Broken wheel rods where the lugnuts go?

[Yetti]

I am thinking that the tire shop who did the work is the one who eats the bill on this. the reason being that I have been repairing vehicles for 25 years and the only way a lug stud gets damaged in the shop is if someone trys to remove it with an impact going the wrong way, basicly they over tightened it till it broke. Or they could have over tightend them while doing the reinstall. lug studs should be set as high as 100 ftlbs of torque depending on the type of wheel. its their baby now.

[hummer05]

so they could have overtightened them and then when they took it off again it just snapped like it did. I know when it happened they suggested i talk to the dealer, this should be fun. Is it that easy to break them, by overtightening with the air gun then when removing they snap

[LasVegas]

Studs are individually replaceable.

[LasVegas]

I use Discount Tire and although they use air/impact wrench to run lugs on, they actually do the final tightening with a hand torque wrench. I would say someone wasn't careful.

[hummer05]

hummee / dug

okay so it looks like i will get all 32 replaced, in case the others were weakend by the overtightening. When you say it was crossthreaded, how would that have been done.

I will more then likely have the dealer do the work and then as you mentioned know that it was done correctly and go after some or all of the cost from the other shop. (hopefully not too much$$$)
I did think that the air guns were set to stop at a certain amount of pressure and that you could actually hand tighten them further then a gun. But it did appear that all broke when taking them off not putting on. BUt the guys who were taking them off to put in the center caps were the same ones that tightened that wheel a few days earlier

hummer05

[Klaus]

I have to wonder if the guy that snapped the studs was an old Chrysler mechanic, dreaming of the days of left-handed wheel stud threads.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Yetti:
HummMe
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">But these studs dont just snap,it definately takes some effort. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't know what you know about air impacts, but mine makes 400 lbs of torque to tighten and 600 lbs on the loosen side. its very easy to snap studs, a lot easyer then you think. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks Yetti you just prooved my point of a gun making more power in reverse. I know that it is very difficult to brake a chevy truck stud going forward. I am an A tech for a chevy dealer(ASE Master Technician,with L1 and X1 advanced ASE certs.) usually overtightening will strip the threads,gaul the wheel or cause the stud to spin in the hub. When a lug is cross threaded on it will tighten up,but going in reverse jams the threads and seizes the lug then that 600ftlbs. comes into play. Have a nice day.

[hummer05]

well 3 broke taking the stocks off and 3 more broke taking the aftermarket wheel off. the posts just snapped and got stuck in the lugs that came off. I know i will be arguing with the dealer on this, any idea of costs of replacing those

[tower]

Don't beat yourself up about it too badly. There are good shops out there, you just happened to encounter a bad one. Don't hesitate to threaten to (and if need be) take them to small claims court. You can also complain to BBB, ASE, news stations, etc. If the hassle factor is high enough, they'll pay.

[hummer05]

Has anyone had the rods that the lugnuts go on break or snap. I had a place take off my stock rims and add some aftermarket ones, when he took off my stock lugs, 3 of the rods snapped. I then went back with my aftermarkets on to have a tire taken off to rebalance the tire and 2 more rods broke. I called the dealer and they did not sound like it would be covered under warranty, any ideas?
Thanks

[Yetti]

The tire shop has opened a Pandora's box. The last guy who worked on it may have over tightend them, but the minute they removed them again it bacame their responsablity to repair it for you. the studs were not broken when it drove in to the tire shop, so they had better not be broken when it leaves.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Yetti:
I am thinking that the tire shop who did the work is the one who eats the bill on this. the reason being that I have been repairing vehicles for 25 years and the only way a lug stud gets damaged in the shop is if someone trys to remove it with an impact going the wrong way, basicly they over tightened it till it broke. Or they could have over tightend them while doing the reinstall. lug studs should be set as high as 100 ftlbs of torque depending on the type of wheel. its their baby now. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I doubt these studs were broke by overtightening. These are pretty hefty stud and lug assemblies. More likely they were cross threaded by the last person and when the tire guy took them off the seized up and then the gun broke em. Air guns make more power in reverse than in forward. But these studs dont just snap,it definately takes some effort. They should have told you there was a problem on the very first lug that was tight. Oh well thats just the way I see it.

[LasVegas]

Yes. The metal has been fatigued.

[LasVegas]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by hummer05:
Can you think of any excuses they can use, other then them stating that there was a problem with the lugs (that they were defective) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Probably a couple hundred but that doesn't change the fact that they broke while they worked on it. I agree with N2 you shouldn't have driven it off their lot. But, if they give you guff, tell them you're taking it to the dealer and if it appears they over torqued them, you'll get a statement from the dealer, have the dealer repair, and expect reimbursement from them at dealer rates.