Check your lug nuts!

[XYZ]

Reminded me of another OKC cross town story.
(For those who don’t know I-40 used to cross over OKC on an elevated roadbed and was called the crosstown expressway I believe.)

Going in to work one morning. Later than usual and there was traffic. Cruising along minding my own business and WHAM! A lug nut from somewhere whacks my windshield. Didn’t come through but ended up lodged in it.

Guess I was lucky that day.

 

[swampratt]

Had new tires installed on my wife's SUV. A week later I noticed a lug nut missing on the front right tire. I then noticed it was the tamper proof lug nut. The right rear TP nut was almost off. The drivers side was loose but not close coming off.

Called the tire shop and they said bring it in. They told me they impact gun all the conventional lug nuts, but not the TP ones and they can shear them off. I guess he never went back and torqued them. I'm sure impact guns are the standard installation all the time.

Bunch of idiots.

 

[Gunbuffer]

Glad they are ok

 

[dennishoddy]

Here’s the culprit…
View attachment 509050

Glad they are ok. Hub looks just like the wheels on my RV or a lot of commercial trailers. Tread pattern is a trailer tire.

I lost a rear wheel off a pickup once with bearing failure. The entire axle along with the wheel and tire ended up on a guys front porch, taking out his front door one quiet Sunday morning many, many years ago. The older truck lost the brake line as well, so coasting to a stop, the axle lube was pouring out, with the friction of the axle on the concrete catching it on fire. I lost the truck to the ensuing fire.

 

[Ahall]

8 x 14.5 and wedge type rim.
Old school
That system has not been popular in years
I remember seeing them on school busses and mobile home axles.

It's not a drive axle either. It's something that just rolls, like a trailer.

Also, no conventional lug nuts that came loose.
The hub has a pair of bearings, some seals, and a castle nut with a key to keep it all in place.
Not much to go wrong.

I see the inboard side of the hub in the photo, and it's not torn up.

Who wants to bet they just repacked the bearings and left the cotter key out of the hub nut.

 

[T. MIKE SMITH]

One Christmas eve, my first since my divorce a couple months earlier, it was warm- around 60 degrees. I decided- prob not going to get many real estate calls today, so I think I will clean up my pick up and wax it. Then I thought, it's been a while since I rotated my tires, so I broke out the impact and floor jack and got after it. Holiday pass by and I'm heading to the office the day after Christmas and something felt weird. I stop and look- one of my back wheels is loose. Dumb A- I missed tighting and didn't double check stuff. Wound up having to get a new wheel- new lugs and the lug cover was missing. There was tire store there and I knew the guy, so I just told him to do whatever it needed and call me. End of the day he had found a wheel and had me going- couple hundred bucks in 2005. Well, I was still missing that cap. I was going down 40 one day and I see the Robinson exit. I think- whip down by some of those hub cab joints and see if they have one. First place had just got in 4 of them wired together- $50. I said I really just need one- he got them down, unwired the bunch and pulled one off and said that will be $25 bucks. I thought, I can have 4 for $50. I just got the one and never lost another one in the time I owned it. Needless to say- I never didn't double-triple check after that. Dumb A

 

[clintbailey]

@Shinneryfarmer has a fairly recent story about losing wheels/tires. In addition, him and I used to work with a guy that lost a wife to a set of duals coming off a truck along I-40 IIRC.

As for me, I lost a set of intermediate drive tires/wheels off a T2000 KW close to DFW airport over 20 years ago. One of the set passed me on a small overpass, bouncing down the guardrail, first sign of something wrong. Once I get stopped, I see whats missing. Spent an hour waiting on a tow truck, never found either wheel during that time.

 

[Shinneryfarmer]

@Shinneryfarmer has a fairly recent story about losing wheels/tires. In addition, him and I used to work with a guy that lost a wife to a set of duals coming off a truck along I-40 IIRC.

As for me, I lost a set of intermediate drive tires/wheels off a T2000 KW close to DFW airport over 20 years ago. One of the set passed me on a small overpass, bouncing down the guardrail, first sign of something wrong. Once I get stopped, I see whats missing. Spent an hour waiting on a tow truck, never found either wheel during that time.

Don't bring me into this, I will have to check before I can explain. As far as I know I'm still under a gag order due to law suit. Have not seen anything saying it has been lifted.


Got it a week after everyone was told of the incident in our Safety Meeting.

 

[clintbailey]

Don't bring me into this, I will have to check before I can explain. As far as I know I'm still under a gag order due to law suit. Have not seen anything saying it has been lifted.


Got it a week after everyone was told of the incident in our Safety Meeting.

Damn, didn't know that part! Sorry I mentioned it

 

[Shinneryfarmer]

Damn, didn't know that part! Sorry I mentioned it

No problem, just not suppose to discuss it. Some stuff has been lifted just haven't received anything on that part.