Wheel fell off car on motorway

enfield_freddy

manc187 wrote: »

strider590 - would you expect it to snap off?

initial , and I am guessing like the rest on here ,thoughts is that those 2 bolts sheered , flush with the wheel hub , at some previous point in time , then today the load has been to great for the other 2 studs and the casting sheered , I still think in the distance travelled , those bolts would still be in there ,



any work done on the car service records/warranty work prior to you buying it?

Strider590

manc187 wrote: »

strider590 - would you expect it to snap off?

If previously weakened by a sideways impact.... Yes.

I think the tyre blew out, the car spun and the weakened area was exposed to enough force to snap it clean off.

Actually, looking at the photos I think one of the bolts might not have been fitted at all.... So take your pick.

manc187

enfield - no, there are no records of previous work/repairs

Hintza

Chicken and egg. I wonder which came first the wheel coming off (or perhaps loose) or the flat tyre.

I would have argued tyre, kerb (or similar) then the wheel.

but

from what the op says is might very well have been the other way round.

In the first instance I suspect it would be seen as one of those things.

In the second there is something seriously wrong either with the parts or the fitting of those parts.

Good luck OP.

Norman_Castle

Is there similar rim damage on the front wheel?. An inflated tyre is part of the suspension. Without it, the suspension or hub is more likely to fail. I would certainly inform Vauxhall. There may be other similar breakages which are not common knowledge.

AdrianC

Strider590 wrote: »

If previously weakened by a sideways impact.... Yes.

Look at the sheared faces of the metal. Both are clean and bright - if there was previous cracking, that would be shown by dirtier sections of the break.

Actually, looking at the photos I think one of the bolts might not have been fitted at all.... So take your pick.

You can clearly see the shanks of both bolts still in the holes. One is slightly recessed into the hub, the other is flush with the surface. The heads of the bolts will be lying in the carriageway somewhere, since there was nothing to retain them in the arm.

Strider590

^^ I think the lower bolts come in from the wheel side and if the wheel were removed from the assembly, I think that's where you'd find the bolt heads.
I'm only saying this because the lower part doesn't appear to have enough space.

AdrianC

Strider590 wrote: »

^^ I think the lower bolts come in from the wheel side and if the wheel were removed from the assembly, I think that's where you'd find the bolt heads.
I'm only saying this because the lower part doesn't appear to have enough space.

Umm, if the bolts really came in from the outside, how come the shanks are still visible in the holes in the hub, yet there's nothing in the arm?

Just look at the photos - there's plenty of space to feed the bolts in from the inside of the arm, yet feeding them in from the outside would require the brake backplate to be removed.




OP - photo of the outside of the wheel, and of the rear wing, please.

REDDDRAGGON

AdrianC wrote: »

Look at the sheared faces of the metal. Both are clean and bright - if there was previous cracking, that would be shown by dirtier sections of the break.

I'm guessing you're not a metallurgist.

However you can't really say much from the low resolution of the images, but there does appear to be evidence of beach marks/tide marks indicating a possible failure mechanism of fatigue. Only with a better image of the fracture surface could a more definitive diagnosis be made.

Strider590

Are those the standard wheels btw?