4 hours ago, Frenchtone said:

History repeating itself, behind the bike shed at playtime it is then, see you all there!!!    :-()

No this is just the same as Urrell and Dale literally not able to see what the other does.

 

I was going to put anyway - 

13 hours ago, Urrell said:

It's easy to spot even before taking the caps of, it's the only round one.

True but if you don't often remove the wheels then often you can find this out as you try to fit the socket over the cap - and I understand exactly what Dale means about about not spotting the locking bolt (bloody stupid idea) with or without its cap and I'm certainly not tall.

 

Urrell, you may be younger and/or more frequently removing the wheels on your car, different folks different strokes.

 

17 minutes ago, nta16 said:

Urrell, you may be younger and/or more frequently removing the wheels on your car, different folks different strokes.

Well into my 70s and I have no problem seeing what one is the locking bolt without getting on my knees, when the round cap for that is pulled off put the security key on it, cannot miss that.
But I suspect you'll have a problem with that.

39 minutes ago, Llanigraham said:

He does seem to make a habit of it!

And you have a history of awarding me negative feedback (groans etc) without ever contributing to the thread in question, not sure if you know but you can look to see what feedback people have left for others, yours is very revealing.

 

Edited 5 December, 20214 yr by J.R.

50 minutes ago, Urrell said:

But I suspect you'll have a problem with that.

Well as your wife might (obviously I don't know) tell you, you are wrong, I don't have a problem with any of that at all as I put different strokes for different folks.

 

I'm 61 and have bad eyes, bad knee bad bones, and thanks to the bloody stupid idea of wheel bolts now also a bad back and no I didn't have it before. I feel more like 101, and for decades now I've lived with neighbours (some dead now) in their late-80s, 90s and one 103 so I know how mobile or not different people can be at various ages.

 

And yes that's what I do too - when the round cap is pulled off I put the security key on it so as not to miss it - and then I loosen it (first in sequence) about half a turn, depending on how many Shredded Wheat I've had for breakfast, lunch or tea.

 

Edited 5 December, 20214 yr by nta16

Despite my visual impairment I can see the difference between the caps on the wheels from standing or kneeling but I suppose that comes with knowing what to look for, does it really matter though as they all need to be pulled off with the same tool?

 

I am now very used to working blind (I can do a wheelchange at the side of the road in pitch darkness) yesterday the low sun was blinding me when I removed the front wheels, today it would be dark or gloomy, I find that the C clip removal tool will whip off all the non locking caps with ease by touch alone, on my wheels it has to be forced into place on the locking bolt cover so that alone will distinguish it if I cannot see clearly.

Yes, the difference is that you are very used to working on cars, I'm struggling to think of three occasions I've taken the wheels off the Fabia thrown in forget which bolts have caps anyway as taking the wheels off other cars this varies, I honestly had to think if it was the Fabia with the black plastic caps.

 

That's another point, on my wife's Fabia the bolt covers are black plastic, road dirt and brake dust make black, they're bolts and covers are recessed, you have to remove all of the covers and when putting them back on find the round one for the locking bolt another reason to have a sequence, I put the round one back on first to save picking up the wrong one at the end of what is always to me a dirty and PITA experience of farting about with cars.

 

Totally my fault but I was thinking of my neighbour's wheel nut covers before that were shiny chromish covers and and IIRC s/s for locking - that's how much notice the Fabia wheel bolts covers are to me as I've takenmy neighbour's wheels off more times than the Fabia's.

 

On another note, I ask this because I don't know and have looked before - I thought a Groan was just that like you would for a bad joke or reluctant acceptance of being told or hearing something you've heard many times before not an outright negative.

 

Where on this site is the information on this as I've never encountered this system before?

 

I did try checking before giving a Groan, I've even suggested I should get a Groan for a bad joke, and got one.

 

Edited 5 December, 20214 yr by nta16

I think it would be better for you and everybody else if you got a garage to do your wheel changing as it is so very difficult for yourself.
PS: To throw a spanner in the works nta16 what torque setting do you use to tighten the wheel nuts on your Yeti?

Urrell your eyesight and observation might not be as good as you think. 😉 😄

 

IIRC (which this time I think I actually do) torque for my wife's Fabia wheel bolts to book are 88 in old money, why pray do you ask?.

 

I do normally leave things to the Dealership especially as I already have a car that has constant wants and need and no garage or outdoor (or indoor) lift.

 

3 hours ago, Urrell said:

I think it would be better for you and everybody else if you got a garage to do your wheel changing as it is so very difficult for yourself.
PS: To throw a spanner in the works nta16 what torque setting do you use to tighten the wheel nuts on your Yeti?

Even more confusion; my Yeti has wheel bolts??   😜

This thread is ridiculous. How old are you all?

 

Get a grip!

19 minutes ago, Rustynuts said:

This thread is ridiculous. How old are you all?

 

Get a grip!

 

Of the wheel bolt? 😀

 

 

Edited 5 December, 20214 yr by Dale_Stevens

think it needs locking with a torque wrench NOW!!

On 04/12/2021 at 19:35, Trevor M said:

Having read throught this thread, I suspect that I, like many others was not aware of the wheel bolt sequence quoted in the user manual.

 

It's not in my user manual (2017/05 edition).  Anyone who doubts me can download it from the Skoda web site to check for themselves.  All it says about the order of tightening is: Tighten the wheel bolts opposite each other using the wheel wrench (“pull-ing crossways”)

 

I strongly suspect that the advice about loosening the anti=theft wheel bolt first and tightening it last is simply a convenience thing: you use the 'key' first, put it aside then don't use it again until tightening the last bolt.  That saves switching back and forth between the normal socket and the 'key' more than necessary (I have a feeling that this is how I do it anyway, for that very reason, though it's been a while since I had a wheel off).

