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Old May 11, 2005 | 03:28 PM
  #1  
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Lugs falling off

I have a 1987 Ford Bronco, it is a beautiful truck but recently I have been having such an issue with this thing. I got the brakes changed about 3 weeks ago and since then the lugs won't stay on the studs. I was told the studs were stripped so I got those changed but today I was on a quasi highway and felt the lugs come off again this time my tire flew from under the truck and I was sitting on the ground. Does anyone know why this could be happening?<O</O
It is a manual locking hub
This is the driver side front tire in question <O</O
Any help would be great.
 
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Old May 11, 2005 | 03:51 PM
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WoW! I never heard of such a thing, sounds dangerous, Are you married? Happily!! do you have any enemies?
 
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Old May 11, 2005 | 03:52 PM
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what type of rims? factory, aftermarket? steel or aluminum? unilugs are known to do this if you have the wrong washers. are you torquing to specs
 
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Old May 11, 2005 | 03:58 PM
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they are factory rims I figure they are steel because they are not the ones that you could drop on the ground and they break actually yea they are aluminum now that I think about it.


As far as enemies I have none and even if I did they could not be with me all the times that the lugs have fallen off and have been tightened b4 I reached home.
 
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Old May 11, 2005 | 04:00 PM
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[. are you torquing to specs[/QUOTE]

How do I do that?
 
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Old May 11, 2005 | 07:06 PM
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one way to torque without a torque wrench is to use an extended pipe or what i usually do ..."one leg press" to 75-85 ft/lbs. once the lugs are pre-tightened by both arms. always go criss-cross pattern to tighten.

I've heard that since the bronco is heavy up front. the 5 luggers can't handle the weight if one or two lugs gets loose. ppl have gone to 8 lug conversions.

oh ...if you're replacing the stud be sure they are sitting in nice and tight. I believe they are usually pressed in. ...mmmmhmmm.....that just made me wonder, if the person who put the studs in didn't go all the way with stud and decided to crank down on the nut to press them in????
 

Last edited by tHeCoS; May 11, 2005 at 07:13 PM.
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Old May 11, 2005 | 10:01 PM
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I had something similar happen to me right around thankgiving last year. In my case I'm pretty certain it was someone loosening or stealing several of my lugs (long story, but basically I have Michigan plates on my bronco, and I am a grad student at Ohio State and had the big U of M, OSU rivalry football game a few days earlier).

I ended up having my drivers front wheel come off while going 70+ down the expressway. Boy thats a way to wake up. Totally toasted my rotor, and ripped out 2 studs from the lugnuts that were still tight. I was able to bolt my tire back on with the spare lugnuts I had with me and drive home luckily. I now have gotten in the habit of doing a full walk around the bronco before I head out on any long trips, checking that all my lugs are still fully torqued
 

Last edited by irondragon79; May 11, 2005 at 10:04 PM.
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Old May 12, 2005 | 03:34 AM
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From: savanna il
over torquing the lugnuts can be as bad as not torquing enough i have seen lugs break that were over tightened and as thecos said always torque in a star pattern
 
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Old May 12, 2005 | 04:37 AM
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Torque is 100 ft.lbs.You said it happened after brakes were done,if the rotors were replaced I would guess the studs weren't fully seated in the hub/rotor so the proper torque wasn't accomplished.
 
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Old May 12, 2005 | 09:15 AM
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That is very strange indeed. It's almost unheard of. It can happen if you put brand new steel rims on and don't retorque them after about 25 miles or so - but I have never heard of anything like your problem.

I think that you seriously need to evaluate the possibility of someone is sabotaging your truck. I am not joking either.
 
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Old May 12, 2005 | 09:15 AM
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if the rotors were replaced I would guess the studs weren't fully seated in the hub/rotor so the proper torque wasn't accomplished.[/QUOTE]

The rotors have not been replaced as of yet that was next on my list
This morning I had no real issues but one of the lugs did wiggle loose so life sucks right now...
 
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Old May 12, 2005 | 09:39 AM
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its NOT uncommon at all. How old are the lugnuts?

they can wear out. the threads wear and get a larger inside diameter. the wheel taper could be wallowed out. the lugnut taper could be out of spec.
the studs can look ok but be worn.
 
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Old May 12, 2005 | 11:07 AM
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How old are the lugnuts?

the studs can look ok but be worn.[/QUOTE]

They all are new I had the studs changed a few days ago and the lug nuts were bought at the same time and replaced now with new ones again.
 
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Old May 12, 2005 | 11:09 AM
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Question

Originally Posted by JBronco
I think that you seriously need to evaluate the possibility of someone is sabotaging your truck. I am not joking either.
I though about it but I live in a new state and no one really knows me plus I moved from the place I originally lived not but a few months ago so I can not see anyone doing that.
could there be any other issue like a bad rotor or wheel bearing
 
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Old May 12, 2005 | 03:18 PM
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Same thought still applies if the rotors weren't replaced,if the studs aren't fully seated they WILL loosen.Aside from someone seriously trying to screw-up your world,the problem lies with the studs/nuts.Rotors/bearings won't loosen them.Like JBronco mentioned,whenever I install new wheels,studs,nuts,I always tell the person to re-check torque at 25,50,and 100 miles just to be sure (after initial replacement,not everytime the wheels are removed)and have never had any come back or come off.
 

Last edited by SRD4X4; May 12, 2005 at 03:21 PM.
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