Wow, that sounds like a story my old history professor told me about a trip across Poland and a tire that fell off their Lada every 30 minutes or so.
2010-11-17 16:00:45
16
Bizarre incident this morning
Was on Liberty inbound approaching the light at the Herron Ave intersection, slowing for red light when a pickup about 100 feet in front of me completely loses its rear left wheel - the rim & tire continue rolling down Liberty, through the intersection at a pretty good clip. Driver swung right into the Quick Stop parking lot (dragging the brake drum over the pavement for 50 ft or so), passenger jumps out & bolts off, chasing the wheel down Liberty.
All 8 bolts on the wheel were gone... I'm suspecting sabotage, because you just don't lose bolts like that... driver said he'd only been on the road for a few miles.
Just goes to show that you can never know what to expect out there so stay alert!
2010-11-17 15:57:11
I was riding some mass transit down a highway once when the dump truck in front of us completely (and spontaneously) loses the entire back axel, grinding pavement as the frame hit. We were going pretty slow, due to congestion, and were able to get around on the shoulder. But that was in west Africa.
Just goes to show - never irritate people with wrenches.
2010-11-17 16:03:43
I always thought that the people who lose wheels like that were idiots. Then it happened to me. I had new brake pads put on my explorer and the mechanic used an air gun to tighten the lug nuts when he was putting the wheels back on. He had the air pressure turned way-up and over torqued the nuts causing all five bolts to snap the next day. Besides losing the wheel I lost the functioning of the brakes too when it slammed into the pavement. Luckily I was going only about 35MPH on a little traveled road 'cause it took about 150 feet to stop.
2010-11-17 16:29:29
Marko, the very same thing happened to my friend's mini van driving on the way to Johnstown about 4 or 5 years ago. He had also just had his brakes replaced at a Pep Boys a few days earlier, and all the studs broke right off the front left wheel. Somehow he managed to bring it to a rather smooth, controlled stop on the shoulder from about 70mph. I was rather impressed.
2010-11-17 16:36:16
bike extrapolation:
When there are torque specs on something, they are
for a reason.
2010-11-17 18:53:16
When there are torque specs on something, they are
for a reason.
Yeah, because the evil cabal of torque wrench manufacturers wants to increase sales of specialty wrenches calibrated in inch-ounces or cubit-hundredweights or whatever it is they're using these days.
2010-11-17 20:22:54
Take it from someone who has worked at one of those chain car repair/lube places.
NEVER TAKE YOUR CAR TO ONE!
That is unless you personally know the person there performing the work on your car.
2010-11-17 22:02:10
Remember that torrential downpour 3 months ago or so? I was at Chipotle on Baum hiding out, waiting for the storm to pass so I could get back on my bike and ride home. The storm wasn't going away anytime soon, but it did let up a bit. I took my opportunity, went outside and started to unlock my bike when I catch out of the corner of my eye a wheel rolling straight for me. It hits the curb and bounces and falls right in front of me on Baum. There's a guy running after it in the middle of the street. There's a car at the next light (east) with only three wheels.
Do Pittsburgh mechanics just not know how to put a wheel on? How is this happening so often here? I thought this type of occurrence would be incredibly rare.
2010-11-17 23:44:44
when i moved from dc to cleveland i was driving on the highway at night when all of a sudden i see someone's wheel bouncing towards me. i swerved to avoid it and it went right over my hood - had i not swerved it would have come through the windshield.
to add fuel to the discussion: this happened on 76 just north of... you guessed it, pixberg
2010-11-18 03:22:59
2 or 3 Thanksgivings ago, I was leaving my house with a warm dish of potluck something-or-other. Just as I stepped off my front porch, I startled three adults who were busy removing the wheel off my neighbor's car....
2010-11-18 03:26:47
I drove through the aftermath of this (in my car!):
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10284/1094206-53.stm
(And yes, it was a wheel, not just a tire like the headline says.)
2010-11-18 22:28:04
Calling Post-Gazette, WPXI, KDKA, DUQ etc... Is this a Pittsburgh or nationwide phenomenon? Inquiring minds want to know!
2010-11-18 22:46:16
2010-11-19 01:04:38
My New Stanton house, where I lived for 8 years, is right in line with the PA Turnpike before it makes a curve. Twice in 40 years, once while living there, we had a wheel come up the backyard, just that one acre. If it's happened to my tenant in the past 11, he hasn't seen fit to mention it to me.
My wife encountered a bouncing wheel on Lowrie's Run Rd by I-279 a couple years ago.
Back in Buffalo, this happened to a friend. He had plenty of weird sounds coming from the drivetrain, but did not know what it was until it broke off. Turned out to be due to a bad bearing.
I see wheels lying alongside the road all the time. Whether dumped, or rolled there off a car, I have no idea, but I guess this sort of thing is not all that rare.
2010-11-19 01:15:48
I saw this happen in georgia one time, but to another level. .it wasnt the studs that faild, but the whole hub. I was driving up I 79 around macon GA, and a truck went to pass me.. I notices smoke and licks of flame coming form his back driver side tire. next thing I know.. the whell popped off and then passed the truck.. the look on the drivers face was one of confusion, then upon realization, horror.
Seams the bearings failed and just chewed the hub up. all the friction ignited the grease..
2010-11-19 16:19:07