Rims Loose lug nuts

[Bag Man]

All four tires on my new tractor had loose lug nuts. By the time we caught it the holes were wallowed out on each rim. In all my years I have never experienced this. Have any of you ever had this problem on a new tractor?

 

[Thomas]

Never problem as such but I do check mine often.

 

[RickB]

The dealer will either take care of you or blame you for not checking them. I suspect the manufacturer’s warranty will not cover replacement. Good luck.

 

[Deere Dude]

That happens quite often as others may attest. Happened to me but I caught it in time and only had to get new lugs on the rears and re-tap the holes.. The owners manual said to check nuts at 50 hours and to keep the correct torque on them. I only had 30 hours on when I caught mine. They were still usable after the correction and have been on for 9 years.

I hope the wheels aren't shot and are still workable. My suggestion if they are able to work would be to replace studs if necessary and put blue, #242, Locktite on lugs and torque to specs to keep them tight.

 

[metalbender]

Pre delivery must have been pretty thorough om my Massey. A little paint stripe on all the bolts, if one was a tad loose it would be quite obvious.

 

[Beeenvenue]

Checked mine on delivery, all ok. After first 10 hours or so quite a few had loosened - not loose, but not at spec. Checked again around 25 and 40, all were tight. I have pretty rough land (gumbo mud in the summer turns into rutted concrete) and they take a beating so I will continue to check fairly often. Why not - it is easy, quick, and like checking oil it prevents a disaster

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I have one tire i have to tighten all the time.

 

[Wagtail]

Pre delivery must have been pretty thorough om my Massey. A little paint stripe on all the bolts, if one was a tad loose it would be quite obvious.

The lug nuts on my 4105 were marked like that when delivered (a texta/marker stripe)... however the stripe on the nuts didn't line up with the ones on the rim on most of them.

Well, I needed a torque wrench anyway, so after purchasing one I torqued them all. None of them budged = all in spec. So my JD Dealership must have 'verified' the factory marks during the wet-up/delivery inspection.

 

[oosik]

Two tractors in 38+ years. Both were delivered with properly torqued lug nuts. Never had a lug nut loosen. However - on the Kubota - I put blue Lok Tite on each stud as I retorqued each one. I still check them all - every spring.

 

[TractorGuy]

Loosening lugs happens often on new wheels and sometimes on any wheel that has been recently installed.

My car trailer wheels had orange stickers reminding me to retorque after so many miles. I torqued those stupid wheels every 50 miles until they stopped taking torque. I had over 250 miles on it by that time. Steel trailer wheels are notorious for needing to be retorqued until they conform to the hubs.

I have a Mustang that requires that I drive it and retorque the wheels every time they are removed or they will loosen up. After it's been driven and retorqued they are fine until I remove them again but I still check before taking it to the track just in case.

This reminds me I need to check the torque on the new wheels I put on my JD.

Edit: I replaced all the tires and two new rear wheels on my John Deere about 70 hours back. I just checked and although none were loose they all turned a 1/4 to 3/4 turns to achieve proper torque.

 

[metalbender]

No marks on the rim here, just the stripe on the bolts. All in the same direction. If one moves it would be out of sync, easy to spot. I do look at them often. Guess I should really wind up the torque wrench though.

 

[k0ua]

Good reminder for us all. When delivered, mine were torqued, BUT after a few hours I retorqued again, and at 25 hours again, and at 50 a couple were not in spec again. I don't think they have moved since. It can take a while for the paint to wear in etc. It is just part of tractor ownership to torque the nuts. Tractors live a pretty rough life if you think about some of the things we do with them.

 

[ruffdog]

I find the wheels that just have a flat center plate loosen the lugs more vs the wheels that have formed raised lug bosses.

 

[MHarryE]

Manual should state to retorque. I’ve seen anything from 10 hours to 50 hours but wheels do need to be retightened after put to use. Cone type nuts need to be checked the most because the cone angles are never precise enough for perfect engagement. Reversals work the metal to match but result in no longer meeting the torque spec. All vehicles I have owned for ages have flat had flat on flat with a tight center pilot.

 

[goeduck]

I replaced flats on two tires of my old Massey and sure enough they loosened up later on, I even lost a few lug bolts on the front.

 

[Zebrafive]

I recently checked mine, 2700 hours. Never off since I have owned. Both front and rears have centers that bolt to the rim, then bolt to axle. All were OK, except the center to axle for the rears, most bolts took about 1/8 turn to make torque spec.

 

[arrow]

I have stickers on mine from the factory telling you to re-torque lugs, fel and engine bolts. Put witness marks on all of them.

 

[crazyal]

For the 1st 9 years mine never budged. Yearly I would check them. Last winter both of my rear tires were loose. One wheel was damaged while the other just showed signs of starting to move. They aren't tapered nuts like a car would have, just a lock washer under a regular bolt (with two studs on each side). After they loosened up no amount of torque seamed to want to keep them tight. Since the axle flange is flat on the backside I bought new bolts that were longer and put a second nut on the inside and a thick washer between the lock washer and wheel. Since doing that they haven't loosened up. I was prepared to replace the center disc on both wheels but since neither is moving I haven't.