Hi Max and Sophie when I was driving for a living one of the rules with HGV wheels re-fitted was that you re-torqued after 30 miles or 50 K one tell tell sign if there is a rusty water line coming from the wheel nuts that can be a indication that it is loose . all the best stay safe and well
It brings back a memory for me when I used to be a coach driver years ago. I was driving a Vario when one of the rear wheels came off and passed me on the road and ended up in a ditch. My boss got in touch with Mercedes to investigate it as it was a quite new mini bus. About a year later the other side rear wheel fell off as I was driving under a bridge near Leeds and caused quite a hold up. I refused to drive it after that so it's a known issue
That’s sounds pretty scary Jim but good to know it’s not just us! We will be regularly checking the torque and with daily checks hopefully we will notice the indicators before it’s too late! Thanks for watching as always! 😊👍
Hi, Thank god nothing happened 🙏 The feedback in the comments with regards to experienced gents giving advice is hopefully reassuring to you both...stay safe...sending love and best wishes to you both 🙏
Gladly you spotted the defective bolts and nuts before it totally separate your wheels while driving. And it's truly great that you invest like wheel bolt-nuts indicator and torque wrench. Just take care always and stay safe. And God Bless 🙏
Hi guys enjoyed the video, top tip for you when you have taken the van out and done some miles on it check the nuts with the torque wrench again, as this is what happens to our vans at work, it's called re-torquing and should mean your wheels will be ok until you need to change tyres, hope the cocktails were nice, see you next time.
Thanks Haydn, that’s a great tip! We have checked them again since doing them and just nipped them all up that last little bit! Thanks for watching and the cocktails were great! 😊👍
After wheel been of you are surpose to retighten after certain amount of mileage another thing for you to keep your eyes on the studs get the plastic nut markers
Yes all HGVs, coaches etc need torqued and retorqued after a short time. Its also why wheel nut indicators are fitted and part of the drivers check are to check wheels if the nut indicators are not aligned you don't drive until they've been torqued. Might be worth fitting some wheel nut indicators.
Hi Max & Sophie, hope everything is ok there, was wondering it seems a little strange the videos seemed to have stopped this Ep40 seems to be the last one to date. I hope everything is ok there, keep safe hope to see more videos in the future.
G'day lucky you heard that Sophie we never had a torque wench so we used to torque the nuts till you felt or heard the first crack of your shoulder.........Good to see you both it is a learning experience especially if you have never done it before never mind you will learn and check the other side if anything it's piece of mind, by the way how are the brake shoes? John
The reason the wheel came loose is because they weren't torqued up properly when you re fitted the wheels and when you have fitted new studs and torqued them when you have done 50 miles re torque them again and you should be OK. And you should never put grease or oil of any kind on wheel nuts.hope this helps you.
That’s all very useful, thank you! We had tightened them up after changing and checked them again the morning before we had the issues! Just a bad combination of issues which can hopefully be avoided by what we know now and having the right tools! Will keep the grease away from the nuts, thanks for the tip! 😊👍
Do not know how it is in England, but in Norway it is an advantage to have extra insurance for roadside assistance if you have a vehicle at over 3,500 kg since it can get very expensive and call for help when you have heavy vehicles to rescue.
That’s a very good point Vidar! I’ll double check all of our breakdown cover as like you said it’s best to think about it before you actually need it! 👌
As expensive as it seems it could have been a lot worse, I once saw a dustbin lorry lose a rear wheel and it completely demolished a bus stop shelter. Get some wheel nut markers
looks like there were no centering washers fitted,thats what keeps the wheels from moving sideways,usually have 6 on outer wheel and 3 between the the wheels,i would check all other wheels.
There were and we have got the Mercedes spec sheet from our local commercial depot and they don’t have any shown between the two wheels? Are they a common thing?
We sure did, but have learnt from it all greatly! And they are super useful, thanks for the help! You’re exactly right - we can’t wait for the adventure! 😊👍
Do both the inner & outer wheels have cones? It looks like the outer doesn't have cones which would cause the wear you have. The cones are separate to the nuts on Mercs, everything else has conical nuts. Another thing to watch for is excess wear allowing the cones to touch each other which means the wheels are loose despite the nuts being tight.
