Mark Brook

Guys, I had some new rear tyres fitted, and the shop used a sill-lift. When I checked the car after the fitting, my shark-fin was hanging off. The top clip had broken, and it was clear to see that some PO had used glue to repair it at some stage. Now, I'm trying to glue the clip back on, but every time I try to tighten the top clip the thing comes unstuck.....Doh!

So, I decided the easiest way to do it would be to remove the rear tyre.... and herein is my problem..... the monkeys at the tyre shop have over-torqued my wheelnuts to such an extent that I snapped my socket adaptor. I know these nuts are lightwieght items, so if I use a 5 foot pole on the end of a wrench, am I gonna do everlasting damage to the nuts? Also, when I do get them undone, what is the correct torque please?

Oh, the tyre shop denied any liability for the shark-fin because it had already been glued. I would go back to the shop to undo the wheel nuts so long as you guys think it'll be ok to re-use my original nuts, but I'd hate to have to leave my car there while they ordered some new ones.

Elite Tyres, Rainham - know you know why they're so cheap!

Mark 90C2.

jimq

90-95 pounds for lugs. Dont know what it is in NM. The clips breaking and being reglued is a common thing. I pulled one of mine off when using my lift

Mark Brook

What about re-using the nuts ? Can any harm be done to them by the over-tightening?

ThomasC2

It's 130 Nm

Heirsh

Clean the shark fin thoroughly and rough it up some where you intend to apply the glue. (i used a wire wheel on a dremel to rough and clean the surface) Get a good plastic epoxy and you should be set. I fixed mine this way from a previous failed repair. Been fine since.

If I had suspect wheel nuts I'd replace them. Small cost for peace of mind.

dfinnegan

Have the tire shop reimburse you for the new lug nuts all around.

elbeee964

Mark-
Unfortunately harm can be done to those nut's threads.

Assuming stock nuts, these things are made of some toughened, anodize-surfaced aluminum. Severe overtorqueing can produced 'pulled threads' (at best) to threads with cracks started at their roots (at worst -- bad).

Since they're relatively inexpensive items , once these nuts are gorilla'd off, I'd give them only limited, 'civilian' duty till their replacements arrived. Then a remove & replace would be in order.

Your steel studs, on the other hand, are more than likely just fine. Do a quick sanity check on them for pulled threads. (It's a long shot -- but, hey -- weirder things have been know to happen.)

To inspect, take the wheel off, and then look at the thread's profile against a bright background. (a piece of brightly lit paper on the opposite side of the stud works fine). The tent roof-like shape of each thread's top shouldn't be 'swayed' toward the stud's end.

-Lonnie

MisterRisky

I'm in total agreement with Lonnie. As Dave said above, your shop should be paying for the nuts, but you should have the pay you and then you go get the nuts. They are clearly hacks and if they get your replacements you may end up with mismatched steel nuts or something. *shrug*

Mark Brook

Thanks guys, I'll order 10 new nuts and try to stick the tyre shop with the bill.... although I won't be holding my breath .

We have a big problem in the UK at the moment with a lot of auto shops hiring cheaper
'Eastern Block' workers....they clearly are more used to working on Skoda, Lada and
Trabants. Lesson learnt, I'll make sure I stay right by the car next time so I know exactly who
is getting their grubby hands on her...........

MisterRisky

I have had a lot of problems with over tightening in the past with other vehicles. One shop, in the town where I grew up would use their air impact wrench to tighten nuts with no torque constraint. I had them warp a rotor once and once got the nuts so tight I could not take them off when I had a flat. After that when I would pick up my car I would take out the tire tool and manually loosen a couple of nuts. If I could not get them loose by hand I would park where I blocked traffic to their service bays and have them remove all the nuts and put them back on by hand. I am so glad I live in a larger town with more shops to choose from.

One really good thing about the AL nuts used on our cars is (I presume) that it is hard to warp the rotors by over tightening. I would anticipate the nuts stripping before they cause damage. Tis cheaper to replace nurts than it is to replace rotors.

Mark Brook

I just called for a price of the nuts..... £6.58 each plus VAT @ 17.5%....Doh....Lucky I only replaced the rears I guess!

Indycam

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...spagenameZWD1V

89 US Dollar = 44.30748 British Pound

89 British Pound (GBP) = 178.773 US Dollar (USD)

jimq

I am sure some Rennlister has some sitting around after going to aftermarket wheels. Just a thought.

Mark Brook

Indy,
Are they the real thing? If so, no brainer.........!

Cheers,

Mark.

Indycam

Ma ,
I think they are real .
Look at the other junk he has for sale .