Disco spare wheel carriers

Just a thought:

When I got my Disco I, the spare wheel carrier had one of the studs missing. I got a s/h carrier from Niamh (4x4 Cymru) and that had all three, but one was obviously welded in after a previous failure. When I got my Disco II, that had a stud broken - sheared clean off at the base of the bolt. When I took the wheel off to get new tyres fitted (and the best back as the spare), one of the remaining two studs came off in my hand - failed weld between stud and carrier.

Is this a common thing? Are they just badly put together at the factory, or is there something else, like water collecting in the weld when it rains?

To be honest, seeing the stud sheared off gave me the cold sweats. I mean, that's all there is keeping the wheels and the car together. It's a lot harder to over-tighten the nuts at waist level, rather than near the floor where you can out your weight on it. Or do they use inferior metal for the carrier studs compared to the real ones on the hubs?

Anyone?

Reply to
Richard Brookman
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Yup, one of mine has gone. Maybe I overtightened it. It's running with two at present but I'm going to get it fixed, I don't like the thought of that wheel bouncing down the road behind me. TonyB

Reply to
TonyB

One of the numpties at the local tyre emporium sheared one of mine off by cross threading the nut and then using the air gun on it. Company paid for a nice new carrier and I still buy my tyres from them :-)

Reply to
SteveG

Mine is down to two studs as from half an hour ago when I twisted the bottom one off. The bottom of the carrier is rusted away and the stud was held on by 2mm of bendy rust.

I'd like to get a new carrier but I presume the internal door trim has to come off and I HATE those jobs when all the clips break and half the fixings fall off inside the door. Grrrr.

Judith

Reply to
Judith

...and Judith spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Yes it does. PIG of a job. IIRC, on the series 1 Disco, the nuts behind the carrier aren't captive, and most are hidden by the wiper mechanism. Lots of wire, long thin fingers, and plenty of swearwords ready to be deployed at a moment's notice. After it's done, the trim clips are a breeze.

Reply to
Richard Brookman

Sounds like a lovely job. I shall practise my swearing in advance.

Judith

Reply to
Judith

...and Judith spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

I would recommend a copy of Roger's Profanisaurus alongside the workshop manual. It might even be more use.

Reply to
Richard Brookman

On the whole I'd rather the spare fell off than one of the ones from a corner! Landi rims and tyres a flippin 'eavy and rotating at 320rpm (ish for 30mph) is going to go an awful long way... or make a big dent in anything it hits.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

On or around Thu, 16 Feb 2006 21:45:06 -0000, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

inadequate manufacture in some way - seen it on mine too.

after I welded the one stud that had come loose back into mine, I also welded the other 2 more convincingly.

I suspect, though, that the actual cause of failure is people overtightening them, especially on alloy wheels.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

...and Austin Shackles spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

This is what I don't understand. Unless you actually set out to see if you could snap a stud off, how could anyone overtighten a spare wheel nut? It's not as if you can put much weight on it, like a wheelnut at ground level. You'd have to really try. I am xx* stone, and I've tightened a few wheel nuts as tight as I can make them, and I've never snapped a stud yet (I do use a torque wrench these days, though). That's why I wonder if they are made of a softer metal than the hub studs.

  • xx = a few.
Reply to
Richard Brookman

On or around Sat, 18 Feb 2006 10:20:56 -0000, "Richard Brookman" enlightened us thusly:

the stud is probably much the same, but it's secured much more convincingly to the wheel hub. The studs don't shear, they pull out of the thin sheet steel of the carrier.

I reckon it'd not take too much effort to shear 'em.

BTW, tried out the new toy (air impact gun) on a 10mm stainless bolt. on position 3 (highest) it sheared it without much effort. So that should tighten the minibus wheelnuts nicely (meant to be 200-odd ft lb).

It also makes short work of undoing 'em. Better than the previous one, and not that much more money when you consider that it came with a set of sockets and stuff and a case:

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They do a standard duty one for very little money, but not convinced - it uses more air, for one thing, and with a relatively small compressor that makes a difference.

Reply to
Austin Shackles

...and Austin Shackles spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

Of the four failures I have come across, three were pulled out of the carrier, but the fourth was definitely sheared. I found the remainder of it still stuck in the wheelnut in the rear door pocket. The sheared surface was about 50% rusted, so I suspect someone had overtightened it, the weather had done its work, and then next time, kerplop.

Reply to
Richard Brookman

I was just tightening mine with the wheel brace one handed, it came through like it was mounted in cheese. TonyB

Reply to
TonyB

...and TonyB spake unto the tribes of Usenet, saying...

This is really worrying! If one can do it, all three can do it, and as someone has already said, a LR wheel and tyre bouncing down the road after you is going to do someone some damage. It's more likely to fail if the vehicle is negotiating rough ground where speeds will be low, admittedly, but still...

I spent a bit of time yesterday with my new carrier, applying copious amounts of grease to the back of the studs and to the little gap on the front side where they exit from the carrier. I think the design may have changed, as the back of the stud is now a raised boss about the size of an old penny and the welding around it is smooth. I feel a bit more confident about this one.

Reply to
Richard Brookman

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