Wheel nuts losening

Pete wrote:


Yes it is possible but unlikely unless the nuts , threads or both
have been damaged at some time .

One of the causes is extreme overtightening  stretches the bolts
damages the threads

On 10/04/11 15:40, Pete wrote:

Check the bolts against one from another wheel. The bolt seating face
should be matched to the wheel, and make sure there's no
grease/copperease on the seating as well.

On 10/04/2011 15:40, Pete wrote:

Has it happened once or does it keep happening?

Is the manufacturer spec in lbsFt and they have been done up in Nm and
they're not tight enough?

If the spec is Nm and they've been torqued in lbsFt they've been
overtightened the bolts may be stretching?

There may be something between the hub/wheel which compresses after
initial tightening?  Perhaps you could wire-brush both faces?

Inspect the threads of the studs with the wheel off and of the nuts,
it's possible they are buggered.

Are the correct type of wheel nuts fitted?  Steel wheels often use a
fitting with a different taper/collar to alloys.

It's fairly normal for manufacturers to reccommend re-torquing after a
set mileage as they don't only go loose on Mercedes and Audis.

--
Douglas

wrote:


Or dirt on any of it. It's one of those things you always recheck after
the 1st time it happens to you.

Pete wrote:

does it have original wheels with the correct bolts or nuts?  are there any
wheel spacers, is anything damaged?  Correctly tightened parts of the right
type are very unlikely to come undone.

 I have seen this happening  when there are wrong bits fitted or wrong
torque applied, such as 102mm wheels on 100 stud pitch hubs or similar fault
with a wheel where the centre hole is wrong for the vehicle.   Also, severe
overtightening of steel wheels  could cause it,  I had that on a trailer
with austin cambridge wheels, the wheel design was too weak for the use and
overtightening squashed the conical bit that the nut fits into, they
loosened after quite a short time.  It also used to happen on Hillman imp
steel wheels, they had an uncommon taper angle and if you used wheel nuts
off something else, they did not mate properly and undid very soon.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
something like:


Yes, especially if you've pissed off a neighbour.

On 14/04/2011 22:34, Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:

Do you live near the OP?

--
Douglas

On 11/04/2011 12:40 AM, Pete wrote:

Are they the original wheels and nuts?

Only found this happening with incorrect matching parts. That was a merc
with different model wheels.

Secondly if for some reason the seats or nuts were damaged at some stage
when the wheel had been incorrectly tightened. Then you may have to
replace the damage.

More technical info later.

On 22/04/2011 5:09 PM, Rob wrote:

 From the VW/Audi techo

 From what you have described, by now the centre of the wheel has been
damaged.

He usually lubricates the threads before they are inserted then tightens
the studs up to 120Nms, this ensures that the threads don't bind in the
holes when torque is applied.

If the wheel has come loose you may have a damaged wheel centre spigot
hole. The wheels are supported off the centre spigot. Also you can check
if there is any slop before the studs are inserted.

Are they genuine wheels? Aftermarket may not fit the spigot correctly?

On Sun, 24 Apr 2011 14:34:58 +1000, Rob wrote:

[...]


Possibly worth swapping the wheel with the other one on the same side to
see if the fault is the wheel or the hub.

Chris

--
Remove prejudice to reply.

On 24/04/2011 5:25 PM, Chris Whelan wrote:

He also said that you can have a warped flange. The wheel may not be
sitting flat on the surfaces. This is due to over tightening of the
wheel nuts at some stage, which seems a problem with VW's. (do you get
any brake shudder which indicate a warped hub/rotor.) So in removing the
wheel and replace it in another position, it sits on the high spots.

I would be a bit hesitant with swapping in case you bugger another rim.
  (which is most likely what has resulted at this stage.)

r

This is known to happen on caravans from time to time.  Its always the
nearside wheel (due to the laws of physics).   Indeed some cars used to have
left hand threads on the nearside for just this reason.

I'd replace both the bolts and the nuts.

On 26/04/2011 11:02 PM, TTT wrote:

No nuts - the studs go into the threaded hub on the VW Golf.

On 2011-04-10 16:40:21 +0200, Pete said:


Daft question maybe, but has the wheel hub been painted ?

krak wrote:

very sensible question, painting bits like that does not occur so much
nowadays, but could happen and as the paint disintegrates under pressure
could reduce the tightness.  maybe that was one of the original reasons that
wheel nut tightness is a service item.