Urgent Advice Needed - Rounded wheel bolts by garage

[d215yq]

No necessarily.
The torque to undo a bolt that's been place for some time in all weathers can often be much higher than the torque to do it up originally.

Well they fitted the tyres one week ago so i doubt its had time to bind/rust on...

 

[d215yq]

Hi all, sorry for such a long thread on a simple matter but I have another question. It seems the receptionist didn't give me the whole story as I've been back to the car and all the bolts are fine on the car and loosened but there are two missing! So I assume they are the rounded ones and they intend to replace them as they haven't refitted them, atleast I hope so and it's not just "my problem" now! They've kindly left the two missing on the same wheel but I did say I'd only drive it 200m to where I can change the brakes so I'm guessing that's OK.

So as the next workign day is Monday, if I change my brakes tomorrow and then put 4 bolts instead of 5 on two wheels and tighten it all up correctly can I then drive a 100 miles or so like this. Or can I just drive around the block to test the brakes but not really go anywhere far/on a motorway until I ask for my extra bolts?...I know most cars have 4 studs anyway but just wanted to check...

 

[Chrishazle]

According to alloywheelsdirect.net the spec for your wheel bolts is Shaft Length/mm: 40. Thread pitch: M12x1.5. Drive type: 17mm. Seat type: 12mm radius, which is a common size - happens to be exactly the same as my R171 SLK280! You may be able to pick up a couple very quickly either from MB or a motor factor.

 

[d215yq]

According to alloywheelsdirect.net the spec for your wheel bolts is Shaft Length/mm: 40. Thread pitch: M12x1.5. Drive type: 17mm. Seat type: 12mm radius, which is a common size - happens to be exactly the same as my R171 SLK280! You may be able to pick up a couple very quickly either from MB or a motor factor.

Thanks, I found the two wheel bolts just thrown in the boot whilst working on the brakes just now! To be fair they are quite OK to use with the wheel brace at the correct torque settings and because only I want to be changign my wheels from on hence adequate. I really can't be bothered with chasing the garage any more...so will just accept it as it is. And now I have changed my brakes I have new brake pads all round, 6mm+tyres all round, all new fuel hoses and all filters/oil/etc replaced in the last 6 months. So hopefully can just drive the thing now until next year's MOT (September 2020). I've actually enjpyed all the stuff I've been doing on the car and am satisfied that I did it. the only problem has come from the garage overtightening the wheels so I think it has encouraged me to do more of my own work on it and not less. It's another reason I like the old W124 as I feel I have atleast a chance of being able to do stuff myself as it's all mechanical and generally seems easy(ish) access to most things.

 

[daibevan]

Great. Don't forget to retorque your wheels every so often. I do mine a couple of times a year, but being retired I don't have anything better to do.

 

[JBell]

Might be a good time to swop the lot for corrosion resistant bolts so they stay silver instead of quickly going MB rust brown! Over here alloywheelsdirect.net do suitable ones I've seen decent reports on.

Or put a set of these on

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AUTOUTLET-...1575810286&sprefix=wheel+bolt+,aps,177&sr=8-7

 

[star]

Or put a set of these on

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AUTOUTLET-20Pcs-Chrome-Covers-Universal/dp/B07PKSM3WC/ref=sr_1_7?crid=VFOD76OWXZ9F&keywords=wheel+bolt+covers&qid=1575810286&sprefix=wheel+bolt+,aps,177&sr=8-7

Noooooo. They are a real pain to remove , they stick on and you have a real worry of damaging a wheel prizing them off.

 

[EmilysDad]

Noooooo. They are a real pain to remove , they stick on and you have a real worry of damaging a wheel prizing them off.

They look similar to the OE bolt caps on EmilysMum's Citroen

 

[JBell]

Noooooo. They are a real pain to remove , they stick on and you have a real worry of damaging a wheel prizing them off.

Never had an issue, the cap puller is plastic so no issues with damaging the wheels

 

[d215yq]

Well after deciding to leave the bolts lie (they work OK and I don't care about the cosmetics) and not go back I've found out meanwhile the tyres they've fitted are good and the make and size agreed but they are not actually all season tyres as promised...just summer ones - FFS

Not really sure how to resolve this - is it OK to ask for some form of compensation/discount on the price or soemthing as I can't see them fitiing some new tyres again FOC and don't really want them to have the car again at this point with all the nonsense that's gone on even if they offer to. Besides I wouldn't want to waste a perfect set of tyres with 500 miles on them!

