Not sure what to think of this.

I got more pics but you get the idea. Left work and the truck felt fine, getting up to speed (about 55 mph)to get on the highway and the truck started to shake violently so I hit the brakes and pulled in to a gas station. Toyota was last with the service not too long ago. Thoughts ?

 

jesus... maybe they didn't tighten the lugs enough?

glad this didnt happen to you while you were driving on the highway!!

 

Damn man. Glad you're ok.

 

I bet somebody messed with your lug nuts.

 

Did the tow truck lift and tow your truck all the way back with the weight supported by only two wheel studs?

 

Ouch! How long has it been since the dealer worked on it?

 

are the lugnuts gone or are the studs broken?

if the lugnuts simply fell off, your service guys got some splainin to do

if the studs broke, your service guys got some splainin to do

 

Sorry on my phone. Ill try to answer the questions.

Ahshiet: yes they are the right lugs, no one has tried to steal the wheels that I know of. I drove it to work like that this morning and everything was fine

Keith: yes he did. I told him it was a bad idea but he said if anything happens his insurance will cover it

Jjew18 a few weeks

 

Looks like the lugs werent torqued. Happened to me after installing my new wheels, luckily I had enough time to pull over and use a breaker bar to tighten them. Definitely scary when the whole rear end is shaking tho.

 

If the studs broke -- loose lugs.

It's not the shear strength of the bolts it's the clamping force they generate, without that you'll break studs all day long.

 

Both one stud is broke for sure. I couldn't see very well and didn't want to get under the truck with it like that

 

I wouldn't be surprised if it's nobody's fault to be honest. You can torque the lug nuts properly and with alloy wheels the metals can expand and contract differently and actually allow the nuts to loosen. Uncommon but possible. Especially if you check the other wheels and all are still torqued properly.

 

IDK...with two nuts still on but loose enough for the wheel to shift on the hub like that, I'd suspect sabotage...I was in a buddy's Gran Torino in H.S. when we lost the driver's side rear tire at speed after a function at a rival H.S... was not cool the damage it did...

 

I would say both under torque and over torque can cause this. Typically it is not easy to over torque lug nuts to a point where they would strip or break, unless you use a serious breaker bar, so it was probably under torqued, or not torqued at all - maybe the tech got distracted while putting the wheels back on.
Third guess would be someone messing with it, but it sounds like you pretty much ruled that out.

 

Definitely a good rule of thumb. I always go over the lugs and recheck them around 50 miles after rotating.

Red, glad your okay, that could have got ugly!

 

It is very possible that they torqued them to much like with an impact gun instead of using a torque wrench.

 

I've heard plenty of story's from machanics about people just taking a impact gun and cranking the nuts on. Some people are just to lazy

 

scary..,. luckly youre ok and no one got hurt
http://www.talkpa.net/showthread.php?6229-Driver-killed-by-flying-truck-tire-on-I-95

 

When they lose a set of duals that's all together different. It's not the lug nuts that came off but rather the hub nut(s). They come off as a set and then you've got a big heavy missile. Because of this the truck manufacturers and safety folks all got together and came up with a universal procedure for torquing wheel bearings on semis.

You can see there is a pair.




This is the official procedure.

http://www.anythingtruck.com/commercial/740-wheel_bearing_adjustment.pdf

You can imagine the liability for the shop that last touched those wheel bearings, and the individual mechanic.

I always pass trucks quickly because of this and other dangers.