Warbird Information Exchange

This morning I was delivering papers. My front end started to fibrate some so I got out a few times to inspect the tires and see what the problem was. I could see nothing. A few minutes later driving down a one way road my tire(with the wheel) flew right off! While controlling my Jeep to a stop I jokingly said, "well, there's your problem!". That darn tire rolled 200 feet then hit a pole and rolled down a long bank into a corn field! It took me forever to find that darn tire as I could not see where it went into the corn field. Damage is not too bad but will still cost me. I will need a new rotor as that was growned down pretty bad. Bad enough to leave a big gash in the road. I will also need new studs as they are rounded down and I might need a new wheel too. Thank god it did not damage the axel. At lest I hope it didn't.

I had gotten new tires a few weeks back and I think they did not put the lugs back on tight enough. I shoulda looked at their work like I usually do when I take it to a garage. But that time I didn't because how hard is it to tighten the darn lug nuts?!

Anyway, I am alive and it's kinda funny but still.....gotta spend my hard earned money.

-Nate

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I guess you are lucky that it was the tire rolling in the corn field an not the car with you!
Last time that I bought new tires for the Alfa the garage put some sort of loctite on the bolts, so I hope I'm safe. Never hurts to check once in a while though.

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Nate,

Glad you and nobody else got hurt.

Loosening the lug-nuts on car wheels is also a favorite with vandals from time to time so you just never know who the culprit might be.

John

The same thing happened to me about 6 months ago.

$2400 bucks damage, 3 days after the tires were rotated. The place that did the work fixed my car and gave me a rental.

Same thing happened to me about 20 years ago, but it was my own stupid fault. I was talkig to my neighbor while changing a tire. I finger-tighted the lugnuts, then took it down of the jack..but forgot to finish tightening them with the wrench. Next day, I thought that grinding noise was a wheel bearing going out, until the left rear tire passed me. Unfortunately, it bounced off an oncoming car. No injuries, but it bumped up my insurance rates.

SN

In my case, it was on a '63 Ford Galaxie I had been fixing up - Monkey Ward replaced everything in the brake system (to the tune of $900!) and I traded the car to one of my car club friends for a '72 Cadillac. Two days later he called me and said the right front wheel had come off on an S-curve on his way home; luckily neither he nor the wheel hit anybody. We towed it to Ward's and showed them the damage; the service manager's eyes got real big - since there were several customers at the counter who heard me telling what happened! At least they fixed it right away...

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)