Retarded tire mechanic stripped and stretched all my lugs

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

A few months ago I got new tires on Red, my daily driver. Well a week ago I had to do brake work on it and the first time I've had the wheels off since the tire guys had it. Well EVERY lug and nut was stretched and stripped. I had to take my bolt breaking breaker bar (36"+ long) to take the nuts off of every lug, and had to use that bar all the way off for every one of them.
I went in to confront the shop and tell them they are paying to have a full set of new lugs put on (because they were all just replaced when I bought the truck). They got all PO'd and up in my face and basicly said, HA no way. Every one of those ford trucks we get in here has all the lugs stripped on them, you cant expect us to take responsibility for that. Yea RIGHT!
He actually said, thats what you get when you have that big of truck. ***?

Honestly Im not going to fork out the change to fix this because not only are the parts expensive to remedy the problem (lugs and nuts alone totalling over $150 with my discount) but this is over a days work that I shouldnt have had to do. So Im going to have a mechanic apraise the cost to fix them including labor cost and submit it as my bill.
Im guessing to do the whole job is going to be over $300.

 

[caterpillar]

That is why you find a local mechanic that you know well and won't screw ya over

 

[RLDSL]

There is a torque spec on those things. if they put them on with a rattle gun and not a torque wrench, they're liable for the damage.
Collecting is another matter though.

-------Robert

 

[Exekiel69]

I'm sorry You got screwed so far by this guys, I personally don't let them even touch My truck I just take the tires and rims and have them replace them and take them back to My truck, for alignments I just pay the mechanic well for his job knowing He'll never get to sit on the drivers seat of My truck.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

"That big of a truck". That's funny.

My International has 5/8 studs and 5 nuts per wheel. Compared to the Fords 9/16 studs and 8 lugs per wheel.

Unfortunately there is the thought process that is some (tightness) is good then more must be better. 80 - 100 ft/lb is plenty for a pickup truck. (With conical seat lug nuts). (EDIT factory spec is 140 ft/lb which seems high to me but hey maybe that's the reason there are problems with the threads).

 

[Double-S-Diesel]

which truck is it, back on the 80's that have the big 1 1/16 nuts they are a ******* thread one of fords better ideas, something about them comming loose. goes right along with the left hand threads on the left rear.
any how I remember on my 84 truck and others the nuts being a royal PIA to remove and reinstall.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

I am not up-holding the tire guy that supposedly stripped your nuts; BUT, as previously mentioned, many of the SRW Ford 3/4 and 1-ton trucks have nuts/studs that only get worse with each time they are removed.

I have had to work on many that, once the initial torque is loosened, NO WAY can they be removed with a standard 1/2"-drive ratchet; they have to be fought all the way to the last thread with either a long big breaker-bar, or a stout air-gun.

After a few years, the nuts/studs just give it up and strip-out.


I will also say this:

Being in the tire business, we have to constantly deal with other peoples/shops screw-ups, and get the blame for a lot of stripped/crossed nuts that were that way when the vehicle came in the door.

People will take their vehicle to one shop for a brake-job; the brake guy will point out a dangerous front-end situation; so, they will then take it to a front-end shop, who will, in turn, point out that their tires are slick.

By the time this has went on for ten years, so many different screw-ups will have had ahold of the lug-nuts that it is no wonder that they won't come off without stripping/breaking.

Also, childish Indy-500 techniques have no place in a public garage/shop.

I constantly witness lug-nuts being placed into an air-gun socket, instead of being started on the stud a few threads, and then being GUNNED all the way tight on the stud, in a circular nut-by-nut pattern, not a progressively controlled STAR.

Equally as damaging is the idiot that spins the nut all the way off the stud at speed; when the nut reaches the last couple of threads, there is no linear support, so the nut starts wobbling, thus mauling both the internal threads of the nut, and the external threads of the stud; then, when that same idiot re-installs those damaged nuts, they will cross-thread and strip.

I have a nine-bay shop that only does tires, LOTS OF TIRES, and I wish every impact wrench in the world were sank to the bottom of the ocean; that is my opinion of air-guns.

 

[typ4]

Those are some good facts Midnight, I am a 30 years of exp. mechanic and I have seen it or fixed all sorts of screwups on lug studs. They should teach these folks that it is ok to let off the trigger when the nut gets near the end.
I can honestly say I have messed up less than 10 studs in my career, usually it was badly burred by previous work. That 200 dollar thread chaser set I have is the best investment in the tool box. Doesnt come out much but saves my a@@ when it does.

 

[poolguy]

Here in SC we have a lower level court called Magistrate's court. They handle claims up to $6500. I think. Anyway, you don't need a lawyer. You just state your case, and let the judge decide.You at least have a fair chance, and so does the business owner.

