YEP YEP, If they installed them and are trying to say that they were to tight then they should definitley replace them I would think. If not then I would raise hell, to tell you the truth, if it for sure was because of over tightening, I would make them pay for everything to be fixed. He shouldnt have to drop his own dime to fix something that was not his fault.

 

Pics of rim damage: (this is the rim that was "ejected"...caused the damage).



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

4 Wheel Parts is saying that the lugs were over tightened. But my brother said he thought something was off with the rear wheel so he pulled that wheel last week...and didn't notice anything off as he was inspecting the brakes and tire. But, the kicker...4WP is saying that since he pulled the wheel off, he's the one that over-tightened it. The problem is, he only pulled one wheel, and all 4 wheels have the same damage.

Calling Pro-Comp tomorrow.


Also talked to his friend that was driving behind him when it happened, he said he was amazed the truck didnt roll...said it went completely over the top of the tire. I'm glad he didnt..but now I'm worried about the damage to the axle after dropping to pavement from 32" up....

 

If all 4 wheels show the same damage, I would say that it is a manufacturing defect. I highly doubt that lug nut torque is the problem. I would measure the thickness of the wheel center section and compare it to your rims. See if they are the same thickness. Maybe they got a defective batch of center sections..?

Pro-Comp & (indirectly) 4WP are both on the hook for this one. If you have to, threaten to talk to the DA.

 

i think they were overtightened because what happened to mine was that a few of them were loose and vibrated and snapped all of the bolts off. luckily the wheel went away from the truck and not under like WolfPack. the only thing we had to repair was the brakes, but our gas tank was sitting 1in from the ground. scary. i am far from an expert but looking at the pictures, it looks like they were overtightened.

 

I've seen truck wheels that were damaged from the lugs being too tight. This looks very similar to that. I'm surprised they didn't break a stud if they were tight enough to do that kind of damage. They should pay for the damage, and whoever put the wheels on needs to learn to use an impact wrench.

 

The problem I have with the too-tight line is that I've got the exact same rims, exact same lug nuts...and I've put em on so tight before that my impact wrench can't get em off (mid-grade 1/2" impact...no super torque one or anything)..and I dont even have a bit of wear looking like that.

Talking to the companies today I'll post up when I hear something.

 

Unfortunately, I got up with my dad and we were talking over the options. Looks like I've received some bad info.

The other 3 wheels have varying types of worn holes...the ejected wheel is the only one with all 5 lug holes damaged. The other 3 have different patterns. One has a 3-hole triangle worn, another wheel has 2 opposite holes worn...etc. Also talked to Evan more...looks like he did actually remove all 4 wheels since 4WP put them on.

So, it looks like it is just a case of him not tightening the lugs down enough, or simply not re-checking them after a heating/cooling cycle or first 50 miles or so. Doesn't look like 4WP has any provable liability with those wear patterns, and Pro-Comp has an incredibly comprehensive exclusion policy. Pro-Comp bascially says that these are not OEM parts or spec-replacements, so any and all liability is assumed by the end user. That includes the part itself, and any resulting damage from a part failure.

Sucks...but now it's just a matter of figuring out what to fix and how to do it without totalling the truck.. Truck's at the shop now getting the body work assessed, then we'll figure out if the axles received any damage.


Moral of the story....tighten your lugs :/ Hopefully he'll learn from this at least? Lucky it wasn't worse...