If the loose wheels have scored the outer hub it should be replaced too . By the way vario wheels can come slack due to rust between the wheels falling out and your yellow markers won't move so you will think the wheel nuts are tight ! Markers are not fool proof !!
Well spotted ! Did you clean and refit the wheels at the other side of the van ? Don’t forget to release the torque wrench tension when not in use, it will be in the instructions. Nice job well done both of you. Cheers Richie.
Ah man. A relief you have it sorted. One thing I noticed when you spun the brake disk. It looked like it was quite hard. Its hard to tell without feeling but are your rear callipers free? They are not seized are they? Might wanna strip the pads out and check the piston goes back ok. Then rebuild them up with red rubber grease.
Thank you so much! I’m not 100% sure if I’m honest, should it spin pretty freely with the handbrake off? I’ll try to do a bit of research because that’s not something I fully understand! 😊👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan how does the handbrake work? Is it full of dust? (toxic dust, don't breathe it) That's another possible source of dragging. Yes, the hub should spin fairly freely.
Adding an extension to a torque wrench changes the value of the force applied , they will need to be torqued again after having done so many miles depending on the vehicle 🚗
Interesting, I’ve done a bit of Googling and it appears this might be a myth, but thanks for the heads up! Will definitely be re tightening after a few miles 😊👍
Hey guys just checking to see that you are all ok? Haven't seen a video for a while :-( but thats maybe because you have finished your bus. Anyway hope you are both well Cheers from Andrew & Carolyn in Australia. PS loved your build series 🙂
Good spot, it’s actually a split washer to help centre the wheel onto the stud but thank you so much for commenting because we could have missed something like that! 😊👍
Guaranteed to be the rust. I'm an engineer for a bus company running various makes of vehicles including mercedes. We had issues with unclean and painted wheel rims and all rims are cleaned using an air powered wire brush to a shinny metal surface every single time a wheel is removed and refitted. Wheels are torqued on refitting and rechecked after about 30 miles and again after a few days driving
Nice one guys, very proficient and diligent of you to get the technical drawings/spec sheets and all new parts and consult various professionals, most people would of cut corners. However I do fear this film will stir up many comments from keyboard warrior know it alls.
Thank you so much for your lovely words Ed! And it might but we appreciate the mistakes we have made and have learnt from them! I definitely trust Mercedes’ advice so fingers crossed for us going forwards 😂👍
As an HGV driver each time we have our wheels off and the wheel face cleaned of all rust and dirt and put back on, each wheel that’s been removed is then tightened up to its torque setting and then after 50 km is re tightened again to its torque setting..a wheel coming off is not something that should happen as the consequences can be fatal..remember your driving a HGV, daily walk around checks should be done without exception. double check and triple check everything…it could be someone’s life, your life or your license at cost.
You’re absolutely right Simon, it’s crazy how quickly it can all go wrong! We had tightened them up 50 miles after changing and had checked them the morning before the incident! Now with all the right tools we can be 100% sure everything is just right! Thanks for the advice 😊👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan I’m glad you managed to sort out the issue leaving nothing to chance, your going to come across things like this often..always cover your ass, if unsure ask…then commit to memory and enjoy the ride. You both have worked hard for this journey, may it be long lasting and safe. You’ll look back in 50 yrs and say “we did that, no problem, have we got some stories to tell”. Safe travels xx
This is common with the Vario. The near side rear will come loose randomly lol. I ran one for 12 years and you just learn to listen out for the telltale chatter.
Hi Do you need some great lighting for your car to help you better driving, off-road. We're the pro auto lighting manufacturer for nearly 20 year and we're looking for sponsorship!
Just watched this video for the second time please continue with more vids as you are fun to watch.
Thank you for watching - we are slowly getting back into our videos, we hope you enjoy them as much as the first ones!
with almost 40 years in and around the tire business, I'm glad you put in the research to put things back together again in a "proper" fashion.
