Snapped Wheel Bolt

[Mark A]

I had a pair of tires fitted on the front of my van on Monday, but felt a lot of vibration through the steering wheel on the motorway today. I took the van back to the garage to have the balance done and noticed the head of a wheel bolt has snapped clean off, leaving just 3 holding the wheel on. Obviously, it's been over-torqued by the garage when the fitted the tires so it's their responsibly to rectify the problem, though I'm going to loose another day of work over this.

How is the shank removed from the wheel hub?

Is it safe to drive with just 3 bolts in?

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Dibs-h]

Can't see why not - just no fast corners! :lol:

Usually when you have a missing bolt off one side - you should remove one from the other side too. However in your case - the bolt is still there, just the head is missing - so I'd leave the other side as it is.

I learnt along time ago - never to allow a tyre place to use an airgun to put the wheel nuts\bolts back on with. Now I don't explain why - I just say "I'm the customer & I'm paying & the customer is always right - so just as I ask!"

Dibs

p.s. I'd be surprised if the garage coughed up. Good Luck!

 

[Mark A]

They didn't use an air gun, they did it the proper way with a torque wrench.

I've read somewhere that applying copperslip will prevent the bolts from sticking when they're removed - surely putting grease on wheel bolts is a bad idea?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had an Austin Gypsy years ago, and the studs were on that tight that I had to get a huge spider with a ten foot scaffold tube on it then drive the vehicle onto it to crack them off. Ever since then, whatever the vehicle, I have taken the studs or nuts off, wire brushed and coppaslipped everything - no more problems.

 

[bodge]

Contrary to popular belief, Copaslip and similar aren't greases but anti seize compounds. It is my opinion as an ex mechanic that most bolts on a vehicle should have a compound applied to it before being fitted, either anti seize compound or threadlock. I must have fitted thousands of Copaslipped wheel bolts over the years and I'm not aware of any issues so far.
I too would be surprised if the garage admit responsibility, but getting the old shank out shouldn't be too difficult. If there is enough thread sticking out then a decent pair of grips should sort it. If there isn't then an Easyout or similar stud extractor should do the job.

 

[colinc]

Hi,

it happened to my nephew - wheel vibrated and fell off as he slowed to a halt - scary. The company admitted liability and payed for the damage but it could have been a disaster.

Lubricating the studs means that the design clamping force can be achieved by putting the studs in tension as designed without creating undue torsion due to friction.

Colin

 

[Mark A]

I do a lot of mileage a week, mainly on the motorway (sometimes up to 500 miles a day) so is it still safe to drive the van with 3 bolts in?

Contrary to popular belief, Copaslip and similar aren't greases but anti seize compounds. It is my opinion as an ex mechanic that most bolts on a vehicle should have a compound applied to it before being fitted, either anti seize compound or threadlock. I must have fitted thousands of Copaslipped wheel bolts over the years and I'm not aware of any issues so far.
I too would be surprised if the garage admit responsibility, but getting the old shank out shouldn't be too difficult. If there is enough thread sticking out then a decent pair of grips should sort it. If there isn't then an Easyout or similar stud extractor should do the job.

Thanks for clearing that up. I'll see what the garage can do tomorrow.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[Mark A]

wheel vibrated and fell off as he slowed to a halt - scary. The company admitted liability and payed for the damage but it could have been a disaster.

I don't want that happening on the M4! :shock:

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have one beautiful 1900cc Yamaha - I tend to work the theory that every nut and bolt should have either coppaslip or threadlock on them.

 

[paulm]

Wouldn't drive it further than the garage myself !

Might be alright, but then it might well not be.

Your insurance would likely disown you in the event something did happen, and if it involved damage to someone else as well then you could be faced with their claims too out of your own pocket.

Might be alright though, but why take the risks.....?

Cheers, Paul

 

[CHJ]

Wouldn't drive it further than the garage myself !
....

+1 for those comments, the fact that you felt vibration says its down to something more than the imbalance of a missing bolt head that near the hub.

I would be thinking how many more of the bolts in that batch are about to fail and want a completely new set fitted.

 

[Oryxdesign]

It probably wasn't their fault. Wheel bolts do fail from time to time due to fatigue.

 

[MickCheese]

I would not drive it. Removing the bolt shank is a five minute job if there is enough stud.

I don't think you can blame the garage if they used a torque wrench.

Mick

 

[Racers]

When I see them using a torque wrench its after they have gunned up the bolts and it dosn't seem to turn the bolts, meaning they tighter than the torque wrench is set to. So a complete waste of time.

Pete

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I'd also warn against letting a garage use and air spanner on locking wheel nuts. A local tyre place shattered the drving part of one of the McGard wheel nuts on my car doing that. They are a right b*****d to get off when that happens. The tyre place wanted to try chiseling it off, or to weld a bar onto the broken remains - I politely turned them down. Don't want ruined wheel bearings too ! Of course, it wasn't their fault. Must have been cracked already ...

 

[Mark A]

I've just come back from the garage. They have balanced the wheels but refuse to acknowledge that the bolt snapping was their own fault, blaming it on the hub having slight surface rust! Obviously bulls**t and they expect me to take their word for it? I find it insulting.

Especially when I asked the guy who was changing the tires on Monday how much torque he was using; he replied, "I don't have a f*****g clue mate, I didn't set it" then after looking at the wrench for a moment he then said it was 220.
If that's Nm or lbs-ft it's much too high.

I'm going to take the van to another garage we trust this afternoon to take out the snapped bolt. Unfortunately it's broken flush with the hub so I think it will need drilling.

I'll report back later.
Mark

 

[Sheffield Tony]

I'm not surprised they don't accept responsibility.

Are you sure it must be drilled out ? Mine are like a bolt with a small, vestigial head inserted from the rear side of the hub; the shank has a tapered and lightly splined section at the top, so they bite into the hole in the hub to keep them captive. They can be tapped out with a punch.

 

[davem62]

hi mark
as Tony said the stud is pulled through the hub from the rear,so you should be able to use a punch and drift the broken one out from the front face ,to replace, insert the new stud from the rear and then pull it into place using the wheel nut and spacers ,the part of the stud left in the hub has splines on it to stop any rotation of the stud when tightening up.most torque wrenches should have the tension released after each job so that the spring doesn't become compressed and lose its accuracy.
regards dave

 

[MickCheese]

Tony & Dave

That would only be the case if it were fitted with wheel nuts, Mark said that the bolt had sheared.

Mick

 

[bodge]

As Mick says, if it is a stud then it can be tapped out with a hammer and drift, but Mark does say it is a bolt and the head has sheared off. Either way, a half competent garage will have no problem sorting it out.
While it comes as no surprise that the garage refuse to accept responsibility and as has been said previously the bolt itself may be the cause rather than the garage, I have to say that in all the years I have worked in the motor trade I have never known a wheel bolt to fail in that way. I've known them to strip threads when the YTS trainee has been drilling for oil with his windy gun, but even that isn't enough to snap one. Having said that, it is possible that the bolt was defective in some way, maybe a stress crack or something that gave way. In any case I suspect its one to chalk up to experience and move on I'm afraid, all part of owning a vehicle these days.
Best of luck getting it sorted Mark and I hope it doesn't cost too much.