The Saturday Present I Got

[Hammer]

Man I need to vent on this a little,,I get home from a very warm trip out west this week back to my terminal and start my red ride up,load it up with a week off next week and leave the yard,,After a short time driving towards the fuel stop I hear a loud snap and bang,like something hitting the lower rocker panel(stone I figured) then in a short time the steering wheel begins to wobble,,Out of the truck I go to survey whats going on and find the left front wheel lugs loose and one snapped off completely,,Now I'm jacked,the tires and wheels were put on by me over 5,000 miles ago when the new skins were added and torqued to proper specs,so I know it was not me that caused it,,After jacking her up and retorqueing the lugs that were left I just had a hunch to look over the rest and found ALL loosened,,I know freak things happen but not to all the wheels,,Retorque them all and limp her home safely and then survey the damage,,Studs are now stressed(two more went on the way home on other wheels)and need replaced,McGuard lugs are out of shape and need replaced and I have not even had the wheels to my man to see if they bent or are shot,,Made my calls front studs $17. 50/each,rear studs $8. 00/each,McGuard lugs complete set $240 and I haven't even gotten to the labor,,Why am I ranting, all this happened in a secure parking area and these are all people who I work with,,I never figured that I'd be a victim of any vandalism in my work area,just goes to show how blind I am,,My wonderfull wife said at least you didn't get hurt or hurt anyone else but it just don't make it right,,I'd love to be able to catch someone doing a act like this to ANYONES property so they could pay in full,no matter how its collected,,I myself think we need stronger penalties for people who do crapola like this and would love to see it,problem is catching the spineless twits doing it and proving it,,Oh well,of to the shop I go on Monday to tear her apart and see if any more damage is evident and call the insurance agent,,Shame we all have to pay for people who do this stuff... ... ... ... ... Andy

 

[LSMITH]

Man Andy, that really sucks. I hope you find out who did it, and I too am glad no one was hurt. It could have been really bad.

 

[Ethdee]

My sincere condolences.



You'll get it all fixed, and the anger will subside, and you'll go on with the good life.



Take comfort in the fact that the twisted wretch that did this will go on with his miserable life, never being really happy. He doesn't know how.



Jim

 

[Doc Tinker]

You didn't mention whether you retightened the nuts after a few thousand miles.



I have never seen a professional mechanic use a torque wrench on lug nuts. I think professionals realize that the nuts won't be checked by the average driver, once it leaves the garage, so they hammer the nuts on with an air wrench.



Maybe someone did loosen them. I hope not, but that kind of stuff does happen.



Doc

 

[Doc Tinker]

I moved this thread to the Second Gen. Forum in case there is some technical content that we might want to discuss.



Doc

 

[Hammer]

Wasn't sure where to put it Doc so I say thanks,,I did retorque them after 2000 miles as I always do when I remove them for anything,,My torque wrench rides with me where ever I go,one never knows when you'll need it(how true is that now),,The new Coopers were installed at dealers on the rims but put on the truck by me as they always are,I trust no parts exchanger because of prior mistakes and always double check the work,,Oh well,will look it over on Monday and see what she need to be healthy,shame of it is, all these friggin street rods in town and here I sit nothing to twist their egos with,,I'd LOVE to catch the guy who did it and have a discussion about his tactics face to face,but,it'll never happen... I'll keep dreamin for that day though... ... ...

 

[illflem]

Bummer. Often times after installing new center caps the lugs will loosen after under 100 miles and should be retorqued. Since you retorqued this isn't the case. Sure seems like a lot of work for a random vandal to go though, almost sounds like someone has a vendetta against you. Been selling any bridges lately?

 

[fest3er]

Did you report the incident to the police? This does qualify as a serious incident. You could have lost control and hurt or killed yourself or someone else. Maybe they can't do anything straightaway, but at least they'll have it on file for future reference.

Glad you're physically OK.

Fest3er

 

[LLokhaiser]

Hey Hammer Sorry about your trouble. You may try complaining To the company you work for. It happened in their lot. The company I work for payed for damage to vehicles a couple of times. Just because the vehicles were on Company property When it happened. Good Luck!

 

[Don M]

Hammer,



What a drag... I hate when stuff like this happens. Maybe you could see if the lot had any video cameras that may have recorded the bad guys and catch them way. Glad you did not drive off the road or crash or something. If the wheels were aluminum, sometimes I have seen them loosen up a bit although in this case it sounds like someone did not like you very much.



Don~

 

[Pit Bull]

Hammer

Your going to want a police report for the insurance company anyway and I would also report it to the company, so they know they don't have a secure lot. Glad your OK.

