WARNING: Genuine Nissan Rims are becoming a HAZARD!

[Timbo]

Hi all,

Swapped my Muddies (Sunraysia Steel Wheels) over for my ATR's (Genuine Nissan Alloy Rims) on the weekend and went about my daily routine this week. I noticed the car felt a bit floaty on the road but didn't think too much about it and put it down to road surface.

Pulled into a car park Wednesday night and turned a corner and the back end of my car felt like it went side ways. It was a wet night, but I was doing about 5kph so I thought maybe there was some oil there.
Knowing I changed wheels, I got out after parking and checked my wheel nuts. ALL my wheel nuts were loose and the right hand rear wheel was getting to the point where it was about to fall off.
This would be why I felt the car shift sideways a bit. It was the wheel sheering a nut off a wheel stud and the wheel moving around. I had 4 nuts hanging on the end of the stud with maybe a half inch of wheel stud showing. That's how close it was to coming off. Lucky it happened in a car park.

Dropped the car off to the Mechanic this morning and it turns out NISSAN have released a statement within the last 12 months (i never got the memo obviously) saying there is a problem with the genuine alloy wheels. Not just on the Patrol, but on any other large car that uses those wheels. (like Navara)

Apparently what's happening is, because the wheels have been around since 98, they are starting to fatigue. When we tighten the wheel nuts up, it's crushing the Alloy slightly. We then drive around corners and the weight distribution shifting to each wheel is causing a small gap between the nut and the rim. So you think you've tightened them up but because the Alloy has been crushed that little bit, it's not actually as tight as you think after having driven around for a few days.

This makes sense as every time you take the wheels off and put them on again, you're tightening the nuts up pretty damn tight.. obviously because you don't want the wheel to fall off! So every time you're tightening them up, it's weakening the Alloy.

SOLUTION: Either buy a new set of STEEL rims like Sunraysia's, or, whenever you put your Alloys back on, tighten them up, go for a drive around the block a few times, then RE-TIGHTEN the wheel nuts. Try and check them once a week with a wheel brace or the rattle gun.

Hope you guys find this helpful and make you think about your wheels.

Cheers
Tim

[HippoNZ]

I know the feeling Timbo! Not as severe as your case, only one wheel with me but it's certainly a strange feeling. Thanks for the info mate, top job

[Sir Roofy]

Thanks for the informative note timbo
im sure everyone will go out and check
there wheel nuts
cheers roofy

[AB]

Cheers for the advice Timbo!

[Sretch]

Take you car into a nissian dealer and have the wheel nut movement indicators put on. They are doing this for free as there have been so many wheels falling off.

Cheers

Paul

[Bob]

I have a set ROH Alloy Wheels on my 98 GU and have not had any trouble and I regularly change the wheels.

Is it only on Nissan Alloys ???

[fixer982]

The the moral of the story is "Check your nuts regularly". I certainly do, though it's hard when there are ladies around...LOL

Seriously, Nissan have a service recall notice and I found a reference to this on one of our own posts from last year http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...r-Alloy-Wheels. I received one of these and keep meaning to get mine in there, but it mainly seems to be about correctly centring the wheels when you put them on.
I was alwasy taught with Mag Nuts that have a shank, rather than taper seat, that you should but at least half the nuts on or preferably all of them on loosely, then pull the wheel back so thai it sits on the shank. That way, the end of the shank does not chew out the mounting hole. I am not a mechanic, but I have always done that, and I suspect that, because the Patrol is a heavy beast, just hammering up the nuts to pull the wheel straight can cause damage. After all at nearly 3 tonnes, the car must put some serious loads on the wheels and retaining nuts. Nissan actually enclose a warning sticker with the recall notice which shows how to make sure they are properly lined up. It would be worth while seeing a Nissan dealer, I guess, to get the checks and wheel nut movement indicators installed. Just my 2cents worth.

[Finly Owner]

DON"T use rattle guns doing up wheel nuts! Using rattle guns can strip threads on wheel nuts and studs. Most people incorrectly use rattle guns, You should brake your wheel nuts loose with rattle gun and finish pulling them of by hand, asto, not over spin the thread of the nuts on the end of the studs. Same as when putting them back on, wind wheel nuts on by hand, ensuring you feel it has the correct threading(not cross threaded) and wind them all the way by hand then finish tightening by rattlegun to desired tension. DON"T be tempted to keep rattling, thinking your doing a better tight job, because you are actually damaging the fine thread in your wheel nut.

If you can't under your wheel nut using a hand brace, you have actually over tighten your wheel nuts and stretched the threads.

Wheels studs and nuts have a fine thread and are design that way to enable sufficent tension to be placed on them to hold wheels on sufficiently, without being strong man.

I know some wheel shop personel will argue with me on this, but have they been lectured by an automotive engineer on the forces of wheels, stresses, forces, and tensions put to wheels, rims, tyres, nuts and threads? To put some facts to this, think of this:

A truck registered to carry 20 tonne needs no more tension on its wheel nuts and studs than a boat trailer needs on its ones. The difference is the size of the studs and nuts. I have put wheels on a HG holden and travelled the simpson desert, and not lost a wheel, and we even used anti sieze on the studs! So if they were going come undone, they would of on that trip, considering I personally hand tightened all 20 nuts after applying the anti seize.

All mynuts on all my vehicles, inc alloys on past vehicles have always been hand tightened evenly ie tighten 1st nut, 3rd nut, 5th, 2nd nut and 4th nut and recheck each one.

End of lesson

Tim

[big_fletch]

Good to hear there was no major damage, luckily no-one was hurt as coulda been serious if a wheel had come off at high speed.. Lesson is always check your wheel nuts

[Clunk]

heard today of a recall on all new shape Navaras fitted with alloys, due to them cracking. If its found to have one wheel cracked, Nissan will replace all wheels immdeiately, if no crack is found, you're put on a waiting list for new alloys to be fitted. I think I'd rather ask them to fit a set of steel ones on to be honest!!!!
Wonder if this will happen with the GU alloys too???!!!!