50 replies to this topic

[CharlesK]

 

Thanks for all the answers guys, I'll go to my local mini spares shop soon and buy all the parts, try it out and report back.

 

also...

 

My car needs alligning and i found the allignment specs online but the mini place said a normal alignment shop wouldn't be able to do it. is this true or did they just want my business?

 

Thanks again!

You can have issues if you have 10" wheels, some laser alignment setups cant do wheels that small. But they may just want your business anyway 

 

 

 

A lot of places can't do it as some of the modern systems won't fit onto 12" wheels.  You've just got to ask/check whether the place can go down to whatever size wheels your running.

 

 

Cool, thanks. I'll give some local places a call.

[Fast Ivan]

be interesting to see what studs you have fitted, are there any markings on them? they should be marked with 10.9 on the head, make sure your replacements have this on them

[Guess-Works.com]

The torque figure for wheel nuts will depend more on the wheel type than the stud, eg Alloys are torqued less that steels... Some mini wheels, like revo's, D1's and the like which use a sleeved nut also have different torque figures...

 

Steel wheels  - 40-45lbft ( 60 nm )

 

Alloys wheels - 37 lbft ( 50 nm )

[lsto]

I work in the psv industry where obviously having a wheel come off is a disaster, and unfortunately from time to time it does happen. I have never had a wheel come off I have done but like I said it happens.
To try and prevent this there are set procedures to stop it but mechanical faults still happen. Items do wear and metal does fatigue, you have prob just been unlucky.
Just to go through the procedure we have at work, once a wheel is removed all the studs and mating surfaces are cleaned with a wire brush and checked for wear or corrosion. If any is found all the wheel studs are renewed, or if its the wheel then this is scrapped and replaced.
Once checked the studs are lubed with engine oil, the wheel is fitted and the nuts checked for damage and wear. Again renew if any concerns. After the wheel nuts are tightened the wheel is torqued, after 15 mins torqued again and after 24 hours its torqued again. If any nuts move on the retorque then its torqued again after another 24 hours.

As for your car bear in mind your nuts and studs are prob 20 odd years old now. I would just renew the studs and nuts, and every time you work on the car just torque everything to be safe.

[pusb]

Wow, this is scary. I never torque mine, I just do them up as tight as I can with the wrench.

Could I be over tightening?

[Gadgets]

Hi sounds to me that the wheel studs were over tightened and they just snapped, (the cold weather will also not of helped)

 

You are not the first person i have heard of this happening to.

 

Good luck

[Spider]

Like the others have said, does sound like over tightening.

 

Interestingly all our Tyre Fitting Shops here now use Torque Wrenches (or something similar) when refitting wheels back on a car. Until a few years back, they just used Impact Wrenches. I haven't followed up on why this change has come about, however I'd say because of stud failure.

 

 

Wow, this is scary. I never torque mine, I just do them up as tight as I can with the wrench.

Could I be over tightening?

 

Without putting a torque wrench to it, who knows. Could be under-tightening too.

[Fast Ivan]

might well be over tightening, but don't rule out the wrong grade studs..... 

[CharlesK]

might well be over tightening, but don't rule out the wrong grade studs..... 

 

I'll make sure to check the new ones when i'm at the shop and post the grade of the old ones here at the same time

[lsto]

Reason they use torque wrenches is the same reason we do. People like to put blame on someone when things go wrong.
If a wheel comes off on a decker for instance, all the people on the bus will prob sue, assuming no one is seriously hurt. Whatever the wheel hits will be damaged, plus the transport executive and the ministry of transport plus the health and safety executive will investigate and press charges... Some people have ended up inside because of this.
In my firm I have seen people sacked for not following procedure.
Back in cars they torque because if your wheel comes off its not their fault because they did their bit. A lot of places have on the receipt that's its your responsibility to have the wheel checked a week after for a re torque.
Its all about covering your back, at least in my industry anyway...

[minidaves]

all i am gonna say is there were some rubbish wheel studs out there

[CharlesK]

Hello again,

Some help would be appreciated to find the right studs.

Here's the link to what i found http://minispares.co...wheel stud.aspx

I'm not sure which ones i need tho.

I'm running standard disc up front and standard drum at the back

there are 2 kinds of drums for the back, spacered and non spacered. which one would a 1988 red hot have?

there's 35mm pre-84 and 31mm post-84 i'm guessing i need the 31mm for the front, same for the back?

Next issue is the 31mm is sold out.

other option is to buy studs with a spacer combined, the 3/8 spacer is the narrowest. would this be a sollition or will that just make it a rubbish repair job?

Thanks for the advice :)

[Ethel]

Studs that are too long are fine, as long as they don't bottom out in a blind wheel nut. If it has discs it should have spacered drums on the back. You should also take your wheels in to account.

 

As you're overseas it might be worth confirming your wheels are actually Mini fitting, with 4 inch PCD and not 100mm.

[Fast Ivan]

have a look at what you have at the moment,  first make sure that you have enough thread engagement, if that checks out then measure the overall length and the thread length and order some of the same.

[Earwax]

I wiould be removing the whole hub. carefully looking at CV, tie rod end etc,,, as well as the disc rotor/ tie bars....  the chap who put you back on the road ( auto club typer) should be investigated.