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Lost a tire or lost a wheel rim/tire assembly?
The former could mean a rough, wobbling stop or a rollover.
The latter could mean skidding to a stop or a rollover.The story:
Beginning of the month, 11/4, I did a brake job for a friend of mine. It went smooth, I torqued down everything, and got her back on the road. She wanted me to do the rears, too. She brought it over to my house, 11/18, I inspected them and couldn’t do them because I needed more than pads. Put the wheels on, torqued them, and drove it myself back to her place and there wasn’t a sign of any problem. 11/26, she calls telling me the wheel fell off on I-90, the vehicle is totaled, and the wheel is gone/lost. She gives the phone to her mom who says she doesn’t want it repaired, she just wants me to buy it at KBB value– $4200– to keep insurance and police out of it. I said I’d have to take a look at it, it’s unfortunate it happened to her, I’m glad nobody was hurt, but I can’t say anything until I assess it myself.
Checked it out this morning. Besides missing a fender flare and some of the side skirt, there’s not a scratch on it. Rotor is intact, no wear spots from the pavement, no scrapes on the control arm or bumper cover, the ball joint looks like it should, but there is aluminum filings on the studs, so the wheel did indeed come off. Regardless, the vehicle is far from totaled. Five studs, five nuts, and the spare wheel will have it on the road. At most, replace the hub assembly.
I called my teacher, and he checked it out with me, said the most I can do is be professional about it and cover the repairs. And I will if that’s what it comes down to. I am supposedly the last person to touch it, but I don’t exactly trust her mom. But back to my main point:
Travelling that fast and not taking any damage to the brakes, steering, and suspension is unlikely. And if they were over-exaggerating and actually coming to a stop when it separated, where is the wheel? I don’t think I’m getting the whole story, and everyone else I talk to feels the same way.
Opinions? If I’m responsible, then so be it, but I’ve done multiple brake jobs with aluminum wheels months ago and they don’t have loose wheels. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know. I just think it smells like B.S. The fact that her mom was so quick to try and ditch the car with me instead of waiting for insurance and see about getting it fixed, sounds like she’s just out to get money.
Anyway… :unsure:
Well the last time you touched it was on 11/18 and 8 days later the tire came off. So as a tire guy I have to say that tires are supposed to be re-torqued after 25 miles. My question is did she drive less than that? Otherwise it is her own fault for not having the required service done. I would cover the repairs just to be professional but if she wants you to buy the car tell her you will see her in court.
[quote=”brokemechanic3000″ post=80543]Well the last time you touched it was on 11/18 and 8 days later the tire came off.[/quote]
The last time I touched the front tires was on 11/4. Three weeks prior, and it’s her daily driver. On 11/18 I was going to service the rear brakes, but couldn’t because the caliper was the issue and I didn’t have a replacement. So I put the wheels back on, torqued it as usual, and drove it myself to her house. No wobble, noise, vibration, or lack of handling from the fronts.
I told her today what the repairs were to get it back on the road. Asked what the insurance guy said. I didn’t say I would cover it. Also mentioned I asked a state trooper for a record.
I guess that’s about all I can do right now. I just can’t believe all the damage that wasn’t done. Friggin’ highway speeds and it looks like someone jacked the vehicle up, removed the tire, and gently set it down. Baloney.
Stock or aftermarket rims?
I have seen aftermarket rims loosen up on their own in a scary short period of time, is why I am asking.
Broke is dead on, they should be retorqued, but I would say more than 95% of rims never get the retorque done and unless there was something binding up and keeping the rim from seating on the rotor and rotor to hub there should be NO reason that wheel got loose on its on and detached.
And if that wheel was not seated the test drive should have resulted in some vibration.
[quote=”Shiryou” post=80512]The story:
Beginning of the month, 11/4, I did a brake job for a friend of mine. It went smooth, I torqued down everything, and got her back on the road. She wanted me to do the rears, too. She brought it over to my house, 11/18, I inspected them and couldn’t do them because I needed more than pads. Put the wheels on, torqued them, and drove it myself back to her place and there wasn’t a sign of any problem. 11/26, she calls telling me the wheel fell off on I-90, the vehicle is totaled, and the wheel is gone/lost. She gives the phone to her mom who says she doesn’t want it repaired, she just wants me to buy it at KBB value– $4200– to keep insurance and police out of it. I said I’d have to take a look at it, it’s unfortunate it happened to her, I’m glad nobody was hurt, but I can’t say anything until I assess it myself.
