I retrieved my car from the car body repair shop late yesterday, two days ahead of schedule! This process began three weeks ago, after I bumped sideways into the street curb when my left front wheel fell off at about 40 mph. My fault - forgot to torque the wheel nuts
I want to report that after this incident every subsequent step was a relief and pleasure as: 1) Jim Hoyland recommended Arts Place in Costa Mesa CA to do the repair work, 2) Art prepared the repair scope of work and cost estimate within 12 hours and Haggerty approved payment within 24 hours later - no hassle/arguments, 3) Art did an excellent job finishing two days early. While the repair work was not major, It was done at a high standard ahead of schedule - a pleasant change from previous repair works over the years.I highly recommend these organizations

I love happy endings!

Great update Keith..glad this is behind you. I too have Hagerty, very responsive and fair priced.



Oscar

Easy way to prevent this in the future.

When installing a wheel but not immediately tightening it, leave one bolt out on the ground next to the wheel. This way it is very obvious it isn't tight yet.

This also works for large assemblies that need all bolts installed before final tightening. In this case, leave one bolt out or started by 2 turns so it is obvious the assembly isn't tightened.

The last method used on new machinery / buildings where multiple people are working on the same project is to put a line across the head and part surface. If there isn't a mark it isn't tight. I don't use this in an automotive environment as things are usually too oily.

Wow, having a body shop do good work ahead of time is practically unheard of in my experience!!!

--DD

Arts place in Costa Mess is a real jewel. He tells you exactly when the car will be fone and does not take any shortcuts.

Its good to hear he treated you right

Glad to hear your car is ready to go on the road again.

I do like your unit.

See you soon Keith!

I went over my car and found lots of loose bolts ,marked all checked and tightened bolts with yellow permanent metal marker,for example I was fitting my fuel pump on the front beam (alloy) and decided to check bolts while I was ''in there" both bolts were finger tight not to mention many others I found the same.
I use a cordless impact wrench with soft socket on my wheel nuts but @ the end of the day it is easy to have a slip up.

Am I the only one?

Thanks Keith for the tip. Glad it worked out.

Or place the torque wrench on the driver's seat. You'll never drive off and forget to tighten the lugs down.

Another side note on tightening wheels. Hand or lightly tighten 2 opposing bolts / nuts a bit at a time to make sure the wheel is flush against the hub. It is sometimes possible to cock a wheel on the hub causing some to loosen once the wheel sits flush with the hub.