Pilgrim65 Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 (edited) Mentioned in another post yesterday that I might sell Ruby and a Scary thing happened last night. Driving along the coast road doing 40/50 , horrible sound like I hit something in road , car swerving all over road , struggling to keep control , eventually pulled up in middle of road . Thought puncture , but no, rear nearside wheel had actually come off , resting in wheel arch at 45 degrees, thought shaft problem , ( damn , car going to be off road for weeks as I await parts from states.) However a kind passer by stopped and called local garage , great guys came in 20 mins , jacked up car , all wheel nuts missing!! , 3 laying loose, walked 100 yards back up road found no 4 , put back on , sorted ! only damage scuff on tyre amazing. Both a bit shaken so went and had beer ?. Added 5th nut today and checked other 3 wheels ,nuts all tight . Can only think must have been vibration or not tightened at last service, or Ruby telling me off.? Edited July 14, 2017 by Pilgrim65 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 (edited) Most of all, glad your story has a happy ending! I'm amazed that all the lug nuts can not only come loose, but also come all the way off, and there's no warning signs! It happened to me with a Model A tudor, fully restored at a well known restoration shop. They'd put about 80 miles on the fresh restoration, I was driving the car to my house to install the interior. About 40 miles an hour, THUNK the left rear dipped down, and the wheel rolled past me and off into a field....had come completely off....I was able to get to the side of the road, leaving a mark on the road as the backing plate dragged along. Turns out the fellow who painted the wheels didn't mask off the areas where the lug nuts tightened, the buildup of paint meant the lug nuts weren't really tight, and they worked loose..... Lesson learned, make sure your lug nuts are metal to metal, and not tightening against a thick layer of paint... Edited July 14, 2017 by trimacar (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Glad you're ok 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted July 14, 2017 Author Share Posted July 14, 2017 (edited) Trimacar, your probably right about paint noticed all my wheels had not been masked either . There may have been a warning sound of loose nuts ,but side roads are so bad here car always makes noise as we go slowly in and out of pit holes and probably didn't distinguish from other sounds. cheers Edited July 14, 2017 by Pilgrim65 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Glad you and Ruby are both ok. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 6 hours ago, Pilgrim65 said: not tightened at last service Left side lug nuts or bolts will come loose and fall out if not torqued properly. That is why some cars have left hand threads on that side. Remove the wheel again and check carefully for more damage and then contact the service facility. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosage Chavis Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Thank God! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim65 Posted July 14, 2017 Author Share Posted July 14, 2017 Cheers guys appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Heaps Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Years ago I had a Volkswagen beetle that lost the right rear wheel while in motion. Quite a thrill on the interstate at 60 mph. Luckily we survived and had a friend bring a hand full of lug bolts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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