wheel nut problem

have just returned from a camping weekend at our woods, about half way home we started getting an awful noise coming from the front passenger side, thinking the worst as we fitted a lift kit a few weeks ago, I'm thinking propshaft or brakes, or maybe something has come undone, well jacked up the front, was about to put the tyre wrench on, when I notice all the nuts apart from the locking one are loose and I mean loose, so that I think say's straight away what the noise was, first thought was that someone may have been trying to pinch my wheels, but its well hidden in our woods and very private, plus it didn't start straight away, I drove a good 20 miles,
now this happened around a month ago, opposite side wheel when I added locking nuts, the rest were loose,
so has anyone else had this happen, I've got 3mm wheel spacers on, but still plenty of thread left to bite onto, have changed endless wheels over the years so I know that I tighten them correctly, should I look at getting new nuts, or just put a note on the dash to check them each time I drive???

It's nearly always front nearside that comes loose. Check'em regular

Are they the correct nuts? When I switched from steels to alloys, the nuts were different. Im not sure if the taper seat is different or not, but if it is, that will lead to them loosening over time.

Are the wheel spacers compressing, causing the nuts to come loose ?

How often do you check wheel but torque ??

How often do you check your wheel nut torque setting ??

did you put on the extended studs with the spacers? Less turns of the nut might mean easier to come loose

Alloy or steal wheels? Alloy wheels should be re torqued after 100 miles or so and make sure there is no grease in the taper. This is important.

Jonty1 said:

How often do you check your wheel nut torque setting ??

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err, never......

Nodge68 said:

Alloy or steal wheels? Alloy wheels should be re torqued after 100 miles or so and make sure there is no grease in the taper. This is important.

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alloy, cheers all, the sticker will be added to the dash to remind me

I've just popped around the shops, to check the noise had gone after tightening up all the nuts, sure enough it had, but I am the worlds worst for car checking, normally only look when something goes pop or bang, the wife commented as we pulled up outside tesco's that the tyres could do with some air, petrol station next door so popped in, approx 20psi on all tyres

funnily enough it felt so much better driving away, and even felt higher than it did before with the lift kit

My alloys are so difficult to get off, I'm sure they would stay on without nuts !

Nodge68 said:

Alloy wheels should be re torqued after 100 miles or so

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I've never heard of a tyre shop asking you to go back after 100 miles to have the nuts re torqued?

Generally in the car world re torquing nuts isn't don't , but in the world of lorries it is essential as many lorry wheels come off due to loose nuts and they have 10 per wheel!

Some ford transits (amongst others) had handed wheel nut to alleviate the problem. Usually the left hand side of the vehicle is the side that suffers from nuts loosening.

There have been many incidents of people being killed by loose lorry wheels!

ZDomZ said:

Generally in the car world re torquing nuts isn't don't , but in the world of lorries it is essential as many lorry wheels come off due to loose nuts and they have 10 per wheel!

Some ford transits (amongst others) had handed wheel nut to alleviate the problem. Usually the left hand side of the vehicle is the side that suffers from nuts loosening.

There have been many incidents of people being killed by loose lorry wheels!

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I don't remember any of my Transits having LH threads, certainly my current one does not. I reckon you are thinking of the old Bedford doormobile & chassis cab range?

No mate I know my fords, some late 80's transits defiantly had lh threaded nuts on the lh side of the van.

Do a google search if you don't believe me.

Actually here you go .... https://www.carspares.co.uk/parts/2/ford-transit-2.5-1987/transmission/wheel-bolts-and-nuts/06218/

A local (independent) tyre place near me always used to leave a note on the windscreen saying the wheel nuts need to be re-torqued after 100 miles and if you return it they will do it f.o.c. I've always thought it was their "get-out" clause if a wheel fell off. Unless it's a new wheel - or new wheel nuts, I don't see why it should be necessary, but then again given the potential consequences you can't be too careful...

In this case could it be telling that the locking wheelnuts were okay but the others were loose - sounds like when someone was torquing the nuts down they loaded the locking wheel nut key into the torque wrench and did those, perhaps overlooked the rest?

As a company delivery driver, I have to carry out checks on my van before the first run of the week - oil, coolant and washer bottle levels, all lights, tyre pressures, tread and damage check, wheel bolt torque.

I have always carried out regular checks on my own vehicles in the same way

ZDomZ said:

No mate I know my fords, some late 80's transits defiantly had lh threaded nuts on the lh side of the van.

Do a google search if you don't believe me.

Actually here you go .... https://www.carspares.co.uk/parts/2/ford-transit-2.5-1987/transmission/wheel-bolts-and-nuts/06218/

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Fair enough, must have related to certain varients, none of mine had LH threads including the current Mk6

Ldv vans had left hand thread of them. Caught me out once when I was half asleep wondering why the wheel nuts were on so bloody tight.

As already said its a lot more important with lorry wheels, more forces going through them. I tighten ours up to 710nm whereas Freelander I tighten to 120nm. It feels like I am only nipping them up when I bolt on a Freelander wheel.

May sound daft, but did you tighten all the nuts, then go round and check them? Might be telling you to suck eggs but if the nut feels tight it might not be on the spigot properly, then you lower the vehicle on the floor and it pops on but the nuts are loose

essexpestcontrol said:

I've got 3mm wheel spacers on

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The spigot on the hub supports the weight of the car, if the wheel does not fully go onto the hub spigot, the weight is then on the wheel studs.
The studs will then flex and the wheel can be damaged and/or the wheel nuts can come loose.
Thick washer type wheel spacers are only good enough for light chav cars not something as heavy as a Freelander, especially if you go off road and put extra strain on it.
Get some wheel spacers that have spigots on them and check your wheel for damage.

Tannaton said:

sounds like when someone was torquing the nuts down they loaded the locking wheel nut key into the torque wrench and did those, perhaps overlooked the rest?

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I don't allow garages to torque the wheel nuts, as I've had buggered nuts before now (lol, that sounds bad)
the wheels have only been put on lately by my good self