I've not been to a UK in winter for a whiole but essentially I plan to keep to the M20/M25 for a week in January (commuting Hertfordshire to Essex). Whilst I can be confident the main roads in Spain/France over the pyrenees will be kept free from snow and ice is the same true of the M25? I seem to remember problems my last two winters in the UK 10 yrs ago... Does anyone commute on M25 with normal summer tyres and think it shouldn't be a problem?

 

[Blobcat]

If you’re only going around the motorways in the UK then summers won’t be an issue at all. I thought you’d planned some over the Pyrenees driving which would require winters / all season

 

[d215yq]

If you’re only going around the motorways in the UK then summers won’t be an issue at all. I thought you’d planned some over the Pyrenees driving which would require winters / all season

Well to get to the uk and back i have to cross the pyrenees but on the main roads which are generally kept clear. Ill also be going skiing but theyre usually clear too...ive never had to have all seasons before for skiing in the pyrenees (in the alps its different) but was thinking at the same cost it was a no brainer to have some rear all seasons for a bit more piece of mind...as you never know what the weather may do...

And its what i asked for...but am thinking ill just stick with the summers and maybe ask them for a something or maybe just forget about it.

The thing is this garage are 200m from where i work on my own car and fit parts i buy. So for all their faults are useful if i buy my own parts and then cant do the work they finish it like what happened 2 yrs ago when i replaced the left tie rod and i couldnt get the right one off...

 

[Blobcat]

How many new tyres did you get?

If you’ve all four then I’d take the risk as new summer tyres are better than nearly worn out winters.
If you’ve just 2 then put them on the back and go careful

 

[d215yq]

How many new tyres did you get?

If you’ve all four then I’d take the risk as new summer tyres are better than nearly worn out winters.
If you’ve just 2 then put them on the back and go careful

All i wanted was 2x old warn/cracking rears replaced with 2x all season. The fronts are 6mm summers and are fine (they just got caught up in the story as the garage rotated them to rear and over tightened them...). So now i have 4 good summers so it should be ok. To be honest i was in 2 minds about all season v summer so its not a huge deal. Just annoying as i made effort deciding to go all seasons and now i havent got them anyway!

 

[LostKiwi]

Mixing all season and summer tyres is generally thought to a bad idea.

 

[d215yq]

Mixing all season and summer tyres is generally thought to a bad idea.

I think it depends, I drove a month in March/April with melting snow/ice in the alps with rear winters and front summers in my ski season and this was a combination adopted by many in the "interim" months (including many with FWD putting only winters on the front and summers on the back which is inherently more dangerous)...so I would have no qualms with putting all season on the rear and summer on the front. At the end of the day people drive with chains on one axle and normal tires on the other...

But then I know I have a RWD car and understand how winter tyres are there to get you moving, not to enable you to go faster and that even if you have winters on the front you should assume the suspension/steering is rubbish anyway with any snow ice or rain and that it's not just a case of knocking 5mph off the normal speed and driving normally like many seem to.

I cannot possibly see how improving traction on the rear without doing the same on the front is dangerous - it essentially just means less possibility of a spin/oversteer with no loss in braking/steering as you ahve the same front tyres anyway. That said given many would put them on the front and drive at normal speeds "because its got all season tyres so is invincible" I can sort of see why it's "generally thought to be a bad idea".

 

[LostKiwi]

It's a bad idea because the balance of the vehicle is variable depending on temperature. Not only that but being able to move forward is no good if steering inputs result in major understeer and braking has little or no effect.

 

[d215yq]

It's a bad idea because the balance of the vehicle is variable depending on temperature. Not only that but being able to move forward is no good if steering inputs result in major understeer and braking has little or no effect.

I get it, but then what if you actually drive normally so you're not finding out the handling characteristics anyway. Besides, in slippery conditions an old W124 with no traction control has a tendancy to spin as I found out when I hit diesel once and also on my ski season in all round winters. Adding some better traction to the rear helps neutralise this and make the vehicle handle more like a safer FWD car. You could say that RWD drive cars in rear chains with summer front tyres are lethal then as there is zero grip on the front compared to the rear but that combination is mandated after heavy snow fall in the alps and it is not lethal because people drive accordingly.

Its a moot point now as I'll stick with the four summers. But with 10 years driving W124s in sometimes slippery conditions and with 4x winters/ winter/summer and 4x summers I'm sure it is a less safe/stable car if I do encounter snow/ice than had they fitted the tyres I wanted...

That's not to say in general people should be mixing/matching whatever they want without thought or understanding and that it is totally fine to mix the two types regardless...