Lug bolts loosening on their own??

[Xaero]

I replaced brake pads and rotors this past week and after driving a day or two my front left wheel started shaking. I found the front lugs had backed out. At first I thought maybe I forgot to torque that wheel so I removed everything to verify nothing else was wrong.

I found the lug holes in the wheel were now egg shaped (from the shaking), so I replaced that wheel with the full size spare and torqued all the bolts down again (85-90 ft-lbs).

Within 30 minutes of driving the wheel is shaking again, with lugs backed out! What could be going on here? I've worked on cars for over a decade and this is a first for me.

[Charles.waite]

are the hub and wheel surfaces clean of all corrosion and dirt? Are you running OEM wheels or aftermarket? Because OEM use tapered bolts and Aftermarket wheels often use conical head bolts.

[DEPECHE]

What wheels are your using?

Are the lugs on one wheel affected only?

[Xaero]

are the hub and wheel surfaces clean of all corrosion and dirt? Are you running OEM wheels or aftermarket? Because OEM use tapered bolts and Aftermarket wheels often use conical head bolts.

Brand new rotors (Adams Rotors). Wheels were clean and fine.

These are the wheels:

http://www.myturbodiesel.com/images/wheels/audi_17_5x112/a4%2017%205spoke.jpg

I bought this car used, and the issue didnt start until I replaced the rotors. Some Google-Fu leads me to believe the Adams rotors are thinner than OEM causing the lug bolts to bottom out prematurely.



What wheels are your using?

Are the lugs on one wheel affected only?

Only one wheel is affected.

[DEPECHE]

If you believe the rotor is too thin, did you notice or hear if the lugs hit the hub? Lots of people on here run Adams rotors and I have yet to hear any problems regarding lug clearance.

Since the car is used are you sure you are using ball seat lugs and are they OEM(should be an audi or VW logo on the head). Most likely the lugs are to blame since, it is difficult to strip the hub. But worst case scenario is you somehow managed to strip the hub, but again its unlikely unless you used some industrial strength impact gun.

http://www.clubprotege.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=54642&d=1335964075

[Mike@PureMS]

Probably a combination of incorrect lug bolts, and perhaps a torque wrench that needs some calibration. Find another torque wrench and make sure you're using correct bolts. You want 5-8 rotations of the bolt before it's snug. This will be considered a proper length bolt.

[dsgray16]

If that happened to me I would at least replace all the lug bolts on the effected wheel and at least carefully inspect the hub to make sure none of the wholes are wallowed out