WINTER 2019

12 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S

12 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK Guy Avellon Guy Avellon has been in MRO and Fastener Distribution for over 30 years, in such positions Sales Engineer, Chief Engineer, Manager of Product Marketing, Product Engineering & Quality and Director of Quality & Engineering. He founded GT Technical Consultants where he performs failure analysis, lectures on fastener safety, works for law firms and designs/audits Quality systems. He is a member of SAE, is Vice Chairman of the ASTM F16 Fastener Committee, Chairman of the F16.01 Test Methods Committee and received the ASTM Award of Merit in 2005. Guy can be contacted at 847- 477-5057, Email: ExpertBoltGuy@gmail.com or visit www.BoltFailure.com. WHAT FASTENER DISTRIBUTORS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHEEL STUDS AND LUG NUTS This is the season for preparing our vehicles for winter weather. This means installing snow tires for some of us, or just rotating the tires for the warmer climates. Either way, the wheels are removed and replaced with the common expectation that they will faithfully remain firmly attached. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Throughout the year, there are many instances where motorists experience a wheel detachment. Most go unreported. Those that are considered news worthy have caused major damages by flying across freeway lanes and striking oncoming vehicles. Many of these involve truck tires but there are many more of these incidents involving passenger vehicles. Because of the litigious society in which we live, if any failure occurs it is always the last person who mounted the wheel, the manufacturer who made the wheel hardware and the company who sold the parts who are blamed. After reviewing literally hundreds of wheel incidents over the years, I find that almost all of the vehicles had over 100,000 miles on the odometer. As the mileage increased, the wheel failures were more likely to occur, especially over 150,000 miles. Vehicle manufacturers have limited warranties which all expire after 100,000 miles. Simply put, parts normally wear out with use. Vehicles use to be lucky to last over 75,000 miles. Now, with better assembly techniques and CONTRIBUTOR ARTICLE quality control, vehicles will go beyond 150,000 miles. However, parts like water pumps, timing belts, struts, generators, etc. are wearing out and need replacement, whereas before, the vehicles were traded long before the parts needed to be replaced. This is not to say that there are not other factors involved that cause wheel failure, but they all involve use and, after I was told by a well-known refrigerator manufacturer after my five-year warranty expired and the unit was suffering, “nothing man made lasts forever.” Distributors of automotive hardware will carry a variety of wheel nut styles. This would include a short nut, medium length nut and a longer wheel nut. In addition, some wheel nuts will have a washer attached for use with some alloy wheels. The other variety of wheel nuts will have a round or conical end which is designed to fit into the concave seat, or piloting hole, of the wheel to firmly engage the wheel to clamp it both axially and radially. PHOTO 1 - SHORT AND LONG NUTS CONTINUED ON PAGE 104