Broken wheel studs

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LouCee

LouCee

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All six wheel studs need to be analyzed by a field service engineer. I have seen this condition many times. It is not likely the wheel studs but another mechanism. First, do you have OEM or aftermarket wheels? If OEM, were the wheels removed for any reason. What usually happens is that one or two lug nuts were not tightened...probably next to each other. So you have asymmetrical loading on the 4 remaining wheel studs and one or two of these fracture which results in the remainng two or three failing almost instantly. To the eye, all six failed. A field analysis will show if all the studs demonstrate a Cap and Cone...then it is over torquing. If it is a combination of cap and Cone and irregular fracture on others, indicating shear, then it was not all the lug nuts being tight. You will also see evidence on the wheel as the lug nuts that were not tight will have lug nut seats that are wallowed out but the others will appear mildly damage or no damage. The holes where the lug nuts snapped off instantaneous will show little seat wallowing but the bore will be very scared.

Clearly something is wrong here but to blame the tech is not first line of analysis...the wheel and the studs are first to be analyzed.

One thing that you NEVER do with a failed part is to fit them back together. I know...human nature, but for detailed analysis, you have damaged the fracture surfaces and make analysis difficult if not impossible.

So again....do you have aftermarket wheels or is it OEM wheels....this is a key first step for diagnosis. If you can get pictures of the wheel flange in clarity and post here, it might help me help more than this mere speculation.
Phil, thank you very much for your detailed reply. I have OEM wheels and they have not been off the truck since I bought it, I have no way of knowing if they were removed for some reason from the time the dealer took delivery until I bought it. I bought it from dealer stock in December and I think it had been on the lot for a while.

Unfortunately I only took a few quick pics of the front and back of the wheel but they're not very good, these two were the clearest. Probably not helpful. I didn't think of asking for the studs or asking to have them analyzed.

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I'd say almost with 100% certainty that this was the result of operator error and not faulty hardware. The chances of all 6 lug studs on one axle snapping off at the same time is extremely low. Especially if they were as in this case installed at the factory and had not been removed prior to this service. If it were only one or two studs then I'd say yeah probably a defect, but all 6 one one axle? Defect? No.. An inexperienced or incompetent tech? Highly likely.

Back in high-school I worked at Discount Tire and this sort of thing happened semi-frequently. Most of the time it was due to incorrect installation of the lug nuts ie: being cross-threaded prior to the vehicle being brought in but it also happened when some green horn was trying to race someone else and used the impact to start the lugs and cross-threaded them causing the studs to snap when 400+ lbs/ft of torque is applied to them.
 

P. A. Schilke

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Phil, thank you very much for your detailed reply. I have OEM wheels and they have not been off the truck since I bought it, I have no way of knowing if they were removed for some reason from the time the dealer took delivery until I bought it. I bought it from dealer stock in December and I think it had been on the lot for a while.

Unfortunately I only took a few quick pics of the front and back of the wheel but they're not very good, these two were the clearest. Probably not helpful. I didn't think of asking for the studs or asking to have them analyzed.


HI Chad,

Does not look like a loose wheel or lug nut.... based on the lack of damage to the wheel lug nut seats as RP indicated. Afraid this is pointing to a dealership tech issue.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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NickTheEnforcer

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probably used a frame/suspension rated gun vs. tire gun...
guys are savages.
 

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from what I can see in the pics, you didn't have one loose let alone 6.

did they show you the broken studs?
The broken studs, or at least some of them, were laying on the floor but I didn't really look at them, I wouldn't have known what to look for. I wish I would have at least taken pics of the studs.
@P. A. Schilke also said that it doesn't look like anything was loose.

I picked up my Ranger today, now they are saying they were cross threaded, yesterday when it happened they said they were defective. Well, at least they took care of it.
 

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The broken studs, or at least some of them, were laying on the floor but I didn't really look at them, I wouldn't have known what to look for. I wish I would have at least taken pics of the studs.
@P. A. Schilke also said that it doesn't look like anything was loose.

I picked up my Ranger today, now they are saying they were cross threaded, yesterday when it happened they said they were defective. Well, at least they took care of it.
HI Chad,

Okay...got it. The tec loaded the lug nut into his gun and tried to spin them back on as these studs are piloted and cannot be cross threaded easily in the assembly plant. Clearly the dealer Tech screwed up! Since the same operator installs the front and rear wheel lug nuts, the left front would also have been cross threaded, and I gather this is not the case..... "tech" screwed up and I use the term "tech" loosely as a goose on stool softeners.

Glad you got it fixed....Find another dealer in the future!

Best.
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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LouCee

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Okay...got it. The tec loaded the lug nut into his gun and tried to spin them back on as these studs are piloted and cannot be cross threaded easily in the assembly plant. Clearly the dealer Tech screwed up! Since the same operator installs the front and rear wheel lug nuts, the left front would also have been cross threaded, and I gather this is not the case..... "tech" screwed up and I use the term "tech" loosely as a goose on stool softeners.

Glad you got it fixed....Find another dealer in the future!
Thank you for the information Phil, I really appreciate your knowledgeable input!
 

I_smell_like_diesel

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This is why you thread on the nuts by hand, lightly rattle them on snug with an impact, and then finish it off with hand torquing the wheels. I never let my personal, friends, and families vehicles hit the road without the wheels being hand torqued.
 

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There is a YouTube video of the Ranger being manufactured. In the video there is a tool that the assembler uses to tighten the six lug nuts simultaneously. It seems to me that a fault with this tool or incorrect operation could lead to all six studs failing. What do you think?
 

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Discount tire had a class action law suit in the 1990's because they were impact wrenching the lug nuts on and it was snapping studs and warping rotors. I think we got like $34 out of the deal and no where near the hundreds it cost us.

My guess is that the peson who previously rotated your tires just burned your nuts with an impact wrench and didn't torque them appropriately.
 

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There is a YouTube video of the Ranger being manufactured. In the video there is a tool that the assembler uses to tighten the six lug nuts simultaneously. It seems to me that a fault with this tool or incorrect operation could lead to all six studs failing. What do you think?
Hi John,

That mutli spindle nut runner is very sophisticated and has sensors that flag when something causes the lug nut to be over/under torqued....

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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LouCee

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My guess is that the peson who previously rotated your tires just burned your nuts with an impact wrench and didn't torque them appropriately.
That was its first service so they had not been rotated before.
 
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GTGallop

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