Beadlock fail at SEMA causes broken leg

[6th Floor Mule]

Using a trim ring and trim bolts instead of the beadlock ring and beadlock bolts could have caused the ring to blow off the wheel in one piece.



It's on the ground in the last photo and looks warped/bent.

Don’t think it’s even physically possible to mount a beauty/rash ring in a beadlock position (i.e., mating surfaces, bolt length, etc.). However, it’s SEMA, so no telling how many corners may have been cut to make it to the show. Mock up gone bad?

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[Raider1775]

Tires mounted and installed on the Jeep. Looks awesome! Happy to hear your thoughts!

Those wheels look awesome

 

[JamesWyatt]

Don’t think it’s even physically possible to mount a beauty/rash ring in a beadlock position (i.e., mating surfaces, bolt length, etc.). However, it’s SEMA, so no telling how many corners may have been cut to make it to the show. Mock up gone bad?

Yeah, who knows. Maybe they had the right bolts on the right ring but only torqued them to 2lbs instead of 20lbs and then tried inflating the tire to 100psi thinking it was 100%

 

[J0E]

I was watching the tire change kid do my tires on a Focus RS I had. He blipped them on with an impact, even though I specifically asked them not to. I let it go and kept watching. Then he goes around with the torque wrench and "checks torque". After he did all 4 he backs the car out and I come walking over. I asked him what the torque was and he was like "100lbs" (I don't remember actual RS specs) when I asked how he knew, he said he torqued them. I said after you used the impact, "yep". Argues with me that the wrench is clicking so it was proper torque. Sigh

At that point I just went to Service Manager and got new lugs bought and tried to get the wheel studs replaced as well but they wouldn't bend on that. Lol.

Moral of the story, a lot of people don't have a clue how a torque wrench works at all.

My Ryobi Impact has an automatic mode that limits tightening to 20 ft/lbs (not for beadlocks but great for lug nuts). I watched Costco mount my KM3 and they used a cordless impact driver that must have a similar feature, because I watched him tighten them with the torque wrench and they all turned quit a bit before it clicked.

My neighbor is a hot head and got in a dispute with Costco and claims Costco intentionally cross threaded 3 of his lugs. Costco agreed to pay for the repairs so who knows. He wanted to make money off the deal so I used my impact to remove them. Two of the cross threaded barely came off with all 1,170 ft./lbs. Breakaway Torque, the 3rd one sheard the lug stud.

Which beadlocks do you have? TrailReady says to never retorque the bolts after initial torque. If a bolt comes loose, they say to deflate and retorque with new bolts.

https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...7fbd443e0/1654197965653/HDbeadlockinstall.pdf

He's not retorquing them, he's checking them. Otherwise how do you know if they've come lose or stretched?

Here's what the manual says

NEVER RE-TORQUE BOLTS AFTER INITIAL INSTALLATION. IF BOLTS COME LOSE, REMOVE THE VALVE CORE AND REPEAT STEP 4 WITH NEW BOLTS.
It is recommended that the operator visually check the beadlock bolts after each use

Visual inspection isn't a reliable way to know a bolt is loose.

So how do you know if they've come loose?

Per the same instructions, more failure modes

• In any beadlock system, torque from the loads placed on the tire is transferred through the beadlock clamp to the bolts and can cause even grade 8 bolts to break from time to time. When changing tires, do not reuse existing hardware.
• DO NOT EXCEED 22 FT.LBS ON THE BEADLOCK BOLTS.
• DO NOT ALLOW THE END OF THE STARTER BOLTS OR BEADLOCK BOLTS TO DRIVE INTO THE WHEEL.
• ** If the thickness of the tire bead, at 22 lbs ft., leaves a gap between the rim and ring, you will have an improper assembly, the result of which is potentially going to fatigue the bolts over a period of time and cause them to break.

 

[unsavory]

After reading through this thread, I've come to the conclusion that beadlocks are one huge pain in the ass. One I never intend to have.

 

[TX_Ovrlnd]

After reading through this thread, I've come to the conclusion that beadlocks are one huge pain in the ass. One I never intend to have.

