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Too Much Excitement for One Day

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DougF

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I drove my TR6 to work today. I haven't been carrying tools lately, the old tempting fate thing.
Anyway, my front right wheel fell off. Still not quite sure why, but I fortunately had some clues to the problem and was only doing about 10 mph when it happened. Luckily, the wheel stayed inside the wheel well. Otherwise, things could have been uglier. There is light damage, mostly to the wheel. I might have to buy a new Panasport and definitely new wheel studs.
I think my driving season is officially over...for now.
 
Bummer man. I always bring my cell phone when I take my TR6 out for a drive. Not that I'm expecting it to break down but its better to be safe than sorry. I have just about every spare part in the trunk except for the engine and tranny(lol). But so far my White Knight has never let me down. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
Scary thing wheels coming off!

When the left front wheel of my 78 Chevy Blazer came flying off on the parkway at 60 mph the State Trooper only had one thing to ask, Anybody at work not happy with you? I luckily had a spare (someone actually stole the wheel and tire where it stopped down the road) and some spare lug nuts to put the spare back on with. Later found out that the slotted disk chrome wheels the Blazer was sporting would allow the lug nuts to loosen and you know the rest.
 
I had my cellphone and was able to get tools and a jack. But I wasn't able to tighten the lugs. Three hours later, AAA finally came.
I had a more exciting time in my TR3 after hitting a pothole on the interstate and breaking the vertical link while doing about 65 mph. The state police asked if I did any damage. When I said, ya look at the car,he explained that he was only interested in damage to state property. When he found that I had a tow truck on the way, he left.
 
Same thing happened to someone I know. About the same speed. Unfortunately they were "partying" while working on the car and forgot to go back and tighten the front lugs. End result was a lawsuit from another driver the tire had hit when it came off.

They also couldn't figure out how to remove the rear brake drum. I told them it comes off easier when the emergency brake is released....LOL

I recommended they stick to washing and waxing...
 
Verticle link broke on my 76 russette brown Sptifire while coming down a steep hill, downtown Toronto, morning rush hours, doing about 50...It was cold as a bugger and lightly snowing too. Wheel came off, got itself jammed underneath the car...I skidded up over the curb, onto the sidewalk. I was already kinda tired of problems with that particular Spitfire so this really got me frustrated with it, of course I had a meeting that morning so I left the car right where it was and walked to work...Once I was out of the meeting I called a tow guy to pick it up /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hammer.gif
 
Have you determined what made the tire fall off?. That seems to be a very serious problem if this is common to TR6s. I've owned several over the years and never had it happen, but I am looking a another TR6 that I might purchase, so if it's something I should check out before I buy it, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know. I'm glad to hear you were only going 10mph.
 
It's real important to (re)torque alloys after 200 miles or so. Oh, you know that? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif LOL. Glad it wasn't a disaster. Torque 7/16" @60lbs.
 
I always use a torque wrench on the Silverstones so that I do not over-tighten. Over tightening can stretch the stud and lead to eventual failure. Not a good thing.
 
I had the wheel off this past weekend. Tightened it while still on the jackstand. Torqued it once on the ground. Same procedure I've used for years. This was the first ride. So I'm baffled as to what caused the problem.
I don't know of this being a Triumph problem. I've heard of other wheels falling off, but it's usually knockoffs not being tightened enough.
 
I had a front wheel come off my TR6 about 7 years ago. I was making a low speed but sudden left turn at an intersection. The nuts holding the wire-wheel adapter on the right side front pulled along the studs in that case- wiped out the threads. I think the stud threads had been damaged previously. No warning signs in the way it was driving. Quite often when wheels come off, it is thankfully at low speeds- that is when you get the high side loads. Doesn't help you if you're turning in front of a truck of course. (I wasn't.) In my case the wheel came up and folded up the fender/wing on that side. Luckily I was able to lock up the brakes and stop the car about two feet short of a substantial kerb - if I had hit that at any speed the car would have been history. If your lugs ever don't seem to be torquing up quite right, have a good, hard look at the threads on the lugs and nuts. They're cheap. Good luck putting your car back to rights, glad you're OK. Pete
 
I have to bore out the hub for larger studs. They won't hold anymore. Going to do both fronts and eventually the rears.
Thanks for your help and comments. I'm feeling fortunate that things weren't any worse than they were. The car should be up and running pretty quickly. If the weather holds, I should be able to get a couple hundred miles in before the salt flies.
 
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