Wheel nut seized!

[coded2112]

My MCS went into have the brake pads changed. Got a call from the dealer saying they were struggling to get the wheel off as the nut had seized and they had stripped the head, it was a locking one! I told them i needed the car and to get it off somehow. They did but have charged me £40 in labour. I think it should be a warranty thing as the nut is obviously not fit for purpose! The answer i got was the tyres had been changed and air gunned back on too tight. Is this reasonable???

I leave it to fellow mini2ers to decide whether i should write and complain. I think i should, the tyre were changed less than a month ago and this is the 2nd locking nut i have had problems with.

Your opinions please. Thank you!

[Capsaisin]

I think it depends on whether your wheel nuts have been removed and replaced with an airgun, and who replaced the nuts.
In my experience, when tyre fitters fit new tyres they replace the wheel nuts with an airgun. And also in my experience, 3 months down the line they are impossible to remove with the manufacturers standard wheel nut "spanner". I usually have to use a large bar and socket and jump up and down on the end of the bar.
So far I have not had my MINI wheels off, but I bet the locking nut would be an absolute pain to get off without wrecking it, if it had been replaced with an airgun.

So the dealers claim may be justified, unless of course ONLY the dealer has ever worked on your car. In which case the dealer has used the airgun and so should fix the problem for free.

[coded2112]

I hear what you are saying and no the tyres were fitted by others! In the manual however it does not mention, not using an airgun. The wheels are a pain to remove even if you can get the nuts out the wheel welds itself to the hub and needs a good clout to get it off.

If the locking nut needs to be torqued on without an airgun it should clearly state this i think. Also 88 lb of torque is required to tighten the wheel nuts which is alot.

Thanks for you interest and comments though.

[cristo]

88ft.lb. is not so much, unfortunately, most tire places use a lot more torque.
I always re-torque wheel nuts myself after someone else has been at them (even the dealer).
Thin coating of antiseize compound between the hub and the wheel are a must on this car.

[emu_p]

my wheels come off nearly every week to clean and I always re-tighten to 90
and when tyres changed always undo and re-tighten myself!!

[Random]

If you are removing your wheels that often you should install studs. With the normal bolt type mounting the threads on the bolt and the hub are abraded every time the wheel is mounted/unmounted. This will eventually wear the threads to the point where you may strip the threads or even loose a wheel on a hard corner.

[Bilbo Baggins]

88lb-ft of torque is not very much. Many 1/2" airguns can generate up to 200lb-ft of torque.

Getting the wheels off is really a breeze if you use some anti-seize on the hub. I rotate my wheels eveery 5,000 smiles and have never had any trouble getting off a wheel on either my '02 MCS or my '06 MCS. When changing to winter wheels & tires, or rotating my summer wheels, I always do the final tightening with a torque wrench to 88lb-ft. They always loosen easily enough so that the stock wheel nut spanner could be used.

I think that you need to talk to the shop that is changing your wheels and insist that they use a torque wrench or at least a "torque limiting extension"(TLE) on their airguns when they work on your MINI. TLE are available in different torque amounts and are color coded to easily identify then. They look just like any other 8"(20cm) long extension but they use different diameters to control how much torque can be applied to a bolt with an airgun. Not as good as a torque wrench but better than nothing.

Good luck.