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

Yea I hear ya midnight. I'd understand it if for one they wouldnt have got up in my face about it, and two if I hadnt seen the mechanic spinning them off and on.
Also, like I said, they were brand new studs and nuts when I bought the truck, and I immidiately changed the tires when I bought it, so I personally had pulled all the nuts off and installed them. I have only poped a thread in one of these in my whole life.
Thats why Im saying its rediculous, and I know they are responsible for it.

I understand how it would suck to have people coming in all the time trying to get free stuff for things you didnt do though too. But in this case I know that they caused it and I dont see why I should be the one out a couple hundred bucks and the time of doing it.

 

[Compu Doc]

I have the 1 1/16 lug nuts on my truck. When I took it to Costco to have the tires mounted that a friend gave me off his brand new truck because he didnt like them they tourqued them to 140 foot pounds with a tourque wrench. I watched there every move including the balancing.

A few months ago I had the front tires replaced and took them to Stafford Tire in Middletown NJ on Route 35. Again I watched there every move. They didnt get the tires perfectly balanced with zeros on the machine and I let them know that when I worked part time at a tire store I always got perfect zeros on the machine using just one weight on each side. If I couldnt get them perfect I would brak the bead on the tire and spin the tire on the rim 180 degrees and then reinflate and rebalance getting perfect zeros.

When it came time for them to put the lug nuts back on the guy did spin them on by hand but when it came time to tourque them I asked him how much he tourqes them to and asked him where his tourque wrench is. He told me they dont use one and they tourque them tight. They just used the air gun to tighten them.

I will never go back there. I will probabl;y wind up going to the place I worked at part time years ago. I still know some of the people that work there and I can see if there balanced right. If they dont they will re-do it because I will make them rebalance until there perfect zeros.

 

[dave186]

I work for a large tire chain here in the west. I work in the alignment/brake shop so that means fixing all the tire guys screw ups. they actually dont do a bad job, and proper torquing is a very big thing to us. we have a torque chart in each bay, not just the tire bays and try to have our torque wrenches calibrated often, but i will admit its not often enough. we recently started buying some IR air guns that limit torque to 50 ft lbs when installing lug nuts, and full power off. they seem to be working great so far.

as others have mentioned, these older fords with 9/16 studs are notorious for having messed up threads, and the ones with steel wheels that have been on for 10 years are a real joy.

just last week a lady came in with a 91 f250 with a lug nut that had galled up on the stud and another shop tried to remove it and the stud spun in the hub. we ended up having to torch the nut off just to get the wheel off to fix it. it had a chrome center cap and we put wet rags on it to protect it and somehow it got a dime sized spot that was discolored. keep in mind it looked like someone had tried it as a step to get in the bed. we replaced the studs and lug nuts for no charge since she buys her tires from us and sent her on her way. later she came back and was pissed off about that spot on her center cap so we gave her a new one of those too. all of that just to keep someone coming back to buy tires.

 

[MIDNIGHT RIDER]

just last week a lady came in with a 91 f250 with a lug nut that had galled up on the stud and another shop tried to remove it and the stud spun in the hub. we ended up having to torch the nut off just to get the wheel off to fix it. it had a chrome center cap and we put wet rags on it to protect it and somehow it got a dime sized spot that was discolored. keep in mind it looked like someone had tried it as a step to get in the bed. we replaced the studs and lug nuts for no charge since she buys her tires from us and sent her on her way. later she came back and was pissed off about that spot on her center cap so we gave her a new one of those too. all of that just to keep someone coming back to buy tires.

In my experience, dealing with people like that woman, and believe me I have had more than my share, when they prove themselves to be that un-reasonable to deal with, future dealings with them will not be worth the hassle; so, the next time they darken my doorway, I suddenly am out of whatever it is that they want, offer to special order same, and keep postponing them, until they give up and take their un-wanted business elsewhere.

As a general rule, problem customers have already worn out their welcome everywhere else; and, all their relatives and acquaintantances already well know how they are; and, therefore, any negative word of mouth advertising they may do on your behalf will be taken with a grain of salt.

I am way too busy taking care of my good customers to waste my efforts on someone that will take the profit from ten good customers to simply satisfy one bad egg.

 

[Diesel JD]

Yeah mine are torn up at the moment, but I was able to just get some new lug nuts so the threads on the studs aren't messed up to badly. I'll probably replace the lug nuts all the way around so they'll match.

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

Glad I wont ever have to do business with you!

I suppose you'd say I was out of line for ripping ass and chasing the retard tire mechanic around the shop for ruining my 30 year old Z28 steel ralley wheel by hitting it with a sledgehammer and bending the bead so bad it wouldnt seal anymore. A wheel that is not made anymore, and is VERY hard to find. If I could have cought that guy I woulda beat the living crap out of him with that hammer like he did my wheel.

As you can see this isnt the first time Ive dealt with stupid crap from tire shops.