 

As things stand now, I can't conceive of any good technical reason why the anti-theft bolt would behave any differently to the other wheel bolts in terms of holding the wheel on the hub.  Or why one might want it to.  As ever, though, I am more than willing to accept correction from an authoritative source.

Edited 7 December, 20214 yr by ejstubbs

6 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

That saves switching back and forth between the normal socket and the 'key' more than necessary

But you don't switch, after putting the key on the security bolt it's treated as a normal bolt with the socket.

Loosening the locking bolt first has the advantage that if you can't undo it for whatever reason, you abort the whole mission a bit earlier and with the wheel still securely attached.  Battling a reluctant one with a possibly dodgy worn key, possibly on a widow-maker jack with all of the other bolts out is a bit of a risk if things come tumbling down.*

 

I'd always bin them off for standard bolts on a daily of mine.

 

*afterthought - the car's still on the ground at the point of first loosening, so this is probably all nonsense. Fits in well in this thread, I feel. 😁

 

 

Edited 7 December, 20214 yr by Wino

7 minutes ago, Urrell said:

after putting the key on the security bolt it's treated as a normal bolt with the socket.

 

Some people may go about the job differently.  I certainly tend to keep a very close eye on the 'key', on the grounds that if it goes walkabout during the process I'm stuffed.

 

I repeat, though, that the most up-to-date edition of the Yeti manual does not say anything about the order in which the anti-theft wheel bolt should be installed or tightened/loosened vis-a-vis the other wheel bolts, which strongly suggests that there is no technical reason for the recommendation in previous editions.

Surely you "crack" the bolts/nuts off whilst the car is still on the ground relieving the tension/stress, then lift the car up with the jack and remove the bolts/nuts with out any danger of pulling the car off the jack?

Edited 7 December, 20214 yr by TruckbusUK
clarification

Yep, I edited my previous post to acknowledge this. 

Excellent ... safety first etc 🙂

23 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

 I certainly tend to keep a very close eye on the 'key', on the grounds that if it goes walkabout during the process I'm stuffed.

Even more of a reason to leave it on the security bolt while taking wheel off or putting it back on as you have to use it at least four times when taking wheel off and putting it back on.

All this fuss over a few nuts (bolts) ☺️

 

Soon after after getting our car, I replaced the security bolts with bog standard bolts - no one wants to steal a set of ordinary, non bling, Skoda wheels these days. It would take a very nerdy thief to get down, or not, on their knees to see if a security bolt was fitted 😩

 

I must agree the bolts are a strange fitting, at least with old fashioned wheel studs, you can replaced any damaged threads and hang a wheel on the hub before nipping up.

If the wheels were stolen it would be for the new or newish tyres on them, dependant on where you live and/or leave your car parked for work etc the (not very) security wheelbolts might give some comfort, to me they are a pain and a liability if the adaptor gets lost or misplaced.

 

You don't need to get on your knees to see that my wheels have the standard security bolts, the plastic covers are larger and round than the hex shaped ones for the normal bolts.

Edited 7 December, 20214 yr by J.R.

20 minutes ago, J.R. said:

If the wheels were stolen it would be for the new or newish tyres on them, dependant on where you live and/or leave your car parked for work etc the (not very) security wheelbolts might give some comfort, to me they are a pain and a liability if the adaptor gets lost or misplaced.

 

You don't need to get on your knees to see that my wheels have the standard security bolts, the plastic covers are larger and round than the hex shaped ones for the normal bolts.

Exactly what happened with my Volvo, the McGuard locks were totally butchered and it took a whole day for the dealer to remove the locks with no more damage to the wheels, so wheels still get nicked maybe not for the wheels but certainly for the £900 quids worth of tyres that had just been fitted. 

Luckily the dealer only charged £100 to do the removal and lock replacement through goodwill.😭

Those who go out stealing wheels and tyres have all the gear and more than just ideas.

 

They will have them off a vehicle a lot quicker than any Dealership or Tyre Centre Fitter and could not care a damn about damage to the vehicle.

They will maybe have a catalytic converter off a vehicle before the wheels.

It is how they earn their daily crust. 

 

Security fasteners will not have them thinking too much bother lets move on. 

Edited 7 December, 20214 yr by roottoot

6 hours ago, ejstubbs said:

It's not in my user manual (2017/05 edition).  Anyone who doubts me can download it from the Skoda web site to check for themselves.  All it says about the order of tightening is: Tighten the wheel bolts opposite each other using the wheel wrench (“pull-ing crossways”)

I'll take your word for it, you offer an explanation and example including a strange word (though that might be from pdf lift) very much the standard in the Manuals.

 

Confusingly for me my wife's manuals are 'Operating Instructions' for the car and 'Owner's Manual' for the infotainment, I'm sure it can't be a mistake as car companies don't make mistakes especially when German efficiency and German Engineering is involved.

 

I only guess that best practices, and perhaps material and parts supplies, change with time so the manufacturers change their recommendations, I'll exclude mistakes for the reasons above, what they put in a 2015 manual may be different to say a 2017 manual.

 

6 hours ago, ejstubbs said:

I strongly suspect that the advice about loosening the anti=theft wheel bolt first and tightening it last is simply a convenience thing:

It is from me.  I've changed my wording to some manuals based on your info, thank you.

 

5 hours ago, ejstubbs said:

which strongly suggests that there is no technical reason for the recommendation in previous editions.

Only Skoda/VW might know, VW particularly has in the past found to be particularly tight-lipped about some of there goings-on - but I'm sure Skoda/VW welcome all customer enquiries, getting a response or answer my be a different matter.

 

Edited 7 December, 20214 yr by nta16