That’s a huge compliment Dennis, thank you very much! We just wanted it all done right! 😊👍
WE MISS YOU GUYS !!! ❤️🚌🚌🚌
Hi Max and Sophie when I was driving for a living one of the rules with HGV wheels re-fitted was that you re-torqued after 30 miles or 50 K one tell tell sign if there is a rusty water line coming from the wheel nuts that can be a indication that it is loose . all the best stay safe and well
Thanks for the info John, that’s a really great tip! The torque wrench will definitely become part of our toolkit for on the road! Take care 😊👍
It brings back a memory for me when I used to be a coach driver years ago. I was driving a Vario when one of the rear wheels came off and passed me on the road and ended up in a ditch. My boss got in touch with Mercedes to investigate it as it was a quite new mini bus. About a year later the other side rear wheel fell off as I was driving under a bridge near Leeds and caused quite a hold up. I refused to drive it after that so it's a known issue
That’s sounds pretty scary Jim but good to know it’s not just us! We will be regularly checking the torque and with daily checks hopefully we will notice the indicators before it’s too late! Thanks for watching as always! 😊👍
Hi, Thank god nothing happened 🙏
The feedback in the comments with regards to experienced gents giving advice is hopefully reassuring to you both...stay safe...sending love and best wishes to you both 🙏
Thanks for watching Kevin, and absolutely, seems like it can be a common thing and we have done out best to stop it happening again! 🤞😊
Gladly you spotted the defective bolts and nuts before it totally separate your wheels while driving. And it's truly great that you invest like wheel bolt-nuts indicator and torque wrench.
Just take care always and stay safe. And God Bless 🙏
Thank you for watching Joy! And we spotted it just in time, and have done our best to stop it happening again! 😊👍
Hi guys enjoyed the video, top tip for you when you have taken the van out and done some miles on it check the nuts with the torque wrench again, as this is what happens to our vans at work, it's called re-torquing and should mean your wheels will be ok until you need to change tyres, hope the cocktails were nice, see you next time.
Thanks Haydn, that’s a great tip! We have checked them again since doing them and just nipped them all up that last little bit! Thanks for watching and the cocktails were great! 😊👍
👍 Danke fürs Hochladen!
👍 Thanks for uploading!
👍 Very good and beautiful, thank you!
👍 Sehr gut und schön, danke!
Thank you so much for watching all of our videos, our fun adventures as well as our disasters! 😊👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan 👍 You're Wellcome!
Hope you both enjoyed your cocktails! Problems can always be fixed with a bloody good cocktail!
Oh we sure did, the sun came out too which was a bonus! Thanks for watching! 😊👍
Where you gone. It’s been 2 months now and we’re all missing you both.
After wheel been of you are surpose to retighten after certain amount of mileage another thing for you to keep your eyes on the studs get the plastic nut markers
Wootton park misses you 💔💔💔 hope you enjoying your current endeavours!!!!
Are you ever going to come back ??
Thank God you guys noticed it. 👍. Stay safe
Thank you Lisa, we will try! 😊👍
Well done guys!
Thank you very much! We got there in the end! 😊👍
Glad it’s all sorted,
Hey you two. What you been up to? We are missing your vlogs. Hope you are both ok!
Yes all HGVs, coaches etc need torqued and retorqued after a short time. Its also why wheel nut indicators are fitted and part of the drivers check are to check wheels if the nut indicators are not aligned you don't drive until they've been torqued. Might be worth fitting some wheel nut indicators.
Sorry wrote this after watching the video, now realise you fitted them
You were lucky glad you noticed it
We were very lucky! Thanks for watching! 😊👍
Hi Max & Sophie, hope everything is ok there, was wondering it seems a little strange the videos seemed to have stopped this Ep40 seems to be the last one to date. I hope everything is ok there, keep safe hope to see more videos in the future.
Well done guys! Now your prepared it shouldn't happen again👍 Lovely work!
Fingers crossed! 🤞 at least we have all the tools and equipment to keep them safe now! Thanks for watching 😊👍
Wheely good episode! Glad you avoided it falling off on the road. Your new wheels are going to look amazing 🤩
Hahaha, glad you liked that 😂 Thank you so much for watching, we can’t wait to get our hands on them! 😊👍
Brilliant video as usual, glad you managed to get it sorted before it got worse 😊
Thank you so much Corey! And we did (luckily) and have hopefully stopped it happening again! 😊👍
Nothing better than "fresh nuts "!!!
