Root Causes: Read the following case study is about wheel system failures. Crashes caused by wheels coming off of vehicles are commonly referred to as wheel runoff crashes.

Wheel System Failures

Wheel system failures are primarily caused by the improper installation of a wheel that causes it to be loose or become loose. Commonly, a loose wheel causes the wheels studs to break and the wheel and tire to separate from the vehicle. Many root causes lead to loose wheels, but most of them are associated with over-torquing or under-torquing the lug nuts.

A bolted joint, such as a wheel mounting system, works by tightly clamping two surfaces together. The friction of the two mated surfaces and the force created from clamping them together with bolts (Clamp Load) allows the surfaces to resist movement. The amount of friction and Clamp Load determines the level of resistance the joint has to movement.

Clamp Load is created by tightening the bolts against the mated surfaces and is normally measured in foot pounds of torque with a torque wrench. If the bolt torque specified for a joint is applied, then the resultant Clamp Load should also be within specification. However, variations in the system such as rust or lubrication on the threads can affect the Clamp Load vs. torque relationship. Items in place between the mated surfaces can reduce the joint's friction and also alter the relationship between bolt torque and Clamp Load. This is called a Soft Joint.

Two concepts are important to understanding how a bolt works. They are Elastic Deformation and Yield Point. Elastic Deformation is metal's or, in this case, a bolt's ability to stretch and spring back to its original shape. Yield Point is where the bolt has been stretched past its elastic limit and can no longer spring back to its original shape. This stretching of a bolt and its pulling back creates Clamp Load. If, however, a bolt is over-torqued, and stretches past its Yield Point it can no longer maintain the Clamp Load.

Over-torquing is likely the most common wheel system failure due to the widespread use of impact wrenches to install wheels. Using an impact wrench to install wheels commonly causes the wheels to have 3 to 5 times the specified lug nut torque. The use of lubricants and anti-sizing compounds on the threads of the wheels studs or lug nuts can cause an even higher degree of over-torquing.

The specific torque required to install a wheel varies from vehicle to vehicle. Generally, the proper torque for the lug nuts on passenger vehicles will be around 100 foot-pounds and the proper torque for big trucks will be around 400 foot-pounds. Impact wrenches commonly used to install wheels on passenger vehicles are capable of producing 300 to 500 foot-pounds of torque. Impact wrenches used to install wheels on big trucks can produce 1200 to 2000 foot-pounds or torque.

Under-torquing is just simply not tightening the wheel lug nuts enough, causing the wheel to be loose. Under-torquing can be caused by corroded and damaged wheel system components. It can also be caused by using a cheap or worn-out impact wrench or by having a low air-pressure supply to an impact wrench.

Another common cause of wheel system failures is too much wheel paint thickness. As specified by the Recommended Practice PR222B from The Maintenance Council (T MC) of The American Trucking Association "Total thickness of the dried paint coating on each side of the wheel mounting face must not exceed 3 mils (.003 inch)." If the wheel's paint is too thick, then a soft joint is created and the system can fail.

Paint thickness defects are not only caused by original production painting but also more commonly caused by the recondition or "remanufacturing" of wheels. Wheel reconditioning generally involves "sandblasting" used truck wheels and repainting them to make them look new. The reconditioning of wheels is typically being done by tire dealers and tire retreaders who do little to control paint thickness.

Questions:

1. Study the above crash and draw an Ishikawa diagram to show the causes of wheel system failure.

2. Use root cause analysis to drill down to one root cause of wheel system failure.