65 cent device could save lives if big rig drivers used them

[Sinister]

Well, I'm not sure how it happened in my case, and I certainly have no idea how it happened int he article. All I know is that having to wait 3 days for new trailer parts in Canaan, NY sucks.

But, this raises a new question.

Had those tires, still firmly bolted together killed somene, who'd be in jail?

Me or the mechanic?

And furthermore, who would the outrage be directed at?

[freedhardwoods]

The only way for this to happen is for a spindle nut to back itself off. That can happen if a bearing fails, or, if the last mechanic that put it back together didn't get it tight enough and the lock ring was improperly installed.

The only way a driver, or, DOT inspector might catch this BEFORE IT HAPPENS, is if an oil leak at the inner seal is discovered during inspection. The seal will begin leaking shortly before the failure. Maybe it'll be leaking during pre-trip, maybe it won't.

What he said.

[diehard]

i absolutely agree with sinister. i busted an inner wheel once, the lugs didnt loosen, it just busted around them. no harm was done but you could feel it and hear it really well. if his wheels were that loose, he would of had to hear it before they finally let go. i think it was bearing failure.

[boone315]

I lost a set in Covington KY, they had just been put on by Harold, my Aunt's mechanic, the day before, he had tightened the lugs so tight that he broke two of them, instead of fixing them,he dummied them up and without telling me. The worst part (not including my aunt having to wire me $1400 for new tires, rims and break kit) was she never fired the guy. I think about that and what could have happened so I DO check my lugs every day

[boone315]

In '88 a man was mowing his lawn beside rt 37 in Hammond NY, a set of duals came off a Canadian truck hauling a container, they hit the front of his riding lawnmower(destroying it) rolled across his lawn hit a flower bed jumping up and going over the roof of his house and buried themselves in the wall of his shed, the truck kept going,

[Racer X 69]

Having worked on these things for 30 years I have seen and heard a lot of this kind of story.

Like some of you said, the duals coming off together indicate that there was some kind of failure at the bearing assembly. Most likely a bearing failure due to improper assembly or the locking device not doing it's job. There are many different types of locking devices and just about as many "ways" of putting the bearings together and locking them down. I reality there is only one way to do it right.

As for someone tightening the wheel nuts so tight that they broke the studs, he must have had one hell of an impact gun. In all my years of working on trucks I have never broken or stripped a wheel stud. I have seen studs broken from the nuts not getting tightened properly, in the correct sequence and to the right torque. Then the wheels squirm enough and the suds can break. The mounting faces of the wheels, hub and drum must be clean before assembly. A foreign object can interfere with correct seating of the wheel, drum, hub assembly.

I forget just who is held liable in the US when this sort of thing results in a fatality, but I do know in Canada that the mechanic who performed the repairs or maintenance is on the hook, and if found negligent is charged with negligent homicide.

Kind of like airplane mechanics.

[Racer X 69]

Oh, yeah, and these silly plastic "devices" that are supposed to tell you if your nuts are coming loose? Well you gotta look at the wheel ends for them to "work". And anybody who knows what they are doing should be able to look at lug nuts and tell if they are coming loose or not. It's simple. If the nuts are working loose there will be rust streaks radiating from the nut/stud area outward to the tire. With aluminum wheels the streaks will be a bit more black.

The plastic indicators are just a way for someone to make money selling something you don't need if you just take a look during a pre trip or post trip and know what you are looking at.