AdzC Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Had two new rear tyres put on a few weeks back now and the other week due to a seized rear caliper I had to take the wheels off to fix it. After eventually getting the wheel nuts off as they had been tightened up to some ridiculous limit by the tyre monkey and his air gun I changed the caliper and put frsh pads in. This isn't too bad I thought as I turned the car around to get to the passenger side and do the same on this side. Again the nuts had been tightened far too much and after much jumping on the wheel brace got the four nuts off. Time to do the locking nut now ...... oh dear due to the tightness of it the locking key slipped out of the holes and f###ed the pattern on the nut. Take it to the place who put the tyres on and explain my misery. he basically tells me that it's knackered and I will have to leave it with him Tuesday so it can be fixed. Great I thought so booked it in and went home pi$$ed off. This morning I thought i'd pop to my local Kwik Fit where a friend of mine works and after about half an hour including the front of the nut itself shearing off I got it removed and have now been able to change the caliper and pads and bleed the whole system. This whole episode has been going on for over a week and I am relieved it has now finished. Just wanted to have a bit of a rant really. All locking nuts have now been removed and I will possibly replace them with some higher quality ones. Anybody else had any experience of this? All boils down to the numpty who put my wheels back on getting far too carried away with his air gun. Muppet!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simbasupra Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 We get it all the time at work, it appears that brakedown and tyre shops dont use torque wrenches and just use their air guns to tighten them. Which is just as dangerous as undertightening them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aero-M Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 I just had new fronts put on today and i looked over to see the d***head jacking the car up with the trolley jack handle smacking the sill everytime it came up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 I almost came to blows with a spanner monkey while he was putting my wheels on after a tyre change. Manager came out and i explained the situation as calmly as i could. Said monkey was left a bit embarassed after i handed him my tyre iron and asked him to remove any of the nuts he had just put on. The lazy bastard was using a bloody impact wrench!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdzC Posted September 6, 2008 Author Share Posted September 6, 2008 At least it's not just me. Surely these places know the importance of torque settings for the nuts. In future I am going to insist that they don't use the impact wrench. If I had needed to change the wheel at the roadside I'd have been knackered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simbasupra Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 At least it's not just me. Surely these places know the importance of torque settings for the nuts. In future I am going to insist that they don't use the impact wrench. If I had needed to change the wheel at the roadside I'd have been knackered. I would make sure you watch them do it, even if you ask them not to they will still probably use a air gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suprasurrey Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 I had a similar experience with the locking wheel nuts on a Renault Megane, I ended up parking close to a wall and wedging bits of metal between the wrench and the wall to stop the thing camming out. Last week while removing the rear wheels on the Supe, I sheared the end off of my Halfords 1/2" extension:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangerous brain Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 I had some bell end put my tyres on with the directional tyre on backwards. I explained to him that the tyre was on backwards and he just didn't get it. I was afraid he was going to put the tyre lever machine through the side wall which another tyre monkey did to my spanking new potenza once leaving me on a space saver for a week til they could order a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRACIE_LOU Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 yep had this with my type r he was just about to put the air gun on the locking wheel nut when i stopped him in his tracks and asked him to do it manually eventually he got off his ass most upset huffin and puffin all the way. But i ask every time as locking nuts aint cheap plus the hassle of getting a worn one off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dangerousandy Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 The reason why they do them up so tight is so that the wheel doesnt come off five minutes up the road. I was chatting to one of the guys in Kwick Fit the other day whilst dropping off a work car there and he explained that it is drilled into them to do the wheel up tight so that they cannot be held responsible if it were to come off. I always take my wheels off the car and take them round to them in a work van, not for this reason exactly, but because of the time I took my XJ-S to kwick fit and they managed to jack it up on the sill and crumple it and drive it in and out of the tyre bay with the handbrake still on (anyone who has owned/driven an XJ-S or DB7 will know what I mean). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICHARDA Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 They should be using the wall chart provided showing all the manufacturers torque settings to get it spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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