Hello All,
No, this is not a Gilbert & Sullivan post, but I was beginning to feel like I
was in a comic opera! Some of you may remember that I noted an
unidentifiable “rubbing” sound coming from the left rear wheel area of the
car I just bought. I thought it might be a warped rotor, a loose brake pad,
a binding emergency brake. It was definitely rotation-related, and increased
in frequency with speed. It became more pronounced when I eased off the gas,
making me think it might be exhaust related (back-presssure?) We did almost
300 very fast (!) miles on Sunday, enjoying the car, except for this noise,
which seemed to get worse. In fact, I had decided that maybe it was a bad
tyre, because after putting the rear up on ramps and peering about underneath
I could see nothing that was out or order, loose, etc. I was going to pull
the wheel off and install the brand-new spare to see if there was any change.
Until I discovered that the ratchet that operates the jack was missing from
the boot!
This morning I was showing the car to one of my colleagues at work who is a
real car guy. He suddenly bent down next to the left rear wheel and plucked
a lug out of its hole. Didn’t even have to turn it! We then discovered that
only 2 of the 5 lugs were tightened. (omigod!) I quickly checked the rest of
the car and found that only this one wheel was that way, and then tightened
all five. Voila! No more noise. Thankfully none of the lugs went missing,
although they could have been easily replaced. And thankfully the two held
tight, otherwise who knows where we might have ended up!
I stopped by the dealership at lunch on several matters related to this
purchase, and needless to say they were mortified when I told them of this.
The only explanation they could think of was that another prospective
purchaser had taken it to his mechanic, who must have removed the wheel to
check the brakes or whatever, and hadn’t tightened all the lugs afterward.
This is a very high class family dealership with a very impressive shop,
etc., so I give them the benefit of the doubt. But I will always check
things like this more carefully from now on.
Regards,
Warren Hansen
96 X-300
[now rub-free]