Well today was the day to fit my new to me front and rear spacers with my new SGS trolley jack. All was good , trolley jack goes underneath (only just) so just had to loosen wheel bolts before jacking up. Didn't have a proper wheel brace type thing so used my trusty socket set. Was stiff as hell so got a steel extender bar (from my patio parasol base) then went for it. Something went so assumed it loosened bolt. Nope it split the socket. Luckily had a spare one. Loosened them one at a time and nearly did myself a major injury with each one. On the 4th one my ratchet head snapped and mechanism fell on floor. Game over. I had only loosened 3 of the bolts. Luckily for me my local garage is 2 mins away from my house. Ring them and they say bring it round as they are quiet today. Took it round and was talking to owner as they started taking the wheels off. 2 mins later mechanic comes in with a problem. The locking wheel nut had snapped in 2. Rang BMW and they tell me to bring car down as they have a case with every locking wheel nut key for every model (only 15 different types in the whole BMW range). I went there and they found the right one and had a spare one they would sell me. Happy was an under statement. So paid £10.10 then went back to garage to continue with the spacer fitting. All wen ok thank god. Moral of the story is that garages with air compressor sockets tighten them too tight and now I have a brand new unused trolley jack which I bought for the spacer fittment. Ah well it'll get used for another job no doubt in the future. A couple of pics of my broken locking wheel nut. Photos of car with spacers to follow later
My Wheel removal nightmare
- Thread starter Johnbmwz4
- Start date
Well worth throwing £10 in & having one of these to go with your jack https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Redline-67641-Extending-Wrench/dp/B010NCWY6W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510249483&sr=8-1&keywords=extending+wheel+nut+wrench
any pics of car now with its new wider stance
:wink:
any pics of car now with its new wider stance
:wink:Wow! Sounds like a nightmare. At least it's all sorted now!
I do a lot of wheel associated stuff so I've got a long torque wrench set permanently to the torque BMW specify. Around 220Nm I recall, could be wrong! So constantly taking the bolts off. If there's crud then clean off. Wire brush, brake cleaner and a rag. A tiny amount of copper slip to grease if you feel you need it then then you're away.
I've actually had the opposite experience with not being tight enough. Had tyres done and when I got home I thought I'd check the torque. Was about 1/4 or more turn! Nothing major, just glad I checked
I do a lot of wheel associated stuff so I've got a long torque wrench set permanently to the torque BMW specify. Around 220Nm I recall, could be wrong! So constantly taking the bolts off. If there's crud then clean off. Wire brush, brake cleaner and a rag. A tiny amount of copper slip to grease if you feel you need it then then you're away.
I've actually had the opposite experience with not being tight enough. Had tyres done and when I got home I thought I'd check the torque. Was about 1/4 or more turn! Nothing major, just glad I checked
kis said:Wow! Sounds like a nightmare. At least it's all sorted now!
I do a lot of wheel associated stuff so I've got a long torque wrench set permanently to the torque BMW specify. Around 220Nm I recall, could be wrong! So constantly taking the bolts off. If there's crud then clean off. Wire brush, brake cleaner and a rag. A tiny amount of copper slip to grease if you feel you need it then then you're away.
I've actually had the opposite experience with not being tight enough. Had tyres done and when I got home I thought I'd check the torque. Was about 1/4 or more turn! Nothing major, just glad I checked
You should unwind a Torque wrench after use ,leaving it wound up over a long period can effect the spring.
mr wilks said:Well worth throwing £10 in & having one of these to go with your jack https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Redline-67641-Extending-Wrench/dp/B010NCWY6W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510249483&sr=8-1&keywords=extending+wheel+nut+wrench
any pics of car now with its new wider stance
I will take some decent ones over the weekend but I'm supprised what a difference a few mm makes
mr wilks said:Well worth throwing £10 in & having one of these to go with your jack https://www.amazon.co.uk/Draper-Redline-67641-Extending-Wrench/dp/B010NCWY6W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510249483&sr=8-1&keywords=extending+wheel+nut+wrench
any pics of car now with its new wider stance
Yep gunna get me one of them
I had one today where we managed to lose the key.. All 4 bolts off in about the same time as using the key, some deterrent..
Mine
Mine
Yup garages tighten the f@@k out of them with the windy gun. I had Event Tyres out to put new boots on th VRS. The fitter said that he couldn't remove them without risking snapping them as he had already hit the maximum recommended torque. What happens is that you actually form a thin friction weld when you torque the nuts out of them with a gun. Luckily they released and some words were had with the garage :thumbsdown:
Had some wheel repair work done recently (a man in a van) and he asked me to witness him setting the torque wrench and then applying the correct torque to all (10) wheel bolts.
I did check them afterwards with my own torque wrench, though.
I did check them afterwards with my own torque wrench, though.
Johnbmwz4 said:
Well , seeing as Euro Car Parts delivered THIS, to the shop, instead of the house, AGAIN..
I had to improvise - A Torx T60 impact bit in the 18v Monster Lithium Snap-On gun did the trick nicely...
Mike
When I wanted to get my wheels off to give them a proper clean I couldn't shift any of the bolts on any of the wheels. Having broken sockets in the past (so I am not really puny!) I took it to the place where I get tyres to slacken them off. Even they admitted they were tight.
Months later when I got the tyres changed I looked up the torque setting and after the fitter had the wheels on I asked him to check the tightness. They were 75% tighter then they should have been. With some reluctance they slackened them off to the correct tightness.
I guess that wanging them on to the tightest they'll go saves them looking up the settings!
Months later when I got the tyres changed I looked up the torque setting and after the fitter had the wheels on I asked him to check the tightness. They were 75% tighter then they should have been. With some reluctance they slackened them off to the correct tightness.
I guess that wanging them on to the tightest they'll go saves them looking up the settings!
I use a place that has one man who does the wheels on Porsches and certain BMWs, hand jacks the cars up and torques the bolts to the correct amount, then they tell me to come back in 75kms to get a retorque. I tell them I have my own torque wrench so it’s not necessary , then they tell me the correct torque to use.
That’s why I use them. They understand .....
That’s why I use them. They understand .....
mcbeee said:
My tyre place is like that. Pays attention and does the job properly, which is why I recommend him to my friends.
Mike
RickRob said:When I wanted to get my wheels off to give them a proper clean I couldn't shift any of the bolts on any of the wheels. Having broken sockets in the past (so I am not really puny!) I took it to the place where I get tyres to slacken them off. Even they admitted they were tight.
Months later when I got the tyres changed I looked up the torque setting and after the fitter had the wheels on I asked him to check the tightness. They were 75% tighter then they should have been. With some reluctance they slackened them off to the correct tightness.
I guess that wanging them on to the tightest they'll go saves them looking up the settings!
I would be looking to replace the wheel studs if they had been over torqued to that extent.