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From: gnosis@fluke.UUCP (Chris Villani)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Sad Story about Torquing Wheel Bolts
Message-ID: <1484@vax3.fluke.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Oct-85 11:38:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: vax3.1484
Posted: Wed Oct  2 11:38:28 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 4-Oct-85 05:21:12 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
Lines: 25

In a recent article about replacing Honda rotors and bearings
a gentleman mentioned that he torqued down his wheel bolts.  
It isn't clear in his article how he performed the torquing
procedure, it may have been fine, but I was reminded of a
sad story the I recount here as an expression of caution to us
all: A couple of years ago a young women had some ordinary brake
work done on a 76 BMW 2002 at a shop in Bellevue, WA (this is
near Seattle).  This shop specialized in such vehicles.  A
newly hired 'mechanic' remounted the wheels (alloy rims by the
way).  Some where he got the notion that the wheel bolts needed
to be "torqued down".  He did so with all the force the shops
impact wrench could muster.  A job well done he thought.
Now the sad part.  As the women was driving across the Evergreen
Point Floating Bridge the drivers side front rim fractured around
the bolt pattern.  The subsequent crash killed both she and her
baby.  Follow up investigation found two more rims failing in the
same mode.  The bolts had been over torqued (alloy rims are more
sensitive than steelL.

Please be careful!! and be sure the mechanic working
on such critical systems of your car is competent if you aren't
performing the operations yourself.

Chris Villani
Fluke


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