Double check your lug nuts...

My dad pulled the rear tires off his 29 Model A today to check some things out. He used the impact gun to tighten the lugs.

He took it for a drive, and all the lug nuts one one wheel loosened up, the wheel came off, the car crashed to the ground, and slid over.

Our theory was the impact didn't tighten the lugs tight enough, and the motion of the wheel turning made them come off.

Luckily there was no major damage, just the brake drum, rear fender, and some scrape marks on the spring perch.

He was able to drive it home.



Just use a lug wrench.

Ouch! I learned that same lesson a long time ago.....

Me too.

Impact wrench and then torque...

Luckily the trailer that the wheel came off of had triples.

<whew>

Oh, and here is an odd one. If you ever spend a couple of nights in sub-zero temperatures, it's always a good idea to check your lug nuts. The seem to shrink and loosen up in extreme cold.

NEVER rely on an impact wrench or a lug wrench. ALWAYS hand torque your lug nuts. It's something I've learned from working at Les Schwab for 16 years. It is imperative!! Glad to see that everyone is ok and that the car is fixable. I hope a lesson was learned!

Yes a torque wrench is necessary. Sorry to hear about that David. At least he is okay.

YES. TORQUE WRENCH. LUG NUTS ARE SUPPOSE TO BE SET TO A PARTICULAR TORQUE FOR EACH MAKE AND MODEL. NEVER EVER, EVER NEVER USE AN IMPACT TO TIGHTEN LUG NUTS. THEY GET OVER TORQUED THE NUTS AND STRETCH THE THREADS ON THE STUD.....THEN THEY DONT HOLD.

TO INSTALL LUG NUTS HAND INSTALL NUTS ONTO 2-3 THREADS, AS YOU WIGGLE THE TIRE/WHEEL LIGHTLY BUZZ DOWN 2 OPPOSITE LUGS WITH YOUR GUN ON THE LOWEST SETTING (IF ITS NOT ADJUSTABLE DONT USE IT!). THEN LIGHTLY BUZZ DOWN THE REMAINING LUGS. LOWER CAR SO TIRES ARE ON THE GROUND AND ROUGHLY HALF THE VEHICLE WEIGHT IS ON THE WHEEL. USE YOUR TORQUE WRENCH SET TO THE PROPER TORQUE FOR YOUR VEHICLE, AND HAND TORQUE EACH LUG IN A CROSS PATTERN TILL ALL ARE DONE. COMPLETELY LOWER VEHICLE SO FULL VEHICLE WEIGHT IS ON THE WHEELS AND RETORQUE BY HAND USING THE CROSS PATTERN.

REPEAT FOR ALL WHEELS.

WARNING:
IF YOU OR SOMEONE ELSE HAS USED AN IMPACT GUN TO INSTALL AND TIGHTEN LUGS AT ANY TIME IT IS A GREAT (THE BEST) IDEA TO REPLACE ALL STUD AND LUG NUTS AND INSTALL AS DIRECTED ABOVE. AFTER ABOUT 500 MILES RETORQUE ALL LUG NUTS IF THIS IS DONE.

Wow Cliff!

You want a job?







That was perfect!

We always use our torque wrench on ours. Yesterday I was on my way home from tech and double checked mine. When I stopped at a friends home. I could not remember tightening both sides

Better safe than sorry!