Coming Clean & A Cautionary Tale!

[Skibum346]

Well folks... it's time for me to come clean and provide you all with a cautionary tale.

Last Saturday, I had my beastie (new) up on a ramp swapping over the 2" lifted suspension components. When I'd finished, I cleared up... said my farewells and thanked those around me who had provided sage advicxe & assistance, and drove off.

On Sunday... driving from Rugby to Warwick for an Army Cadet Force parade in my bestest kit (Well... soldier 95's for those in the know but my boots were shiny!) I had accelerated up behind a slower vehicle on a long straight but decided not to bother overtaking as they were speeding up. I touched the brake to adjust my speed accordingly... in a nice safe manner.... when suddenly... Keerrrrrruuunnnnchhh... Screeech... scrape....! My nearside rear wheel overtakes me!

I had used an impact gun on the ramp with the intention of torqueing up the nuts when the ramp was lowered. However, I got distracted by cleaning up... chatting... laughing at jokes etc etc and failed to correctly tighten the wehel nuts.

Thankfully, I stopped in a straight(ish) line, staying in my lane and my wheel, which had been doing 50mph, managed to somehow lose most of that momentum and trundled into the nearside hedge 100m away. I left a long wiggly scratch mark in the tarmac for about 100m and I may need a new drivers seat  :oops:.

I was kind of impressed that the only damage appears to be to the edge of the brake disc (being replaced as we speak) however, it could have been a whole lot worse, the M1, Monday morning, outside lane, heavy traffic... 

So... I'll deal with the embarresment caused by my idiotic workshop practice, if it helps prevent someone else suffering the same fate.

Please... Every time you have a wheel off... put something on the instrument panel that will remind you to torque up the nuts before you drive away!

OK.... now I'm ready for all your jibes! Though I've already got dibs on the 1965 hit by the New Christy Minstrels.... "Three Wheels on My Wagon"!!!  8-[ 8-[ 8-[

[Discopoo]

No jibe here  m8, been there done that, so easy to do. Glad to hear it wasn't too disastrous.

[crazymac]

Only time I've actually had a wheel come off was while test driving a Fiat 126 years ago! The car dealer tried to blame me even though I had only travelled 100 yards from the place!! He got told to "go away exclamation mark"

glad it worked out without injury (except to pride :doh:)

[Eeyore]

No jibe here, either.

It happens more often than you think.

Well done you for being man enough to hold your hand up. How many people would have tried to blame someone or something else?

[Skibum346]

No jibe here, either.

It happens more often than you think.

Well done you for being man enough to hold your hand up. How many people would have tried to blame someone or something else?

Thanks matey...

**Bows Disgracefully**

Skibum

[solihull-mick]

Well frank im not going to say a word on this matter, check the link it speaks a thousand words,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ9LOPWrZwk

[carbore]

Thanks for the confession.

I did the same last month on my Trailer, lost one wheel at the other fell off opposite a police station.

[simdeb]

Picked up a carvan for some one , on the A46 the  wheel came off of the caravan just missing traffic and landed in a tree . Had to use some of the nuts off the other wheel only to find 2 left on and the others in the hub cap  ,just shows you never know when picking any trailer up check the wheel nuts

simon

[Bush Tucker Man]

I almost had it happen a few years ago, the summer after buying my Discovery 50th.

I'd had the front wheels off to check the brakes & copper-grease the hub-faces & stud-threads (to avoid ;galvanitic locking')

I was going down the road about 15 miles from home when the steering went all wobbly & there was a clunking noise.

The nuts had come loose.

To this very day, I'd swear I'd tightened them, and can only assume that the grease had interfered with my tightening them properly

[Boddle]

 Cann't say anything I did similar thing many years ago.
 I had been changing wheels from side to side on my 109 when my Dad ask me to move some stuff to the tip got distracted anyway my rear left hand wheel over took me going along Binley road by bull head in Coventry, it hit a traffic balard took of then went along grass park area going direct straight towards a young family have a pinic (Odd place for Pinic) fortunately it ran out of steam before it got there. unfortunately the balard had hit some-ones car.
 You don't half feel a fool :lol:

[Gordo]

Loose wheels are all too common, and the damage they can do is pretty serious:



Lorry and bus wheels weigh a lot, and if they land on a car then it's often fatal. Even a car or van wheel would probably spoil your day it it landed on you.

The only similar experience I've had was with a set of brake calliper bolts on my off road bike - riding along a byway I heard a clanging sound, tried to apply the (front) brake and nothing happened... The bolts had fallen out and the calliper was swinging in the breeze. My mate proudly announced to everyone present that I do all my own maintenance...  :oops:

The lesson's simple: Torque your nuts before you get distracted.

[land-def-90]

Only time I've actually had a wheel come off was while test driving a Fiat 126 years ago! The car dealer tried to blame me even though I had only travelled 100 yards from the place!! He got told to "go away exclamation mark"

glad it worked out without injury (except to pride :doh:)
crikey didnt know they made fiats 126 years ago  :D

[hobbit]

I did something similar the other year, had someone else tightening up the bolts on a clutch cover on my lightweight, he specifically told me he had only nipped them up, and wanted me to tighten them to the correct torque

I then clean forgot, whole prepping to drop the engine back in, threw the thing back together, went out for a drive and the next day my clutch was getting higher on the pedal, finally finishing driving it back with just the synchro's and no clutch, luckily no damage done, just a red face, and a couple of hours to do the thing I should have done before :oops:

[Oddball]

Guess the cause then.....  :P
I was the driver, but not the wheel fitter. Nobody hurt...

[muddyjames]

My mate proudly announced to everyone present that I do all my own maintenance...  :oops:

:gulp: I will make sure you arrive at the bonfire bash before me then!!!!! When are you changing your tyres by the way?? :lol:

[Gordo]

My mate proudly announced to everyone present that I do all my own maintenance...  :oops:

:gulp: I will make sure you arrive at the bonfire bash before me then!!!!! When are you changing your tyres by the way?? :lol:

As it happens, I did them today - back to alloys and road tyres. Don't worry, I don't make the same mistake twice :?

Although I've never had a wheel come loose before...  :-k

(I do know how to use a torque spanner though!)

[carracarra13]

thak goodness no one hert glad you are ok m8 we had this happen a few years back on a snow plough scary Ill tell you esp with a load of salt on bord

[denviks]

done that ...at 70 mph  :oops: :oops: :oops:

[lukeLR90]

i have done this before on my bosses 90 and we were going to wales the next morn and he asked me if i remeberd to do the wheel nuts up and i said i couldnt remeber (i think i did i said) so we went bombing it down to wales drifitng every roundabout and got to the fuel station and i checked the wheel nuts they were all about to drop off so i did them up and i now realise what a disater could have bin