There are a lot of people who will come on here and speak very ill of things they have zero experience with/in. Conversely, there are people who will speak adamantly on something they have zero experience with/in. The true conundrum of the internet!

 

[txj2go]

After reading through this thread, I've come to the conclusion that beadlocks are one huge pain in the ass. One I never intend to have.

Well not everybody needs them.

 

[roaniecowpony]

After reading through this thread, I've come to the conclusion that beadlocks are one huge pain in the ass. One I never intend to have.

For my current uses, I have no plan to use them either.

 

[Pig-Pen]

After reading through this thread, I've come to the conclusion that beadlocks are one huge pain in the ass. One I never intend to have.

yeah i almost bought a set a few years ago. Thank goodness i didnt. I have yet to even attempt to tackle anything gnarly enough to warrant their usage.

and i live in CA, didnt want to go through the hassle of the background check and two week waiting period.

 

[CaJLMetalHead]

Also... some tire beads are really thick and require spacers between the wheel and the ring, otherwise, it will cause the ring to buckle before reaching the appropriate torque values, bending the bolts inwards, which of course will fatigue them and possibly cause a catastrophic failure of the bolts, and well... send the ring flying..

 

[MattJL]

Too bad to hear about the beadlock issue. Good thing it it not included in any of our plans.

 

[KoKo]

Looks sweet, I’ve got some in satin black on mine. Been running them for almost 7months now.

I hesitated a while between the two colors. But ultimately went bronze. Did you have any issues with the o-rings seating properly and not shredding?

 

[Jtclayton612]

I hesitated a while between the two colors. But ultimately went bronze. Did you have any issues with the o-rings seating properly and not shredding?

I actually had discount tire mount them, everything worked out fine on them.

That bronze was definitely a good call with that color. The bronze wouldn’t have looked good on a white JL I don’t think, especially with as many black accents as I have.

 

[Gorilla57]

He's not retorquing them, he's checking them. Otherwise how do you know if they've come lose or stretched?

If you read what he wrote, he said he was retorquing them.

I check mine by putting a socket on and give it a gentle twist, as 22ft/lb isn’t much.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

My Ryobi Impact has an automatic mode that limits tightening to 20 ft/lbs (not for beadlocks but great for lug nuts). I watched Costco mount my KM3 and they used a cordless impact driver that must have a similar feature, because I watched him tighten them with the torque wrench and they all turned quit a bit before it clicked.

My neighbor is a hot head and got in a dispute with Costco and claims Costco intentionally cross threaded 3 of his lugs. Costco agreed to pay for the repairs so who knows. He wanted to make money off the deal so I used my impact to remove them. Two of the cross threaded barely came off with all 1,170 ft./lbs. Breakaway Torque, the 3rd one sheard the lug stud.



He's not retorquing them, he's checking them. Otherwise how do you know if they've come lose or stretched?

Here's what the manual says

NEVER RE-TORQUE BOLTS AFTER INITIAL INSTALLATION. IF BOLTS COME LOSE, REMOVE THE VALVE CORE AND REPEAT STEP 4 WITH NEW BOLTS.
It is recommended that the operator visually check the beadlock bolts after each use

Visual inspection isn't a reliable way to know a bolt is loose.

So how do you know if they've come loose?

Per the same instructions, more failure modes

• In any beadlock system, torque from the loads placed on the tire is transferred through the beadlock clamp to the bolts and can cause even grade 8 bolts to break from time to time. When changing tires, do not reuse existing hardware.
• DO NOT EXCEED 22 FT.LBS ON THE BEADLOCK BOLTS.
• DO NOT ALLOW THE END OF THE STARTER BOLTS OR BEADLOCK BOLTS TO DRIVE INTO THE WHEEL.
• ** If the thickness of the tire bead, at 22 lbs ft., leaves a gap between the rim and ring, you will have an improper assembly, the result of which is potentially going to fatigue the bolts over a period of time and cause them to break.

Ya, it was just a normal, run of the mill impact. Wrench clicked instantly. Kid was clueless.

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