Broken wheel rods where the lugnuts go?

[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

[hummer05]

well i be sure to go down there on monday and talk to them. 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)

[ckhagman]

Driving back from Windrock, TN 2 years ago 2 lugs snapped off on 1 wheel. It could have been due to over tighten or not tigh enough lug nuts because if they were not tight enough the wheel could push on the lug and break the stud. I had all 8 replaced underwarranty due to possible stretching of the lug. Since it was a tire shops fault I would have had them pay for it.

[Yetti]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">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. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Ok this more info then I had a second ago..

I think the the threads waded up if the lugs stuck in the lug nut... still caused by over tighting. they still eat it.

[hummer05]

thanks for all your input, will have all lugs looked at and replaced if need be then go after them for over tightnening if that was the problem.

Once last ?, when they need to replace the lugs (rods) does that entail replacing the whole drum or are the lugs (rods) seperate.

[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.

[tower]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">...will have all lugs looked at and replaced if need be... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

How will you know? You are assuming that the damage to the lugs will be externally visible. WRONG! Having x-ray crysalographic studies done on lugs would be prohibitively expensive. They over-torqued them all, have them replace them all. These are cheap parts, the replacement of which could prevent serious damage and injury. Insist that they replace them all. If you're not that good at negotiating, pay for it (see my earlier post re: dealer) and recover from the vendor in small claims court or eat the cost. You will regret not paying this mall price if someone gets hurt as a consequence.

t~

[hummer05]

they certainly did not hand tighten them, i will be at the dealer on monday morning to have it looked at, since i am off on a trip this weekend, might not be to good driving with only 4 lugs holding on a wheel.
If they did over tighten them, could the others break off sometime in the future while i am driving?

[hummer05]

that was one other concern, as i was getting ready to leave the dealer, the manager stated he wanted to be sure the lug nuts were deep enough to allow the post to fit in and have them tight up against the wheel, the technician said they were, so as long as i dont die or kill someone with a wheel coming of the h2, i can at least blame that one on the dealer if it occurs in the future

[hummer05]

well just got back from dealer and had them replace 12 lugs, they felt that the others showed no sign of problems and only the 8 that snapped or had stripping on them needed replaced. I said i would do all 32 but they were sure it was not needed, at least i can go back to them if another problem occurs. Hopefully its not a wheel coming of at 80mph.

They were not sure exactly what caused it. As you mentioned before the crossthreading and then the breaking on the way off was more then likely the cause. But i still dont know since some broke taking stock wheels of they obviously did not want to hear about the manufacturer cross threading them. That was a $375 learning experience.

so much for taking it somewhere so that i dont screw things up, things still get screwed up and i pay people to do it. Well i will try to recover some from the shop that did it, i have a letter and the old lugs showing somewhat of a story. not anticipating too much money back but at least it did not break the bank

[tower]

H05,

I'm glad you're replacing all 32. I'm with Fred on not burning your bridge with the dealer. You can bitch to the dealer about the tire shop and ask them to help you out by replacing the lugs. They will appreciate that you respect their abilities above those of the local tire store.

I’m sure you know that cross-threading occurs when a nut is placed on a lug without the threads lining up correctly (slightly crooked) and then the nut is forced to cut new threads onto the lug (much like a die cuts threads).

It makes no difference whatsoever if the lugs broke because of cross-threading, over-tightening or production error. Your course is the same.

When OEM wheels are replaced with wider wheels (which require greater offset or track), there is greater stress on the CV joint (according to my Hummer service manager). There is also greater stress on the lugs. I have no first-hand knowledge of this stress breaking lugs, but according to the first URL listed below, this does occur.

http://www.off-road.com/chevy/tech/wheel/

http://www.usacomp.com/Offset.htm

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/offset.jsp

[LasVegas]

<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>Hmmm don't know where you all are getting these numbers but the service manual calls for 125 ft lbs torque tightening.

[Dug]

hum05, unless you saw them break them taking them off , i wouldnt believe it. I've been around trucks and tires all my life and i would bet they overtightened them. The scary thing is the donk that did it , overtightened everyone one of them. So I personally would want to replace every stud. Make sure the next guy torques them correctly.

[partsguy]

I agree with whats been said.Also pick and choose your battles with the dealer.Maybe someday you"ll break an axle, on the trails and the dealer will remember you as the guy who brought after market wheels somewhere else and bitched That the studs "that knot headed garage broke"should be covered.They will tell you off roading voids your warranty.Good luck and play fair.Clearly the tire place's fault,not the dealers.

[tower]

I wouldn't even drive it in. I'd put it on a flatbed and insist that they replace all 32 lugs.

There were a couple of horror stories when the H2 first came out about wheels spontaneously coming off and causing crashes. In reading your post, I am wondering if something like this might have been the nidus. Even if you need to pay out of pocket or pay the dealer (so that they take all liability) I would replace all the lugs.

Ditto Vegas, when I got a flat repaired, discount rotated all my wheels. Best puncture repair I have ever seen, inexpensive, efficient, tightened everything with a hand torque wrench, nice guys to deal with. The only drawback, they're usually very busy so there's a long wait.

[partsguy]

No real big deal about 4.00 each stud maybe .5hr
to replace.quess I"ve never heard of the studs breaking on H2s, It's not a common problem.

[LasVegas]

Hummer05... Don't want to be the bearer of bad news but the manual calls for.....front wheels: .8 hrs for one stud & .3 hrs for each add'l two. rear wheels: .5 for one & .1 for each add'l two. Rough calculations in my head is about 6 hours labor plus parts. Probably won't get out with less than $500 bucks.

[Kevin B]

Hummer 05, I think you got hosed. If it were me I would not have picked the truck up like that (if you did). Do these nut jobs, pardon the pun, realize the liability they are facing letting you drive the vehicle??

I agree with yetti, they caused the issue by, most likely, over-tighting the lugs when they should have been removing them. If in fact they were crossthreaded from the factory don't you think they should have stopped after breaking the first one and used a breaker bar to see what was going on? As easy as these are to fix IMHO they should have done it for you to save you the pain.

[partsguy]

You are having after market wheels put on?The dealer will look at it as The people who are putting your wheels on did someyhing to the wheel studs.Did they break after you put the new wheels on?

[LasVegas]

Ditto tower