Checked it out this morning. Besides missing a fender flare and some of the side skirt, there’s not a scratch on it. Rotor is intact, no wear spots from the pavement, no scrapes on the control arm or bumper cover, the ball joint looks like it should, but there is aluminum filings on the studs, so the wheel did indeed come off. Regardless, the vehicle is far from totaled. Five studs, five nuts, and the spare wheel will have it on the road. At most, replace the hub assembly.
I called my teacher, and he checked it out with me, said the most I can do is be professional about it and cover the repairs. And I will if that’s what it comes down to. I am supposedly the last person to touch it, but I don’t exactly trust her mom. But back to my main point:
Travelling that fast and not taking any damage to the brakes, steering, and suspension is unlikely. And if they were over-exaggerating and actually coming to a stop when it separated, where is the wheel? I don’t think I’m getting the whole story, and everyone else I talk to feels the same way.
Opinions? If I’m responsible, then so be it, but I’ve done multiple brake jobs with aluminum wheels months ago and they don’t have loose wheels. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t know. I just think it smells like B.S. The fact that her mom was so quick to try and ditch the car with me instead of waiting for insurance and see about getting it fixed, sounds like she’s just out to get money.
Anyway… :unsure:[/quote]
The underlined part keeps drawing my eyes back to it. Makes no sense.
After thinking about it what I come up with is that the daughter got in a fender bender doesn’t have insurance and the mother is trying to get you to pay them so that they can pay to keep the other guy quiet so that he doesn’t get police/lawyers/insurance involved. Is smells like B.S. to me but it would be hard to prove anything other than what they say. Maybe you can keep asking for details to mother and daughter separately to see if any differences in the story develop then play the different stories back at them. Or quietly start asking her friends about it.
Yeah. No kidding. After discussing it with a few reputable people, we’ve all come to the conclusion that something shady is going on, as you no doubt have noticed. They need money, and they’re trying to get it from me. I talked to my teachers who have known me the last two years and know my quality of work and have 40+ years experience as auto techs between them. I talked to my dad, of course, who is very aware of how things in general are supposed to be or happen. I talked to my uncle who works for an insurance company. My paralegal girlfriend who is very in tune with the law. And a co-worker who is a Jeep enthusiast — not that Jeep really matters. Not to mention myself, and I know exactly the job I did on that vehicle.
[quote=”brokemechanic3000″ post=80558]After thinking about it what I come up with is that the daughter got in a fender bender doesn’t have insurance and the mother is trying to get you to pay them so that they can pay to keep the other guy quiet so that he doesn’t get police/lawyers/insurance involved. Is smells like B.S. to me but it would be hard to prove anything other than what they say. Maybe you can keep asking for details to mother and daughter separately to see if any differences in the story develop then play the different stories back at them. Or quietly start asking her friends about it.[/quote]
The problem is if some shady shit is going on, I don’t want to tip them off to what knowledge I have. I don’t want to give them a chance to form a story in case they do take me to court. I would love to ask her boyfriend, who is a really good friend of mine (one of my best), but I want to leave him out of it. She does have insurance, though, by her word. She told me they made a claim, and the guy checked out the “damage.” He probably told them the same thing I did.
I told her what needs to be done to fix it, and that’s it.
I really don’t have much more to add. But, I want to say this sucks and I sympathize with your position. There is nothing worse in this field than when people abuse the “last in” rule and try and f*ck someone who is just trying to help them out.
I hope you come out on top of this and don’t let it discourage you.
Yeah, not much more to add. I got all the opinions I was looking for, and they all point to the same thing. Just have to wait and see what the insurance says and see what her next move is.
This stinks a bit to me too. I see no way that vehicle could lose a wheel at 70 MPH and not suffer some pretty noticeable damage on the brake rotor and rotor shield. There should also be a serious gouge in the asphalt so going out to inspect that chunk of road might not be a bad idea.
One possible reason the wheel may have come off could be if the threads on the wheel studs are damaged; possibly due to someone in the past while installing tires or repairing a flat, etc.
Just some food for thought, but what about the possibility they took the Jeep somewhere else after you for another opinion on the brakes seeing as how you said more than pads and the next shop is the one actually at fault…..
Another might be a hard curb strike which broke the wheel off and could easily show a curb hit; which could also explain why the wheel is now “lost”.
Those are just theories for consideration anyway and I would say nothing until this is sorted out.
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