[1988XJ]

ok awhile back i told this story http://jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=592415 and i fixed it and torqued all the wheels to the correct specs then went wheeling. on the way home from wheeling i stop at a stop light and see a lug fly out, im thinking **** not again! so i go to make the corner to pull over and boom! the whole front end of the jeep drops, and i look out of my window and see my tire rolling across the intersection and my first instinct is to try to grab the tire, ha ha i didn't get it. at this point i am driving on my rotor for about 10 feet and quick bring it to a stop. jump out of my jeep and grab the tire and come back to my jeep. then all my buddies come running back to help me out, they were in my friends cj-5. luckily a cop was near so he came called for towing and directed traffic with some other people. so the good thing was no one was hurt and i got to ride home in a CUMMINS tow truck.

here are a few pictures:

[wil badger]

Looks like a couple have snapped on you.The thing with bolts/lugs are that they stretch when you tighten them.This stretching is what holds the nut in place.When you over tighten something to many times it tends not to return to its original length/form.If the lug nuts were always being put on with an impact gun or just way over tightened you could have fatigued them.Get some new studs,hammer the old ones out,press some new ones in and tighten to proper specs.

[scavengerj]

Ouch! Been there done that, only problem was I was on the highway doing 70mph during rush hour. Talk about a trip! LoL

[broncofire75]

Urban wheeling carnage!! Awesome. I envy you....

Were you wheeling before this happened? Maybe had something to do with the final lugs ripping off but I'm sure it was over time. glad I do enough crap to mine that I know what condition everything is on my steering and brakes and such.

[KentuckyXJ]

so you saw a lug nut come off and you kept driving?

[ajxj9197]

that sux bigtime

[dualsub2006]

If I were you I would replace every stud and nut and in doing so I would set the proper torque (100lbs ish) on every one of them. You have had this happen now twice. It happened to me once on a road trip just after I got my 2nd Discovery. Riding down the highway and snap. My tire didn't come off, but I wasn't willing to risk it. I towed it to my friends house (my destination) and after I got the parts we spent that next Saturday afternoon replacing every nut and stud on the vehicle.

Those studs will stretch over time and letting someone impact them on as hard as hell puts stress on them. Enough of that and they will twist right off. Replacing studs is actually really easy and I would set about doing it all the way around before I took this thing anywhere again. The next time it comes off (and given your history I would bet that there will be a next time) might be at highway speed.

[Slowride63]

Factory torque spec for the lug nuts is 75 ft lbs. I'm thinking maybe the problem is related more to the wheel and/or the type of lug nut used.

[Arcticcat843]

LOL i had this happen before! little different though, i was doing 75mph down the highway at 9pm going though one of the the busyest citys in MI (lansing) Sucks big time! mine was the rear though....

[XJ4oh]

That sucks man. Glad you didn't get in a wreck or anything because of that.

You OWNED that pavement though... damn.

How does the bottom part of the brake rotor look?

[98CherokeeLTD]

I had the same thing happen to me on Saturday 8/16.
I just finished putting new pads and rotors on my XJ and was on my way back to Advance to get a wheel stud (one was broken from the previous owner) goin down the road at about 40mph and the driver side drops i look out the window and see my tire rolling next to me. went off the road, up a little embankment back across the road in front of me and into a field. I happened to stop in front of some guys house who was outside and was nice enough to grab his jack and a tire iron, and in about 5 min was back on my way. Grabbed one lug from the other 3 wheels and went to Advance to but 1 wheel stud and 6 lug nuts.
now my brand new rotor has a big flat spot on it. could have been worse though.
see what happens when you forget to tighten the lugs?

edit - 1988XJ - this happened in Wind Gap? HAHA I never have had a good experience with those cops, they were always a-holes to me. We should get together and go wheelin. I'm not too far from there.