Driving with loose wheelnuts
Moderator: martauto
-
classictwiggy
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:00 pm
Recently had my exhaust changed and the wheel nuts didnt get tightened properly. I drove 100+ miles with the front passenger wheel knocking, any thoughts on any damage that have occurred- I haven't driven the car since for safetys sake. I have been told as long as the wheel didnt actually come off no harm ill have been done most probably.
-
Bladerider
- I actually look like this \/
- Posts: 104
- Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:00 pm
I dont know if BM's have nuts or bolts,
....if they are bolts, take them all out and look at them, you will see if they have had any of the threads damaged, if they have any serious wear or "wasting" then get a garage to check the threads in the hubs are still ok
....if the are nuts then take all the nuts off that wheel and take the wheel off and examine the studs poking out the hub and check these carefully for signs of damage to the thread or stretching of the bolt. Once again if any of them look like they have had a beating then put the wheel on and drive slowly to a garage to get them to check them for you, its simple to replace and is better safe than sorry.
What tends to happen if your wheels have proper centre bore spiggots is that the wheel just wobbles a touch and perhaps does a little damage to some of the threads, if its a non original wheel or they dont have correct bores then the wheel can effectively "slide around" the hub surface a touch and really damage the threads or the studs/bolts and this is much more serious and I certainly wouldnt "just check if they thread ok" as you could easily have the threads in the hubs be knockered or stretched and not realise this until you go for a spirited drive. I had this on a car I bought second hand and two days later the wheel came off when the bolts pulled out the hubs on a tight bend I had zipped round quickly after the previous owner had just tightened the bolts up a bit more not knowing the threads in the hubs were almost destroyed and effectively not much more than just a smooth hole with some shavings in !! lol !!
J.
....if they are bolts, take them all out and look at them, you will see if they have had any of the threads damaged, if they have any serious wear or "wasting" then get a garage to check the threads in the hubs are still ok
....if the are nuts then take all the nuts off that wheel and take the wheel off and examine the studs poking out the hub and check these carefully for signs of damage to the thread or stretching of the bolt. Once again if any of them look like they have had a beating then put the wheel on and drive slowly to a garage to get them to check them for you, its simple to replace and is better safe than sorry.
What tends to happen if your wheels have proper centre bore spiggots is that the wheel just wobbles a touch and perhaps does a little damage to some of the threads, if its a non original wheel or they dont have correct bores then the wheel can effectively "slide around" the hub surface a touch and really damage the threads or the studs/bolts and this is much more serious and I certainly wouldnt "just check if they thread ok" as you could easily have the threads in the hubs be knockered or stretched and not realise this until you go for a spirited drive. I had this on a car I bought second hand and two days later the wheel came off when the bolts pulled out the hubs on a tight bend I had zipped round quickly after the previous owner had just tightened the bolts up a bit more not knowing the threads in the hubs were almost destroyed and effectively not much more than just a smooth hole with some shavings in !! lol !!
J.
-
Bladerider
- I actually look like this \/
- Posts: 104
- Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:00 pm
Better safe than sorry in my book !! lol
I guess Ive done a bit more "product testing" on cars than alot of users on here !!! lol
J.
I guess Ive done a bit more "product testing" on cars than alot of users on here !!! lol
J.
-
mrLEE30
- E30 Zone Team Member
- Posts: 6589
- Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: Sweating buckets in Bahrain
it also depends on how loose they were, i has similar thing and noticed they were loose when i was investigating the source of a new noise.
as blade suggests first remove each bolt and inspect the threads, if they are OK then should not be an issue, if they show ant abonormal signs of wear then have them checked - note for comparison use a wheel nut or two from a wheel you know was not loose, this way you can use the good bolt to guage what is OK.
also worth removing the wheel and checking the holes in the rim are not now oval,
if all ok then replace and lesson learnt...never trust ANY garage - especially brakes/suspension. I always go over work with my own tools after my car has a trip to the docs
as blade suggests first remove each bolt and inspect the threads, if they are OK then should not be an issue, if they show ant abonormal signs of wear then have them checked - note for comparison use a wheel nut or two from a wheel you know was not loose, this way you can use the good bolt to guage what is OK.
also worth removing the wheel and checking the holes in the rim are not now oval,
if all ok then replace and lesson learnt...never trust ANY garage - especially brakes/suspension. I always go over work with my own tools after my car has a trip to the docs
-
classictwiggy
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2009 11:00 pm
Wheel holes okay and bolts okay- I'm a lucky guy!
Next time I'll check myself!
Cheers for all the pointers guys.
Next time I'll check myself!
Cheers for all the pointers guys.