Flat tire!!

[kennyd63]

On my way back from New Orleans I had a flat tire on the T.T. I was not able to take the lugs off ,so I call for service. They sent someone, he took the flat tire off and replaced it with the spare. He used a battery drill with an 1/2 inch socket on it. Well we kept going back to Chicago when I arrived I decided to put the original tire back after fixing it of course. To my surprise the lug nuts where loose, here I was thinking that this drill torqued the lugs to specs and that everything was ok. This tire could of came off at any time. What kind of service people are this?:M

[mileshuff]

Most service trucks I've seen use an air driven impact drill with a compressor in the bed of their truck. Far higher torque than a typical electric drill. Can easily get lug nuts tight enough. However, they should still use a torque wrench to snug them up to proper specs.

[MFL]

Even if they had used a torque wrench to properly tighten the nuts, they likely would have loosened in a couple hundred miles of travel.

Yes, they should have used a torque wrench for final tightening. They should have also told you that you will have to recheck nut tightness several times, after a wheel removal, the first in as little as 50 miles.

Jerry

[DavidP]

wmoses wrote:

kennyd63 wrote:
On my way back from New Orleans I had a flat tire on the T.T. I was not able to take the lugs off ,so I call for service. They sent someone, he took the flat tire off and replaced it with the spare. He used a battery drill with an 1/2 inch socket on it. ... To my surprise the lug nuts where loose, here I was thinking that this drill torqued the lugs to specs and that everything was ok. This tire could of came off at any time. What kind of service people are this?:M

Who is this "they" who sent someone?

A drill with a socket will troque the nut to some unknown torque which, in your case, was clearly insufficient. In other words this is a lesson learned - battery operated drill should not be used anywhere hnear a wheel. Even an electric drill. Maybe one of those compressed air drivers with torque sticks in a pinch, but I don't like them. I prefer a torque wrench or tighten by hand.

X2

[Ivylog]

Unless they use a torque wrench to tighten I go behind and usually try and loosen as usually they put them on so tight it' almost impossible to get them off. OP, as others have said...the buck stops with YOU,

[LarryJM]

kennyd63 wrote:
On my way back from New Orleans I had a flat tire on the T.T. I was not able to take the lugs off ,so I call for service. They sent someone, he took the flat tire off and replaced it with the spare. He used a battery drill with an 1/2 inch socket on it. Well we kept going back to Chicago when I arrived I decided to put the original tire back after fixing it of course. To my surprise the lug nuts where loose, here I was thinking that this drill torqued the lugs to specs and that everything was ok. This tire could of came off at any time. What kind of service people are this?:M

There are a couple of important lessons IMO to be learned here for those unfamiliar with properly installing wheels ...

1. Ultimately it is the owner who is responsible for ensuring that their wheels on their vehicles are properly tightened. It shouldn't be that way, but unfortunately my experiences over the last 50 years has proven that is in fact the case.

2. Hand torquing with a good torque wrench for the final tightening is almost a must since even a lot of torque sticks in general use out there aren't that accurate. This is CRITIAL for the newer wheels that use the flat two piece "flat washer" fastening system especailly on wheels that under the higher loads. This difference between 145 and 155/160 can be critical as FORD found out when they changed fastening systems on their 99+ SD trucks. About the only sure way to make sure this happens along with 1 above is to carry your own torque wrench with you at all times.

3. Its important to following the standard recommendation of rechecking the torque after a few miles like 50 to 250 especially with wheels that use the tapered seat fasting system. Almost all TT use that fastening system still. IMO this could be a reason why you find sloppy procedures in tire service since it only takes a couple of hundred miles for a potential issue to arise and once you are over that period there is no way to blame anyone if a failure/issue occurs except yourself so the original installation only has to last that long. I was very impressed that both of my two most recent purchases from Costco came with an offer for me to return to them and actually have them check and retorque my wheels after only a few miles. No other tire installer or dealer had ever made that level of service available before.

Larry

[fla-gypsy]

A battery powered drill cannot torque a lug nut to proper spec. Should have been torqued after installation.

[wmoses]

kennyd63 wrote:
On my way back from New Orleans I had a flat tire on the T.T. I was not able to take the lugs off ,so I call for service. They sent someone, he took the flat tire off and replaced it with the spare. He used a battery drill with an 1/2 inch socket on it. ... To my surprise the lug nuts where loose, here I was thinking that this drill torqued the lugs to specs and that everything was ok. This tire could of came off at any time. What kind of service people are this?:M

Who is this "they" who sent someone?

A drill with a socket will troque the nut to some unknown torque which, in your case, was clearly insufficient. In other words this is a lesson learned - battery operated drill should not be used anywhere hnear a wheel. Even an electric drill. Maybe one of those compressed air drivers with torque sticks in a pinch, but I don't like them. I prefer a torque wrench or tighten by hand.

[keymastr]

Usually supposed to re-torque after 50 miles on any wheel, RV or automotive.

[Bull_Rider]

The lug nuts need to be re-torqued after the wheel is changed out. I bet that there is a warning sticker somewhere around your wheel wells that tells you to retighten the lug nuts a couple of times.

A good torque wrench is very important to make sure your lug nuts are properly installed.