Tire Shops what the f_g!

My 4Runner I bought last year has one noticeably different lug nut on each wheel and the little hubcap that is around the lug nuts is all scarred up. It looks like when the previous owner bought a set of tires the person changing the tires used the wrong size socket, probably too large, and ruined some of the lug nuts and replaced them with whatever used ones were on hand.

Worse yet... A previous car I owned, a Mercury Mountaineer, identical to a Ford Explorer, when I bought it the seller told me it had a new catalytic converter, which it had. Later I noticed the check engine light never came on. Bulb had been removed. I put in a bulb and of course the light came on. Checked the code and an oxygen sensor was bad. This particular sensor has to be replaced from above. I had to take out the front seats, remove console, cut the carpet, and access the oxygen sensor through a trapdoor in the floor. Replaced sensor, light went out, no codes, car ran great. Here's what happened, I'm sure. Tire store "mechanic" checked the code and then found out he was unable to easily replace the oxygen sensor, so he took out the check engine light bulb and sold the owner a new, unneeded catalytic converter. By the way, the same tire store had replaced the shocks and ripped out the front splash shields and threw them away

Ironically the best work by tire mounters I've experienced has been at Walmart! I've watched them and they always carefully torque the lug nuts with a torque wrench as the last step.

Alan in Alabama said:

Ironically the best work by tire mounters I've experienced has been at Walmart! I've watched them and they always carefully torque the lug nuts with a torque wrench as the last step.

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Folks like that I've palmed em a $20 don't happen often any more.

Alan in Alabama said:

My 4Runner I bought last year has one noticeably different lug nut on each wheel and the little hubcap that is around the lug nuts is all scarred up. It looks like when the previous owner bought a set of tires the person changing the tires used the wrong size socket, probably too large, and ruined some of the lug nuts and replaced them with whatever used ones were on hand.

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Sounds like it had wheel locks and no key.

JohnMc said:

Sounds like it had wheel locks and no key.

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I'll bet that's what happened. Good thinking.

96RedRunner said:

Folks like that I've palmed em a $20 don't happen often any more.

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A friend and I have found that a tip when none is expected often pays off big the next time a service is required. Plus, it's fun to see gratitude from a service worker or waitress who obviously needs the money. When I was young (about 60 years ago!) I had a paper route. The good tippers always got the best service, and a tip was always appreciated.

JohnMc said:

Sounds like it had wheel locks and no key.

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I hated those things kept key & proper socket in truck.

Alan in Alabama said:

A friend and I have found that a tip pays off big the next time service is required.

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Amen, a while back was in a pub ran a tab got lit time to pay tab with card cash for tip, unknowingly I reached too far back in wallet. Go back few days later waitress's on me like white on rice. Ha I had reached into the benjamin's, didn't mind young single mom going to college.

96RedRunner said:

Amen, a while back was in a pub ran a tab got lit time to pay tab with card cash for tip, unknowingly I reached too far back in wallet. Go back few days later waitress's on me like white on rice. Ha I had reached into the benjamin's, didn't mind young single mom going to college.

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I like this anecdote. And cold, hard cash for the tip always makes a hit. Cash they can spend right now, and tips on the card aren't available until their next payday. Also no tax withholding on cash. Who knows, your tip may have been groceries for her family that day.

Alan in Alabama said:

[...snip...] By the way, the same tire store had replaced the shocks and ripped out the front splash shields and threw them away

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I had my local Toyota dealership throw away the rubber guard on top of the distributor on my '89 pickup when it was only a couple of years old, then try to blame it on me. They also didn't tighten the fan belt after they did other work and it squealed as soon as I started it up.

Same dealership, on my '04 T4R when it was new, threw away the rubber access guard over the oil pan access. Years later they threw away the fender splash guards and never told me about either of these when I picked up the car. On other regular maintenance items and recalls they threw away a lot of those plastic clips and necessary screws on whatever they were working on.

I hate dealerships. From the time you walk in to get your car until the day you sell it, they are the biggest disappointment. I've had people tell me that my local Toyota dealership constantly wins service awards. They must lie about their services.

Always made me wonder, when I see a tire tech do a full send on the lug nut with an impact, still pressing that impact trigger for a good 5 seconds after the lug bottoms out and stops turning.

Then follows up with a torque wrench, assuming set at the proper 83 ft lb setting.
The tech goes to torque the lug, and the wrench clicks without the lug rotating to arrive at the final torque.

Or could be that the impact (without using torq sticks) he's using is calibrated to arrive at the proper 83 ft lb?

HiLife said:

Always made me wonder, when I see a tire tech do a full send on the lug nut with an impact, still pressing that impact trigger for a good 5 seconds after the lug bottoms out and stops turning.

Then follows up with a torque wrench, assuming set at the proper 83 ft lb setting.
The tech goes to torque the lug, and the wrench clicks without the lug rotating to arrive at the final torque.

Or could be that the impact (without using torq sticks) he's using is calibrated to arrive at the proper 83 ft lb?

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It seems like the best way to do it would be to have the impact wrench set to something like 50 ft. lbs. and use it to install the nuts but not really tighten them fully. Then use the torque wrench to finish off. But whenever I remove lug nuts for the first time after the tires were installed it takes a lot of force to undo them. They probably just set the torque wrench on maximum and tighten all lug nuts on all cars super tight in one step to save time.

Air impact torque sticks are somewhat close. It's the electric impact that's not super variable. It varies so much that you do not trust it at all.

I only tighten with a hand torque wrench, and my wheel lug nuts stay tight.

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I doubt that they tighten them in a star pattern, must less torque them properly. When I get home I torque them all properly, then I don't have to worry about it.

ArthurKotb said:

I doubt that they tighten them in a star pattern, must less torque them properly. When I get home I torque them all properly, then I don't have to worry about it.

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I suspect you are correct...

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96RedRunner said:

Folks like that I've palmed em a $20 don't happen often any more.

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At least when I worked at walmart we would get in trouble if we accepted tips. We never used torque wrenches at that shop but we did use torque sticks and actually lookup the specs.

Rushthezeppelin said:

At least when I worked at walmart we would get in trouble if we accepted tips. We never used torque wrenches at that shop but we did use torque sticks and actually lookup the specs.

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I'm wana them that hangs out outside the bay my truck is in shoot BS, when tech backs truck out palm the bills down low.
Torque sticks easy to live with still getting redo at house in correct pattern.