wheel nuts

[marc69]

driving the xe today, there was wheel wobble and noise, I thought a wheel bearing gone.

Cutting a long story short, the two rear bearings were slightly loose so gave them a little tighten and drove again, same problem....front wheels then.

Turns out the front passenger wheel nuts were all slightly loose.

The wheels were put on after the MOT in April and since then over 400 miles have been covered including 20 or so on Tuesday.

Is it likely that the 4 nuts could have slackened if I hadn't tighteneed them sufficiently in April?

It just seems odd that all of a sudden today they were loose.

[brainsnova]

Don't you have bolts? Alloys should always be checked 200 miles after fitting or something as they can loosen

[marc69]

yes, bolts, just me...I'm stupid lol!

Thanks, so they can slacken slightly, relieved, was worried, never had this before.

[Rage]

they should be tightened to 110 nm or 81 ftlb even with steelies they can slacken so it's always advisable to keep a check as you would for tread depth and tyre pressures.

don't be tempted to crank them up as tight as you can as this can cause undue stress on the bolts and cause them to snap especially when cornering

[Andy]

ALWAYS torque them with copper slip on the threads as when theyre dry and rusty they can give a false reading.

[Pistol Pete]

I had this issue when i first drove mine. I think the issue was when the wheels were painted, over spray was on the mating face. So i sanded it back, cleaned the disc face and refitted the wheels. Been fine since. But i do periodically check them.

[marc69]

I just found it wierd as after mucking about with cars for so many years I have never had a wheel slacken on me, even foul play crossed my mind but relieved that it is a phenonemon (not a clue how that is spelt and slight exaggeration anyway lol) does happen.

[Rage]

there is a wheel nut/bolt oil that is better than copper slip as the copper grains in copper slip can cause their own problems. a clean mating face and hub centre gives a better reading aswell. i have a halfords torque wrench that i use at work and i have had checked by works own independant calibration company and it was in calibration so i would recommend that particular wrench to make sure it is tourquing to the correct settings

[Andy]

What bolt oil grease is that mate?

[L14MNP]

ALWAYS torque them with copper slip on the threads as when theyre dry and rusty they can give a false reading.

You mean the reading when the 3/8" ratchet drive slips inside the scaffy bar and you bray your knuckles?

[Rage]

What bolt oil grease is that mate?

i'll have to check what stuff it is when i get to work. if i couldn't find any stud oil then i would use some 3in1 on clean threads. but like i say ill have a look and give you a message i'll try to get a pic of the stuff we use