Ever have a vehicle just whoop your a$$?

[BUDDY]

On my wife's Discovery:

Years ago, one of the lug studs on the driver's rear broke off whilst at the tire shop. and we drove it like that with 4 lugs on it instead of 5, literally, for years. I have had the tires rotated and balanced many times since then, but I always took it in to do it because it was free with the tire purchase.

Finally, decide that it's time to replace the broken lug stud, so I get the other 4 lugs off, and I CAN NOT get the tire off!!

I have a 10 foot long cheater that is BENDING without any lug nuts on the wheel!!

I'm a pretty hefty fella these days and I've gotten tires off of anything else I've ever owned or stopped on the side of the road to help with, so I'm at a loss. But, I remember reading an article in 4wheeler probably 20 years ago where Granville King recommends as a last resort to leave one lugnut on hand tight & then drive a few feet with it on and it will break the wheel loose.

I am out of options at this point, so I say to myself, let's try it. Loosely put one lugnut back on, lower the jack, & drive slowly down the alleyway. (I adjusted the mirror down so that I could see the tire the whole time) I'll be damned if that frikkin' thing didn't even budge!! I drove around the block TWICE!! to get the wheel to START to wobble even a little bit.

By the time I was on the last quarter of the last lap, I was like, "screw it, this wheel is coming off!!" I am skidding and drifting around the corner, (as much as you can in a 5000lb AWD monster with traction control), and just as I get back to my driveway, I see it break loose in the mirror.

It stilll has the one lugnut on it & it isn't going anywhere, so I back into my workspace in the driveway again, jack it up AGAIN, pull that lug off AGAIN, use my 10 foot breaker bar AGAIN & the flippin' thing just barely pops off. WHEW!!

After that it was cake, but if I ever get a flat in that thing I'm just calling AAA straight off. I'd be screwed anyways, cause I don't normally carry around a 10 foot breaker bar.

Come to find out, that the OEM wheels on a Land Rover Discovery are not only "hub-centric", but that they are also, "lug-centric" as well. This little tid-bit means that once the center seat for the wheel lines up with the hub, that the lugs then have seats ALSO that line up with each lug. Basically, the wheel is "pressed-on" by the lugs which then, "press" themselves on when you torque them to the prescribed torque.

It was rediculous.

Later,
Buddy

 

[Blue85]

It's not the snow that rusts them, it's the orange truck vandals.

Whenever a job kicks my butt, I start thinking that soon I will be too old to deal with this stuff. Then I think of some way to save money or make something work better and off I go again.

I spent like 20 hours to swap the torque converter on my '05 this weekend. It fought me every step of the way. Then when it ran there was this horrible grinding noise! I was about to go mad! Then I discovered it was just the plastic filler around the starter motor. Talk about a mood change!

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

I know it's the salt that does it.
I hate salt.

Talk about a mood change!

When I watched the Cherokee drive off, and got the "Drives better than it EVER has!" message....
I was happy as hell.... Totally worth the time.
Gettin paid don't hurt, either...

 

[chulisohombre]

Aero-kroil. A rust belt gear heads best friend. Yes its $20 a bottle but i have yet to see a bolt it didnt break free. And the stuff smells awesome lol. Pb blaster is junk compared to the stuff imo.

No Dought

hands down the best oil I've used. I've tried them all over the years. Heat is also rusts enemy and a BFH. It it don't come off any other way heat it and persuade it to come Off. Lol. It's always a good Feeling when you get it done and runs good Down the road again.
That why I keep doing it. That and I'm a cheap bastard and hate taking my truck to anyone else unless its neasassary.

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

I flat-out REFUSE to have anyone work on my vehicles, now.
Unless I absolutely can't do what needs done, it stays home.

I'm sick of having USELESS Wyotech-flunkies, breaking my sh*t.

For Christ sake.... The last brake job I ever had done; The Big-O-Tires WOULD NOT ADMIT,
that they left the Anchor Spring out of my Tundra's driver-side Brake Drum.
Even tho I was looking at the open drum, and it wasn't in there.

The lady (the one that answers the phones. NOT a tech.),
Tried to tell me, "The spring probably RUSTED and FELL OUT."

To which I replied:

"Check the work order.
Notice the part that says, 'new hardware'?
And the date that says 2 months ago?

You're trying to tell me, that 2 month old hardware,
Not only rusted to the point of failure, but also,
Obliterated itself into pieces small enough to fit through the tiny gap, between the drum and backing plate....
AND, THERE IS NO SIGN OF THIS IN THE DRUM???"

She said, "Yes. That's what I'm saying."
Never once spoke to a tech.
The manager said I can schedule an appointment, "To have the spring replaced."
I told him, "you can't replace what you never installed..."

Idiots.

That's the day I was like, "f*ck it! I'm a mechanic now, I guess.."

 

[blazinzuk]

I flat-out REFUSE to have anyone work on my vehicles, now.
Unless I absolutely can't do what needs done, it stays home.

I'm sick of having USELESS Wyotech-flunkies, breaking my sh*t.

For Christ sake.... The last brake job I ever had done; The Big-O-Tires WOULD NOT ADMIT,
that they left the Anchor Spring out of my Tundra's driver-side Brake Drum.
Even tho I was looking at the open drum, and it wasn't in there.


That's the day I was like, "f*ck it! I'm a mechanic now, I guess.."

I was always my own mechanic cause I could never afford to pay someone to work on it. I gotta tell you though if I could afford it I would probably take some stuff to a shop, but its a buddy who works there so no worries about getting stuff done wrong.

I guess it would help if I owned anything newer than 12 years old

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

The Tundra was the wife's bidding....

She said, "I don't want to be able to blame you, when something isn't fixed right."
Makes sense....

But, when EVERYTHING came back just as bad as it left,
I got to takeover the Tundra fixin'...

I've always worked on my personal cars/trucks.
Why pay someone else to do what I can... at "cost".

 

[black dawg]

That's the day I was like, "f*ck it! I'm a mechanic now, I guess.."

I remember my day like that well..............I was just old enough to drive, and had taken my old f250 to have rear brakes done. about 50 miles later, I was coasting down a hill when something didnt feel right. I looked in the mirrors, and my right rear tire was a couple feet outside of the wheel well. When I stopped and got out to look at it, the axle was only a couple inches inside the spindle on the rear housing.

Using a cresent wrench I got the axle unbolted and slid out of the hub, and saw that they had left the outer locknut off, letting the inner nut back off till the whole works came apart. Using a cresent wrench, a pair of channel locks, and a screw driver I was able to get it back together to drive home.

no one has worked on my stuff since then.

 

[bbru]

Hell yes. Routinely

 

[Blue85]

A tech under pressure to throw some parts at your ride and get it out of the bay will never care as much as the guy who knows the vehicle and has to drive it every day. And it sucks not knowing exactly what they did and didn't do while they were in there.

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

The Cherokee owner said something similar.
Something akin to, "YOU actually care to do it right."

I guess I do...