Broken wheel stud and lug nut.
 

This morning I discovered that the locking lug on my passenger rear wheel has, for lack of better word, exploded. It appears that the stud stressed so bad that it exploded taking the outer portion of my locking lug with it. The dealer had to order a new stud and will have to use some special tool to remove what remains of the lug and stud.

Thanks to all your complains, Nissan has put out a TSB for this http://www.the370z.com/images/servic.../NTB09-024.pdf.

Edited by AK370Z

Wtf? Did it kill any passing animals when it launched?

That's crazy!

Hmm, maybe I should consider take my locking lugs off and replacing with standard ones for the auto-x?

Do you know what they were torqued to?

Ouch. I had that happen on my Camaro one time when I was taking a right turn - happened on my front right wheel. Suddenly, the steering wheel was wobbling like crazy, and I was in "wtf" mode. Pull over, find the lugs missing, stud half gone, and the wheel VERY loose because the forces stripped the threads on the remaining studs. Getting those remaining lugs off was a PAIN.

Although...special tool? A press? Ironically, you can more than likely just pound them out with a hammer if its anything like my Camaros, and they come out SURPRISINGLY easy.

But, I guess it is a Nissan, and something may be different. Wouldnt hurt to let the dealer do it - they doing it for free I hope?

yea there shouldn't be any "special tool" to get that out, you just use a punch and hammer the thing out (if it doesn't just fall out) after you get the disc off the hub... odd that it happened tho, i'm wondering if it was overtorqued and was cracked and your autox stressed it to the point of breaking?

Joey let the dealer fix it. That's really strange though.

Yeah, there should be no reason they dont cover THAT under warranty, thats for sure.

The dealer is taking care of it under warranty. The locking lugs are two pieces and the steel core is still attached to the remainder of the stud. The steel piece is perfectly round, so it can't be twisted off or tapped through. The only way to get it off is to use a "nut cracker" and crack it in half. Then the stud must will have to be tapped out and be replaced.

I have to guess that the stud in question was already cracked (or at least, weakened from stress) by over-torquing. Had you or the dealer removed that wheel for any reason, or was it likely last tightened at the factory?

This goes with my conspiracy theory about the factory over-tightening everything :p I've only taken my front driver's wheel off so far (to remove the wheel well liner and reach through there while installing the headers), maybe I should go ahead and check them all like the paranoid fool that I am :icon17:

Not really sure how tight mine were, don't have a reverse torque wrench :) All my wheels have been off the car and are currently torqued to 80 ft/lb, although I usually go to 85 at the auto-x and I check them part way through the event to make sure nothing has moved due to heat expansion.

the locking lugs where installed at the dealer. If it was over torqued the dealer did it.

Think 1/2" drive impact wrench.

^No doubt

Joey did you get it fixed? One of mine just broke in half as well and I haven't even driven it in anger yet. I was just tightening it with the torque wrench.

Also all the locking nuts were loose compared to the others. They appear to be made of an inferior metal or they are too shallow causing the end of the stud to press against the top of the nut. They all need to go and should be replaced with regular nuts until proper lock nuts can be installed.

http://www.the370z.com/members/chris...ocking-nut.jpg

I'm still waiting on the dealer to call me me when the stud comes in. When you see a side by side it really is obvious that the locking lugs are inferior. I'll think I'll warn my dealer.