5 ms·
When I test-drove my 1980 Datsun, the owner had just been working on the brakes. As I drove with him through the neighborhood, I kept hearing a clunk. I thought
by noduerme 3y ago
When I test-drove my 1980 Datsun, the owner had just been working on the brakes. As I drove with him through the neighborhood, I kept hearing a clunk. I thought it was the transmission. Then at about 40mph, the rear driver's side wheel detached and went flying past my door. The rear of the car skidded on the axle until I managed to get it to a stop.
Turns out the guy's family had come over right as he was tightening the lugnuts and he forgot to finish them. Maybe only one was properly tightened.
He'd wanted $5k for it, but I offered him $2800 as we retrieved the wheel and he accepted.
- inferiorhuman 3y agoRight but that's not a single fastener. A single missing wheel bolt or lug nut is not a catastrophic problem. If all of them are loose or missing that can be a problem.
- noduerme 3y agoI mean, there's a reason there aren't just two. The other ones aren't just for backup but to reduce the stress on each other. So if you have a situation where you think you only needed two, but only one is tight, the other one shears off. In that case, it's one bolt that broke because one other one wasn't tight.