Hey everybody
If there is a more direct thread already made, I couldn't find it, or maybe I need to learn to navigate better through this forum.

I have a late 99 F250 7.3. 152k miles, no mods, just alot of tlc. bought it with 139k.

I recently replaced the front hub assemblies along with the inner 4wd seals. last week on the way to work, I was hearing grinding noise on all braking coming from the front, so I investigate. I pull the cap to uncover the lugs, and before I raise the front to pull a wheel and inspect the calipers, I noticed every lug nut on the front driver side is finger-loose, and theres metal shavings from the (figured it out later) caliper covering everything and my rotor is gouged. I returned back to the mechanic (reasonably trustworthy) to figure the whole thing out. we double checked the hubs, and the caliper. slider pins operating normal. could not figure out why the lugs would just loosen like that. the lugs loosening caused rotor to wobble and nick the caliper; causing the shavings and the grinding noise. the mechanic inspected all of it, turned the rotor, and tried lock tite on the lugnuts, torqued to spec. (stock rims)
Now a week later, just out of curiosity, I checked them again. driver side lug nuts were 1/2 turn loose on all, both front wheels (tightened with factory tire iron with no 'torque' sound)

Pardon the novel, but details could matter, and I dont know a whole lot about situations like these.

What could cause the lugs to repeatedly loosen like this, even though they didnt on a 1600 mile trip to florida directly after the hub assemblies were replaced? ... help.

 

Once the wheels have been run with loose lug nuts, the holes may be eaten out to much for the lugs to hold it in place. Why it happened in the first place...not sure. May have taken that much driving to work them loose.......still not sure though...

 

the mechanic suspected the same, and I have a plan to purchase some decent used stock rims in good shape when i get new tires in a couple weeks. another reason i planned on new wheels, the stealership told me one of the rims was a b$!@h to balance and they suspected a warped wheel. I have had noise in the front steering, and torqued all the hardware in my front suspension hoping to eliminate that issue. only other plan I have is to replace the lug nuts, and possibly the studs... but they're new studs..?

 

Do the lugnuts still have the little teeth on the back of them to grip the rim?

 

You know that the torque is 155/160 ftlbs for these trucks, right? Check the owners manual. This is especially critical with the flat clamping lug nut / wheel (hub-centered) combination. It is necessary for the conical lug nut / wheel (stud-centered) combination as well.

If you replaced the hub bearing unit, and didn't torque to the correct numbers, the studs may not have been seated correctly. This would allow just enough slack as the wheels moved to allow the lug nuts to loosen.

Torque on wheels is critical if you want to keep the truck on the road, without being on the side of the road.

As a side note: Proper torque is a must on all bolts.

 

Every time that I have rotated my tires, I must come back a week later after driving it to re tighten my lug nuts. Not surprised yours were loose.

 

The drivers side is usually the one to have loose lug nuts if they haven`t been torqued. The wheel is turning the same way you loosen the lug nuts. I always torque my lug nuts, this always keeps even pressure on your brake rotors. Roy

 

I checked this today, and I can see where there used to be ridges, or 'teeth' on the lugnuts. I checked Oreilys to see if I could replace them. They had the exact same lugnuts, only with a smooth surface where the teeth are on mine. Does this matter?

As for the torque, I don't own a torque wrench or the specific extension for use with an impact gun. These are both things I plan on acquiring.

I really love working on this truck. I've owned it for a year and have learned more about working on vehicles from this one than any other vehicle i've ever owned. Thank you for all the responses. I now have much more to consider to fix this problem. I'll return with what I find after the weekend (4 day).

 

[quote=Chris99PSD;12722502]I checked this today, and I can see where there used to be ridges, or 'teeth' on the lugnuts. I checked Oreilys to see if I could replace them. They had the exact same lugnuts, only with a smooth surface where the teeth are on mine. Does this matter?

As for the torque, I don't own a torque wrench or the specific extension for use with an impact gun. These are both things I plan on acquiring.

I really love working on this truck. I've owned it for a year and have learned more about working on vehicles from this one than any other vehicle i've ever owned. Thank you for all the responses. I now have much more to consider to fix this problem. I'll return with what I find after the weekend (4 day).[/quo

Buy a torque wrench and torque to 160#. Buy the lug nuts with the grooves.

 

A torque wrench is required for wheels (lug nuts) if you want them to stay on the truck.

 

I'm with the train of thought that your mechanic might not have seated those studs ALL the way in that new hub. You are slowly pulling them in all the way each time you re-tighten and drive it. Just a guess, but...

 

Nicmike is correct if they weren't torqued correctly. The correct torque will seat the studs all the way in.

 

Torque on the hub studs are 133ftlb for the Moog, not sure about OEM

 

So, every time I re-torque the lugnuts, the studs are closer to where they need to be? I ask this because since the lugnuts came loose the first time, I have been torqueing them almost daily with the use of the 4way; definitely not accurate, but its all i could do at the moment. Yesterday, I had a mechanic (for free ) rotate the questionable front wheels to the rear, balance each wheel, and torque all lugnuts to 160. His shop chart said my vehicle gets 140, but because a couple people in this thread recommended 160, I did so. When he was finished, I took a sharpie and marked the lugnuts and the wheel so I can visually see if they loosen.

On another note, with the lugnut teeth issue - the wheels previously on the rear of the truck; the ones which the lugnuts do not come loose; the teeth on these lugnuts are in identical condition as those on the previous front, so I gather this is not the issue. Having said all this, is there more I need to do to get the studs seated correctly, or does repeated torqueing of the lugnuts eventually correct this?

 

If you could rotate the lug nuts with a 4 way wrench with your hands, you didn't have it at 140 ftlbs, much less 155-160 ftlbs. Ford owners manual says 155-160 ftlbs. that is what you should follow. Correct torque will seat the studs fully the first time. Marking them is a good idea, it gives a visual reference you can easily check.
I doubt you will have them coming loose now, but keep an eye on them.
IF they do come loose, you may need to check the lug studs for stretching. Not likely, but stretching is a possibility.