Stop your wheels falling off?

[Jaffa]

I have read on here and other places about wheels coming off 4wd's (usually GQ's). I have noticed all the Boral trucks seem to run a type of nut lock that wont allow the wheel nuts to come undone. I cant find the exact ones they use but they are the same idea as these. http://www.2020v.com.au/zafety-lug-lock.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does anyone think these would be a good idea on a 4wd? would it cause balance issues? Any other problems? Or just make sure your nuts are tight/not over tight?

Onions?

[Gwagensteve]

I think the problem with trucks is mostly due to the flat lug mounting surface, necessitated by dual wheels.

I think the problem with 4WD's is due to not torquing the nuts up.

I promise anyone that has torqued their wheel nuts up (to the correct torque) won't loose a wheel.

Steve.

[DamTriton]

I know the 100 Series Toyotas and GQ have issues.

IIRC the issue is more to do with the nuts being overtorqued, stretching the studs causing them to loosen again, to the eventual point of metallic failure. Manufacturers only provide a short tyre lever so the "average person" (~70 kg at 250mm) exerting most of their full body weight on the nut is equal to the required torque on that nut. Generally about 135Nm is right.

Bolt science

One other way wheels come off with alloys is a similar issue with excess torque stressing the beveled holes the nuts sit in to the point where they crush and crack opening up the hole, "clamshell" style, losing their metallic crystalline structure in the process. This leads to the wheel nut coming loose "again", with the instinctive reaction to tighten it even further than you did last time to "make sure it doesn't come loose again". This is obviously counterproductive and only accelerates the the failure of the alloy. If the wheel has not fatigued itself out and obviously deteriorated, then the common cause of failure is the bottom of the bevel on the nut making complete contact with the wheel mounting surface as a result of the opened up beveled hole in the alloy, leading to the first example I gave.

[Hamo]

The yellow things your refering to on the boral trucks arnt a locking device at all but an indicator type device that allow you to see when then wheel nuts have moved ie loosened

ps was on abc's the new inventors about 3 years ago

And as said torquing the nuts up to the correct tension will always prevent this (on trucks)

edit found the link http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2016543.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bj on roids]

The yellow things are on any mine spec vehicles too, cars, trucks etc. They are plastic and just slip on the nut. Nothing spectacular.

In the olden days (like way before the internet) trucks even had reversed threads on the Left Side so that the wheel nuts would not undo as you were driving along.

It was thought that over time wheel nuts would undo, so a reverse thread was used.

Classic...

Try undoing the wheel nuts on one, when you are going the wrong way

[VooDoo]

Overtightened nuts + cruise controll @ 100kmh + smooth bitumen road + towing trailer = brown moment

Needed to replace 12 studs, 1 disc, we never found the wheel and tyre, 1 day lost. Most issues of wheels falling off is snapping all the studs so the lug locks wont help.

[KiwiBacon]

The yellow things are on any mine spec vehicles too, cars, trucks etc. They are plastic and just slip on the nut. Nothing spectacular.

In the olden days (like way before the internet) trucks even had reversed threads on the Left Side so that the wheel nuts would not undo as you were driving along.

It was thought that over time wheel nuts would undo, so a reverse thread was used.

Classic...

Try undoing the wheel nuts on one, when you are going the wrong way

AFAIK Isuzu trucks (actual trucks, not 4wd's) still have LH threads on the left side wheels.
The issue is if nuts are loose then a RH thread on the left side will unthread itself completely, where on the RH side it will stay loose but stay on. It appears to be true as the only wheels I have seen shed their nuts and fall off are on the LH side.
A mate recently lost a number of wheel studs on his bighorn (jackaroo) after getting new tyres fitted. The monkeys overtightened all the studs. It was the same monkeys that a year or so earlier charged me for changing gearbox oil when they didn't. Not sure why he gave them another chance.

[oldmate]

current hino and toyota trucks have the left thread nuts on the left side as well. Old valiants used to have them too. It was always funny watching someone spend hours trying to undo the nuts because they didn't know.

[love ke70]

i lost the rear left on my GQ with alloys.

didnt even feel it being loose, knocking, rattling anything

just boom there it was gone

and i know they were tight.
i tighten mine with a torque wrench to 100 or so ft/lb and the next day i check them, and can retighten them a little, so the alloys just settle, which must be why so many people have dramas with them...

[mike_nofx]

The 4x4's that lose wheels are usually running alloys arent they?

[love ke70]

typically but not all