ok on my back right wheel only three of four lug nuts will tighten onto the wheel , is this safe to drive. thx

[holden j caufield]

is this safe temporarily? safe in the long run? Thing is that the housing that holds the fourth stud is ruined so I'd have to do the whole hub bearing replacement. which sucks

 

[BooneRebel]

Safe to get to an autoparts store or a mechanic. The stud is stripped. You'll probably need to pull the wheel, the hub, and the old stud, popping in a new one.

 

[Windogg]

You'll be fine for the trip there.

 

[MichaelD]

Mmmm-hmmm. Lemme guess: you or someone else put on the lugnuts with an air wrench, right? Bad idea. Guaranteed to to strip the lugs. Also guaranteed to strip the oil pan, which is what happened to me back in '94. Spiffy-Lube had some Neanderthal teenager change my oil. Took the bolt off w/the air wrench and put it back w/the air wrench. Then, he tried to tell me that "um, like yeah maaaaa, the bolt was spinning like that before I took it off." Um, like yeah, maaaan, I'm gonna crack your head open with this here tire iron if you don't get the manager out here, like NOW! NE way, believe it or not, they only paid for half the repair because I couldn't PROVE that the nut wasn't stripped already.

NEway. Don't drive for extended periods, speed or corner quickly until you get that fixed. Good luck.

 

[GasX]

If you car begins to wobble in the turns, pull over IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Windogg]

MichaelD or any other gearhead, might know the answer to this one. I was actually pondering starting a thread this morning.

Anyway, I know air wrenches are really can potentially kill your lugs if overtorqued. According to my brother, manually tightening wheels are the best because the centrifigal force of the wheels spinning will tighten the lugs properly. Any truth to this?

Windogg

 

[BCYL]

It's very unsafe in the long run, and can probably damage other parts of your car (eg. axle)... with only 3/4 nuts tight, u put additional stress on other components on your car, which may result in damages that are a lot more expensive to fix later...

ie. Get it fixed ASAP!

 

[RayH]

Not only will using an air wrench ruin the studs, over or uneven tightening can also cause the brake rotors to warp. Best to use a torque wrench whenever possible.