Wheel nuts sheared

[Stressball]

Hey all,

Had a bit of a problem today. Doing about 90kmh on the Ipswich motorway, discovered rather violently that 3 of my front right wheel bolts had sheared through. Wheel jumped off, quarter panel dropped onto it and bent, brake rotor hit the ground and gave itself a flat spot. Fortunately kept the car straight and came to a stop with no further damage, and no injuries.

What I'd like to know is, does anybody know what could cause this?

I had noticed noises from that wheel, but to me and my dad, it sounded like the bearing was wearing. Had it booked in to be replaced next week, but it didn't survive that long. Was looking for a motorway exit to get off andf check it as the vibrations were getting very bad, very quickly. But the bearing seemed ok after we took a look with the wheel off, so any ideas what could cause this?


Thanks

[keza87]

Were the nuts after market ones or genuine? Was it the actual nuts that were sheared or the studs?

I have seen wheel nuts that have been sheared before on an old Volvo before. I would say that after the amount of times they have been tightened over the years with rattle guns they can eventually wear out.

[ImAHoon!]

not sure how 3 studs shearing off results in a wheel coming off thats held on by 5 nuts... but anyhoo!

[clubsport_replica]

was about to post that.....

[alien]

Well ImAHoon!, if you have a nice head 1.3 Tonne vehicle travelling at a speed of 100km/h (so plenty of kinetic enegery) that's an incredible amout of force to rely on just 2 wheel nuts so support, especially if they have partial cracks or are partially sheared as well!

[ImAHoon!]

Well ImAHoon!, if you have a nice head 1.3 Tonne vehicle travelling at a speed of 100km/h (so plenty of kinetic enegery) that's an incredible amout of force to rely on just 2 wheel nuts so support, especially if they have partial cracks or are partially sheared as well!

which would mean all 5 sheared off or the wheel would still be on!

the thread starter clearly stated that only 3 sheared off...

[alien]

Well obviously if the wheel came off then there's no more wheel nuts left on it, so there was obviously 2 that weren't sheered then in which case made themselves loose from all the pressure put on them?

[ImAHoon!]

Well obviously if the wheel came off then there's no more wheel nuts left on it, so there was obviously 2 that weren't sheered then in which case made themselves loose from all the pressure put on them?

so loose they undid themselves? lol

[keza87]

the two nuts and studs that were holding the wheel on would have eventually broken the studs resulting in the wheel coming off. But by the sounds of it the other nuts have worked their way off.

[STEALTHY™]

3 sheered off, i'd assume the other 2 vibrated loose. He mentioned 3 shearing, because 2 studs would have still been there when he went to put the wheel back on.


Only thing i know of that shears them is them being put on with a rattle gun. Happened to me before, i pulled into a servo after i heard the first one part ways. Same thing, 3 sheered, the other 2 vibrated loose (almost off)

[Lumps of cheese]

You're wasting your time trying to explain. Some people just don't get it, or don't want to.

[Lumps of cheese]

Only thing i know of that shears them is them being put on with a rattle gun. Happened to me before, i pulled into a servo after i heard the first one part ways. Same thing, 3 sheered, the other 2 vibrated loose (almost off)

Yep, you shouldn't do them up with a rattle gun on it's own. Run over them with a brace just to make sure. We've lost duals off trucks before because of this.

[clubsport_replica]

does makes sense but could have been explained in the first post that all 5 were there to start with and that if that was the case then possibly the nuts were at fault/ not tight enough or slightly threaded etc....

[STEALTHY™]

Yep, you shouldn't do them up with a rattle gun on it's own. Run over them with a brace just to make sure. We've lost duals off trucks before because of this.

I didn't put them on (the one and only time i didn't bother to check them myself)

Mate put my gearbox in for me, and had his friend who was over put them on. He specifically told him, put the nuts on, then do up with the rattle gun, but he didn't listen (and the mate was busy cleaning up).

The guy ended up paying for all the damages, so it worked out ok!

[Travy]

Not a good thing to have happen...

You dont run wheel spacers or anything silly like that do you?

[Stressball]

You dont run wheel spacers or anything silly like that do you?

Nope, standard hubs, 5 studs, as far as i can tell they're VT GTS rims. I had taken them off before, but only using a crossbar, no rattle gun. That being said, the guy who owned it before me worked in a workshop, so maybe whenever he did work to it he used a rattlegun and wore them over time?

Just to make it clear since I didn't do a very good job in the last post, 3 studs had sheared right through, the other 2 were still intact but were missing the nuts. Presumably 3 sheared through and the vibrations worked the remaining two nuts loose enough to let go.

The studs had sheared through inside the hub, behind the protruding parts of the studs. The only thing I can think of after your suggestions is, the guy who owned it before me did swap rims quite a few times, and did have access to a rattlegun at his workshop. Maybe swapping so many times on top of the fact that it's the original, 11 year old hub could have weakened it?

Anyway, thanks for all your suggestions

[Shortstuff]

Overtightening can cause wheel studs to shear. Did it myself years ago. That's why I always use a torque wrench to do the final tightening on wheel nuts now.

[danja]

Mixing imperial nuts with metric bolts (or visa versa) can also cause this - the nuts are close enough so that they fit, but not quite right to they exert stress on threads, and eventually fail.

[Stressball]

Hmm good point... As far as I know everything on the car was genuine, having come from a holden mechanic.. But hey, you never know.

[Reaper]

Most likely caused by a rattle gun at some stage. I'd be replacing all the wheel studs on that car. The damage caused by over-torquing from a rattle gun may not manifest itself straight away and the wheel nuts may be removed and replaced several times before they let go. Not a good situation but it sounds like it could have been a ton worse.

If you ever feel vague or sluggish steering or suspension/ride then immediately stop and give all the wheels a good shake. If there is any movement then investigate further before you move the car. It might be a good idea to shove the spare under the car next to the wheel you are shaking just in case it falls off the car.

Reaper

[Tyson23]

Man, i'm from ipswich...i'd blame it on that **** of a motorway

[Travy]

Id be checking all studs on the car and replacing them!!

If it was due to rattlegun/overtighening id assume the 4 wheels would be similar.

[gopher]

What I'd like to know is, does anybody know what could cause this?

Man, i'm from ipswich...i'd blame it on that **** of a motorway

i reckon tyson's right
probably the Ipswich motorway.
i drive on it every day and have bent rims on it before

[Stressball]

Nah, it had been wearing for about a week slowly, it did get much worse on the ipswich motorway, but it definitely didn't cause it heh.

[Brin]

I am not the only person to have a flat disk rotor! *jumps in joy*

Rattergun Experience:

I used a rattle gun once. After using a wheel brace for many years, this was technology for me hahaha. I got excited coz changing a tyre would only take 5 minutes from now on with this tool I had.. kind of.. bagsed. Lol. Next week I got new tyres and couldn't take the nuts off with my wheel brace coz I threaded them with the bloody rattlegun. AND my wheel brace was so worn it wouldn't hold onto the nuts!!

I ran up and down the street like a lunatic all night bothering the neighbours for a wheel brace or rattle gun.

I got my new tyres on about 1 am the next morning lol.