so I went to investigate. And my conclusion is this. I don't have a clue what happened. The nuts are fine and not stripped, the studs are fine and not stripped. Sabotaged? It's always possible I suppose, don't think I've annoyed anyone that much, guess It's one of those things and I'll never really know the answer

 

[ArtistsRifles]

Can't rule out sabotage! Have you pissed anyone off lately? (just kidding) stranger stuff has happened...

You aren't joking here - couple of years ago I took an ex-Military Landrover home to load, up via the MOT station, for a show the following day. Passed the MOT with flying colours and as it was my mate doing it - he checked the vehicle over thoroughly following the end of year lay up. Following day on the M20 my wife saw a wheel rolling down the road a spilt second before the N/S front corner dropped. Got the old girl onto the hard shoulder and when I checked every wheel nut on every wheel was loose. Seems the local morons, taking a dislike to anything to do with the British Army had come onto my property and loosened all the nuts. A neighbour told us a few days later he'd seen them in the front garden around the Landie that night. Wish he'd told us the next day - would have saved a lot of problems.....