Chazmo..... something that changed the way I put wheels on cars.... (and other things for that matter), I recently bought myself a nice expensive torque wrench, it's a craftsman, the one that pops when your reach torque, similar to the ones they use in the pits...... if you get in the habit of properly torqueing your bolts, you'll always get them on, because there is that tool specific thing going on in your mind.... just a thought.... I LOVE my torque wrench.... I wish more bolts had torque specifications.....

 

My mum actually had exactly the same experience as Charlie after my brother changed the wheel on her car one time ..... and I was in the car when the wheel came off ..... ever since then, there has been very little chance that I would repeat that incident !!!!!

 

It's a great thought, wicky. The problem with lug nuts/bolts is that you have to tighten them for them to actually work. Yeah, those fancy torque wrenches are great. And, you're right. Just the desire to use the tool could help prevent such a mistake. On the other hand, the underlying problem with all this is that I rushed. 90% of the time, at work, when I push the envelope, I'm successful and I'm a hero. But when it comes to things mechanical... Quite the opposite.

I swear to god, I'm driving down the road as the car is making horrible shaking noises, and I figure the wheel bearing has gone. I just want to get the car home. This noise is similar to something that already happened to us on the Volvo where we lost a bearing on the passenger side. It never occurs to me that I had left the job undone and I was about to see the bolts shoot off the car and watch the tire come away from the car. D'oh.

 

James, thanks for that! I know how you must've felt. Not exactly a warm fuzzy feeling!

 

It certainly wasn't Chazmo ....

I just hope you didn't do quite as much damage as my mum did, but she was travelling at about 50mph when the wheel overtook the car

 

I was doing about 40, James. I'll let y'all know what the damage is tomorrow after I've gotten an estimate from the mechanics and body shop.

:rubs eyes and face in disgust:

Alas, time to call it quits tonight. Later gators.

 

reminds me of the time my brake pads fell out of the caliper on my '81 accord......

 

Night Charlie ....

come on then wicky, spill the beans, was it your fault ??

 

actually no, the brake shop (can't remember who now... lucky them) had to turn down the front rotors because they were warped, apparently were pretty close to the limit of specification, put in my old 3/4 worn brake pads..... I go to stop in traffic, and BANG! almost no brakes, horribly gnarly grinding sounds, car swerves all over, it was unreal.... I have psycho about brakes ever since..... people are like "my mustang does 0-60 in 5 seconds" and I'm like, yeah, and it take 10 minutes to stop...... We actually had to report this place to the BBB, and as a result of this (and many other things) were shut down.....

funny design from Honda on those brakes, single disc with pressed bearings between the disc and the steering knuckle.... so to change the disc, you had to break the bearings... to press the bearings you had to warp the disc.......

 

I am sure that there was a perfectly logical explanation for the design .... maybe to stop people f**king around with them