hey guys, just wondering if this has happened to any of you... i have a 2005 TL and BOTH rear wheels have been giving me some problems since i got the car.

here's the basic timeline, sorry... it's gonna be wordy:

bought the car about a year ago, which came with aftermarket wheels. those wheels were "not the right fitment" according to a local car maintenance shop. the studs apparently weren't centered in the holes of the wheel. luckily, i was able to obtain a set of the stock TL rims. been running on stocks for majority of the time i've had the car.

the rear wheels always had this "wobbling" problem. whenever someone i knew would drive behind me, they would tell me that the rear wheels have a slight wobble, as if the they were warped. a friend of mine drove my car as i drove behind him and i got to see it for myself. sure enough... those wheels were wobbling.

within the time i've had the stock wheels on my car, both rear wheels have had their wheel studs snapped off. a total of three (not all at once... over a period of time) snapped off the driver side. could it have been because of the wobbling?? or... was the wobbling caused by the studs being jacked up because of the aftermarket wheels??

i took the car to get the all ten of the rear studs replaced (the passenger side was fine, but i figured i'd change them all to be safe because that wheel was wobbling too). after the studs were changed, the driver's side wheel stopped wobbling completely. however, the passenger side wheel still does. according to the mechanic that did the repair, the wheel itself is warped.

now TODAY as i was driving home, i heard a loud rhythmic thumping noise. i made it home safely (thank goodness) and checked the rear tires and wheels. driver side was good. HOWEVER, the passenger side... two studs had snapped off completely and another two of the lug nuts were just barely threaded enough to keep them on the stud. so essentially only one properly tightened lug nut was holding that wheel onto the car.

any ideas?? could that warped wheel really be the cause of all this? any input is greatly appreciated. i apologize for the long entry. thanks!

 

Probably a bent wheel, not uncommon for the OE wheels.
As far as snapping studs, either they were overtightened, or not tightened enough and the lug nuts loosened, wheel wobbled and snapped the stud. Look inside the wheel at the 5 holes and see if any are compromised. Tell them to use a torque wrench when installing the wheels. a bent wheel will not be the cause of snapping lug nuts, unless the nuts loosen up.

 

Yup ^ ...what he said. Make sure ur holes aren't "wobbled out"

 

Another potential, possible problem could be the lugs. Make sure u have the ball seat type on there with ur oem rims.

 

a friend of mine also said the same thing. i'm not even sure how those wheels could've been bent. i would've had to hit something pretty hard in order for it to get bent out of shape (which i don't ever recall doing). maybe the used-card dealership had something to hide?? that's probably why they didn't put the car up for sale with the stock wheels. i was only able to get the stock wheels from them AFTER they got them repainted just for my sake. i'm guessing they were pretty beat up.

not sure what this looks like... are they the ones that are angled or flush?

 

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...jsp?techid=102


IDK if the lugs would make the studs snap, but I could see improper lugs maybe coming loose, making the rim holes wobble out, causing the studs to snap...I hope that makes sense to ya!

 

hey, thanks so much for the help. i took my car in to get the studs replaced. the shop confirmed that the wheel is bent. i recently got into a little fender bender... some lady backed her car into my passenger-rear quarter panel right above the wheel. it could've been due to the impact. gonna see if the insurance guys can check it out and see if it can be covered.

 

Exactly what I was going to say.

Some rims take a tapered lug. Some take a flat washer.

This WILL make it snap studs off. Even if the rim is bent, it should not snap studs. This comes from overtightening or undertightening. Much more often from being too loose. The wrong lug on the wrong rim will quickly loosen.

The studs by themselves will not support the vehicle for long. The rim has to be tight on the hub.

 

thanks for the input! i have no idea though... i actually went to check what type of lugs i have. they're the correct ones from what you guys are telling me. the bottom is rounded off... not flat or tapered. the repair/tire shops are the only ones who have touched my car since i've gotten it. i'm sure they'd be keen enough to torque them down correctly.

i still keep thinking that those aftermarket rims that the car came with is the culprit. they WERE the wrong fitment for the car, after all. could they have warped the studs? either that or as one of the other posters wrote... the bent OE rim could be loosening the lugs?

 

if the car has been driven a long time with the wheel loose it is possible that the rim has been perminately damaged because the lug hole is no longer the correct size and you cannot properly seat and tighten the lug.

i have 3 bent rims on my car (each slighly out of round) and have absolutely no issues with lugs coming loose.

 

wow... then that makes me wonder what the heck is wrong with my rim. i'm guessing that the previous owner banged them up pretty badly. i would think it takes a substantial amount of force to bend a rim up. i've curbed a good amount of things in the past on my old car and no bent rims there.

 

^one good pothole will put them out of round