Runaway tire sends car airborne - GIF

Runaway tire sends car airborne.

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Previously:

https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...865#post156402
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...219#post218323
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...604#post193392
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...699#post220107
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...360#post154486

That was a failed hub bearing assembly. The brake rotor was still attached to the tire and wheel. Not sure of the tread design so the truck driver may have mistaken the sound of the bearing failing for tire noise.

The same tire got the front and back of the same car. Don't see that too often.

Truck driver with ridiculously off set wheels with spacers that should be illegal caused the bearings and spindle to fail, I hope he is found liable.

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Originally Posted by Toolguy

The same tire got the front and back of the same car. Don't see that too often.

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Adding insult to injury.

Wheel nuts can come loose, mostly on the car's left side, since the tire is spinning in the direction of loosening the nuts. Wheels on the right side spin in the direction of tightening the nuts.

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Originally Posted by mansworld

Wheel nuts can come loose.

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Extremely rare when tightened to specification, in this case the hub was still attached, presumably the nuts weren't the problem just the lame nut driving.

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Originally Posted by bob_3000

Extremely rare when tightened to specification, in this case the hub was still attached, presumably the nuts weren't the problem just the lame nut driving.

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People of the trade know what it means "tightened to specifications", but the vast majority of car drivers all over the world don't even know what is a torque wrench! All they know is the X or L-shaped wheel nut wrench/spanner. Even tire repair workshops most of them don't use a torque wrench, to save time and increase productivity and money, they use air impact wrenches.

That driver never had time to blink, let alone think to avoid it.

My wife and I were coming back from Mexico on the freeway in a rented car. It was about 5:30pm, I noticed what appeared to be a large bird coming toward me then realized it was a tire! I pulled to the right as far as I could without hitting the car next to me.
The tire hit my drivers side mirror and sheared it off, the tire hit the car behind me right in the middle of the windshield.
That was my second encounter with a runaway tire about 20 years before I was at an electrical store that had bins instead of shelves. as I moved on to the next bin what looked like slow motion, a large plate glass store front window shattered when I looked a tire with about 3' of axel was embedded in the bin I had been standing in front of minutes before.

So here is my update to watching this video.
I am amazed at the comments about "lug nuts failing", "wheel spacer failure" etc. Did not a single one of you who "claimed" the failure as such even take a moment and closely watch the video?? The lug nuts nor a spacer (if even applicable) were the failure. What we know is as fact, the spindle end failed. The cause can only be speculated at this point on this video. Based on the video provided the facts are as follows. Moments before the failure you can see the "wheel assembly" wobble. That was the point of spindle end failure and the caliper briefly held the wheel assembly in position. What is certain in this video is the truck is a 2 wheel drive. The "spindle" failed at the junction of the knuckle. Did wheel offset play a part? IMHO, yes it did. But the lug nuts nor wheel spacer failed. My best investigative opinion (watching this video) is a fractured spindle failure. Likely causes are, #1 previous fracture from accident impact, #2 Wheel center-line offset compounded with minimal side wall (tire) causing severe shock to spindle. I would at this point rule out wheel bearing failure since we can see the spindle is bright and not burnt and there is no "smoke" at the center of the wheel assembly (look at center of wheel assembly from 1 minute 3 seconds in slow motion and again at 1 minute 10 seconds) From the grainy video I would surmise a fractured spindle. Close up inspection of the knuckle and spindle end would reveal the actual point of origin of the fracture.

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Originally Posted by Ram50V8

So here is my update to watching this video.
I am amazed at the comments about "lug nuts failing", "wheel spacer failure" etc. Did not a single one of you who "claimed" the failure as such even take a moment and closely watch the video?? The lug nuts nor a spacer (if even applicable) were the failure. What we know is as fact, the spindle end failed. The cause can only be speculated at this point on this video. Based on the video provided the facts are as follows. Moments before the failure you can see the "wheel assembly" wobble. That was the point of spindle end failure and the caliper briefly held the wheel assembly in position. What is certain in this video is the truck is a 2 wheel drive. The "spindle" failed at the junction of the knuckle. Did wheel offset play a part? IMHO, yes it did. But the lug nuts nor wheel spacer failed. My best investigative opinion (watching this video) is a fractured spindle failure. Likely causes are, #1 previous fracture from accident impact, #2 Wheel center-line offset compounded with minimal side wall (tire) causing severe shock to spindle. I would at this point rule out wheel bearing failure since we can see the spindle is bright and not burnt and there is no "smoke" at the center of the wheel assembly (look at center of wheel assembly from 1 minute 3 seconds in slow motion and again at 1 minute 10 seconds) From the grainy video I would surmise a fractured spindle. Close up inspection of the knuckle and spindle end would reveal the actual point of origin of the fracture.

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You are correct in that the rotor disk is still attached. However, in regard to a spindle fracture as being the probable cause of the wheel coming off, there is another possibility with a high probability. A few manufactures no longer actually use spindles on their light duty trucks they use a bolt on hub assembly Chevy and GMC for their HD 2500&3500 models use a 4 bolt hub assembly with 14MM bolts, their 1500 models have only 3 14mm bolts, the hubs are nearly identical for 2wd or 4wd the difference is some will not be splined for the CV assembly
Installing wide tires on spacer s and those near zero sidewall tires are as you said a huge factor in failures
Here is a picture of a hub I recently replaced on an HD2500 4WD
Attachment 45614
And here is a picture of a 1500 2wd
Attachment 45615
Edit I just did a search and this type of bolt on spindle hub seems pretty much industry wide

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Originally Posted by Frank S

You are correct in that the rotor disk is still attached. However, in regard to a spindle fracture as being the probable cause of the wheel coming off, there is another possibility with a high probability. A few manufactures no longer actually use spindles on their light duty trucks they use a bolt on hub assembly Chevy and GMC for their HD 2500&3500 models use a 4 bolt hub assembly with 14MM bolts, their 1500 models have only 3 14mm bolts, the hubs are nearly identical for 2wd or 4wd the difference is some will not be splined for the CV assembly
Installing wide tires on spacer s and those near zero sidewall tires are as you said a huge factor in failures
Here is a picture of a hub I recently replaced on an HD2500 4WD
Attachment 45614
And here is a picture of a 1500 2wd
Attachment 45615
Edit I just did a search and this type of bolt on spindle hub seems pretty much industry wide

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From 1988 to at least 1992 the GM 1500 2WD used a knuckle with replaceable bearings.

Attachment 45616

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ram50V8

So here is my update to watching this video. I am amazed at the comments about "lug nuts failing", "wheel spacer failure" .

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There was no mention of "lug nut failure" or "wheel spacer failure" did you even take a moment to actually read the comments?

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Originally Posted by bob_3000

There was no mention of "lug nut failure" or "wheel spacer failure" did you even take a moment to actually read the comments?

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I did read the comments, for the original video that was linked here. As I am sure others might have read and possibly contributed to those "original video" comments posted on you tube.