 

[rrausch]

My GF manages her Granddad's apt. building, and one of her tenants named Jordan took a liking to her and decided I had to go. This guy was a real nut-case but for a long time he tried really hard to be buddy-buddy with us, so I was fooled. One night I come out and the door to my truck was kicked in. There was an abusive note written in marker on the door-glass. Now I am a peaceful guy and... (except for the trans wars!)... don't have many guys mad at me.



Reported it to Police. Gradually, over the next 4-5 weeks old nut-case Jordan became more and more crazy: a human being can't act that mean and still keep a good heart. Gradually he revealed the depths of his true nature to us, and we began to avoid him like the plague. I began to figure out who had done the $740 damage to my truck! My GF won't even look at him now, much less talk with him. Any apt. communications goes through a lawyer or me. She won't have anything to do with him. He is the loser.



I can't prove it. He won't admit it. But he can't meet my eyes.



Hammer, whoever did this to you is carrying a burden. They will act strangely toward you. They will be over-friendly to you sometimes, or over-agressive toward you other times. You will feel uncomfortable around them for no reason. You will eventually figure out who did this.



I can recover from a door kicked in, I got it fixed (And got the peeling paint on the top of the cab fixed too!) and it looks so great, no one can even tell it was ever damaged. I can recover from some financial hardship, but old nut-case Jordan is now isolated. He doesn't have a friend in the bldg.



A few weeks later he showed the building gardener a 9mm Handgun and told him "Robert had better be careful". I reported that to the police but it wasn't a specific enough threat for the LAPD to act. But I don't believe in letting bullys make threats. So I go knock on his door and ask him what the hell he meant by making that statement. He denied he ever said it. But it backed him down. We can't evict him because it is a rent-control building and he hasn't given us a "legal" reason... YET!

 

[azcummins]

Are your new "skins" aluminium wheels? I know when I got my Alcoas, they put them on, torqued them down, then was told to go drive 50 miles then come back to recheck the torque. Aluminium wheels "settle" when they are new so that might have been what happened if you got Al wheels.

 

[Jeff Knight]

Hammer, Sorry to hear about your troubles. Were those prices from the dodge dealer? If so maybe your can get them cheaper somewhere else. Just a thought. Jeff

 

[Snow man]

Hammer,I really think this wasnt vandalism. Most aftermarket wheels/lugs need retorqueing more than factory setups do. You didnt say you retorqued them,so I think it wasnt anyones fault,be happy you dodnt lose a wheel and maybe get hurt. Being a mechanic,I can say we use torque sticks to tighten lug nuts,they come in different torques ratings,and they work pretty good. There is no way to make money and hand toqrue all the lugs,no one will pay for the time,I (knock on wood)havent had a customer comeback,or wheel come loose in 17 yrs of working on vehicles. Damage adds up quickly,I hope your wheels arent trashed too.

 

[Extreme1]

After a vandalism incedent many years ago I posted a sign that went something like: $100 reward for information leading to revenge on the person or persons responsible... " Never got any names but I never had any problems after.

 

[Hammer]

The wheels are not new,they have been with me for the last 3 trucks(Enkei's) and I do not believe that ALL can come loose at the same exact time,,I have taken enough aluminum wheels off to know that they are capable of most anything but I have never run across this...



Jeff,,Prices are from a Dodge dealer and although I'd like to look more I do not have time as a luxury,truck has to be put back together ASAP,,I now know I need to put more emphasis on a chat with Santa's dealer for our club as this would be a good time for help,Live and learn there... .



RRausch,,I am a firm believer in the same deal as yours,but with a twist,,See this crap has been happening to my truck for a while and has prompted my work to put a camera on it for a few weeks,but when the camera was on it nothing happenend,,It has to be someone who knows or chats with either security or office personel to knwo when the camera was on it,,No notes,flat tires,trash in bed,keyed tailgates or anything that happened previous was evident during the camera weeks,,I do believ its someone who is "a friend" and has some kind of vendetta towards me,,I guess going to work,doing my job well,staying in contact with my team partner only ,has ruffled somebody's feathers and I'd love to know why... ...



Its been reported to the police and my work so we'll see where it goes from there,,I can only hope this person ,who ever it is,leaves it to my truck as he certainly does not want to deal with me after he screws with my family or home,,Oh well,thanks for the opportunity to vent a little,this is a great bunch we have here... ... Andy

 

[JR2]

You ought to put your own camera in it. I am sure you could mount some of those little X10 type cameras in your parking area with out anyone knowing. You could also park another car in the area with a camera in it.

 

[homeka45]

Sorry to hear the bad news, I hope you find the parties responsible and make them pay.