Another nut is loose on the streets of Arizona, Or how Steve Faddis may have saved my life... Options

[forrestkhaag]

Don't know what happened to the body of this post. Flying Alaska so I will fill in the blanks when on the ground.

[forrestkhaag]

So back in contact with the net. The other day I noted an intermittent horn issue and received several sage replies as to the potential problem. All to no solution for a horn that only works sometimes when the car is parked with the motor off but ignition on. My Pal Steve suggested I check the horn ring. So the other day I took off the mono horn button and to my suprise the steering shaft nut and washer were laying loose in the mono hub adapter. Noting was holding the steering wheel to the shaft but God and good luck. That, and the fact that my arm length to the wheel from the seat doesn’t allow me to pull back on the wheel.

In any case thanks to Steve the further chance of the wheel coming off while driving is now over. 43 footpounds later the wheel is secure. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[SirAndy]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[bdstone914]

So back in contact with the net. The other day I noted an intermittent horn issue and received several sage replies as to the potential problem. All to no solution for a horn that only works sometimes when the car is parked with the motor off but ignition on. My Pal Steve suggested I check the horn ring. So the other day I took off the mono horn button and to my suprise the steering shaft nut and washer were laying loose in the mono hub adapter. Noting was holding the steering wheel to the shaft but God and good luck. That, and the fact that my arm length to the wheel from the seat doesn’t allow me to pull back on the wheel.

In any case thanks to Steve the further chance of the wheel coming off while driving is now over. 43 footpounds later the wheel is secure. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

There may still be a loose nut behind the steering wheel. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[Larmo63]

I know someone, who after building a '32 Ford hot rod highboy, was driving with his daughter and the steering wheel came off at speed.

He crashed, was severely injured, and his daughter was killed.

Check, re-check, and check these things again.

[Steve]

Wow!!! Glad your ok!! There is only so many of us nuts around to keep these cars on the road. Did it solve the horn problem?

[johnhora]

Precisely why there were yellow and white paint marks from the factory on critcal nuts and bolts....when it's torqued to spec and marked ...no second guessing that it was done...
Try it the next time you bolt on something like calipers, suspension and steering parts....get a little bottle of white or yellow touch paint and mark across the parts...

[EdwardBlume]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

There are a few things you should always check again, and again.

[Boomingbeetle]

Also never thread wheel lugs by hand more than a couple turns. If you forget to tighten a wheel, you will feel it wobble as soon as you back out and it won’t come flying off the car at highway speeds 60 miles later. Two turns by hand, then use a wrench or an impact.

[RickS]

Also never thread wheel lugs by hand more than a couple turns. If you forget to tighten a wheel, you will feel it wobble as soon as you back out and it won’t come flying off the car at highway speeds 60 miles later. Two turns by hand, then use a wrench or an impact.

Excellent advice. Drove 1/10th of a mile on hand tightened lugs at 35MPH and thought, WTF is wrong? Dope slap and quickly pulled over with no issue. Worked on the car the week before and hadn’t driven it. Doh!

[rgalla9146]

MOMO adapter ?
You don't need no stinkin' nut.
The splines do way more of the work than the nut.
BIG struggle to free the hub from the splines.
The nut is purely decorative.
I put on so it doesn't get lost.

[flyer86d]

You know, when I had my garage, that was one of my biggest fears. I never wanted a customer to have a wheel or whatever I repaired come loose. I would check and recheck my work. If the phone rang while I was in the middle of a job, I would not answer it and would return the call when I was done.

One winter I slipped on the ice at home and broke my right arm. I hired a young fellow to help out in the shop doing oil changes and other light work. He would constantly be texting or taking phone calls on his cell phone. I would check every job that he did for a loose drain plug or oil filter. He got upset that I checked every job so I explained that it was my good name and reputation not to mention my wallet that would be affected if something fell off of a customers car.

One day he asked if he could use the lift to change the oil in his car. It was near the end of the day so of course he could. He finished and we closed up. The next morning he was late and he had to have his car towed in as it quit running. Guess what, no oil drain plug. He said that he got a phone call and forgot to tighten it.....

Charlie

[DRPHIL914]

I did that on my '69 Austin Healey in college, was home working on the rear drum brake and didn't torque the lugs properly. I got 20 miles down the road and thought I felt something, stopped couldn't really see anyting wrong, so turned to get on a freeway, and at the end of the on ramp I felt a sudden wobble, then bam the left rear wheel shifted enough to lock and sheer all the lugs off, rear of car drops and I skid to a stop, as that happens I look out my window to see a couple of spacers go rolling past me! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/screwy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) - never did find both spacers-
lucky it was not at full speed and was only 20 miles from home!

[pt_700]

just before taking the "other car" on a road trip, i rotated the tires. after a drive to breakfast, went to re-check the lug nuts, including the wheel lock and couldn't find the key...

it was about 2 blocks down my street next to the curb. i'd left it on and it took that long to work it's way off...