Great job and remember max keep an eye on your nuts lol all the best Donny
Thanks Donny, best tip ever, check your nuts every morning 😂👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan yep lol glad you got it sorted mercedes prices gone up since we beat the Germans I think
Haha probably 😂
Top job guys! Cheers! 😍😎👍🏻
Thank you Ian! We got there in the end! 😊👍
Well done! Looks like it was a hectic job👍👌👏
That’s turning a frown upside down. Will be buying some markers for ours now too. We have that torque wrench too. Good old Aldi for ours 😂
We got there in the end! Would definitely recommend, and we saw them in there too! Thanks for watching 💖😊
G'day lucky you heard that Sophie we never had a torque wench so we used to torque the nuts till you felt or heard the first crack of your shoulder.........Good to see you both it is a learning experience especially if you have never done it before never mind you will learn and check the other side if anything it's piece of mind, by the way how are the brake shoes? John
What’s happening with you? Missing your videos on a Sunday cheers
The reason the wheel came loose is because they weren't torqued up properly when you re fitted the wheels and when you have fitted new studs and torqued them when you have done 50 miles re torque them again and you should be OK. And you should never put grease or oil of any kind on wheel nuts.hope this helps you.
That’s all very useful, thank you! We had tightened them up after changing and checked them again the morning before we had the issues! Just a bad combination of issues which can hopefully be avoided by what we know now and having the right tools! Will keep the grease away from the nuts, thanks for the tip! 😊👍
Do not know how it is in England, but in Norway it is an advantage to have extra insurance for roadside assistance if you have a vehicle at over 3,500 kg since it can get very expensive and call for help when you have heavy vehicles to rescue.
That’s a very good point Vidar! I’ll double check all of our breakdown cover as like you said it’s best to think about it before you actually need it! 👌
Hi guys I hope you doing well any more videos
Well done both great video 🥂🥂😎 enjoy
As expensive as it seems it could have been a lot worse, I once saw a dustbin lorry lose a rear wheel and it completely demolished a bus stop shelter. Get some wheel nut markers
You’re exactly right Pete, that sounds terrifying! We have some and fitted them in this video! 😊👍
looks like there were no centering washers fitted,thats what keeps the wheels from moving sideways,usually have 6 on outer wheel and 3 between the the wheels,i would check all other wheels.
There were and we have got the Mercedes spec sheet from our local commercial depot and they don’t have any shown between the two wheels? Are they a common thing?
@@MaxSophieinaVan when i bought my spring washers i seem to remember my local mercedes truck depot recommending fitting some between the wheels
Had a near miss there. Pleased to see the wheel indicators, was going to suggest those. Onwards to advanture
We sure did, but have learnt from it all greatly! And they are super useful, thanks for the help! You’re exactly right - we can’t wait for the adventure! 😊👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan advanture not adventure, 🤦♂️ you missed it 😇😎
Ah I did! 😂 Can’t wait for the advanture 👌
Do both the inner & outer wheels have cones? It looks like the outer doesn't have cones which would cause the wear you have. The cones are separate to the nuts on Mercs, everything else has conical nuts.
Another thing to watch for is excess wear allowing the cones to touch each other which means the wheels are loose despite the nuts being tight.
If the loose wheels have scored the outer hub it should be replaced too . By the way vario wheels can come slack due to rust between the wheels falling out and your yellow markers won't move so you will think the wheel nuts are tight ! Markers are not fool proof !!
Well spotted ! Did you clean and refit the wheels at the other side of the van ? Don’t forget to release the torque wrench tension when not in use, it will be in the instructions. Nice job well done both of you. Cheers Richie.
We did a once over of all of the wheels! We sure did Richie, but thanks for the tip - Max loves reading an instruction manual! Thanks for watching! 😊👍
Love watching you guys but you haven't put a new video up for a while, hope all is well❤️
Ah man. A relief you have it sorted. One thing I noticed when you spun the brake disk. It looked like it was quite hard. Its hard to tell without feeling but are your rear callipers free? They are not seized are they? Might wanna strip the pads out and check the piston goes back ok. Then rebuild them up with red rubber grease.
Thank you so much! I’m not 100% sure if I’m honest, should it spin pretty freely with the handbrake off? I’ll try to do a bit of research because that’s not something I fully understand! 😊👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan how does the handbrake work? Is it full of dust? (toxic dust, don't breathe it) That's another possible source of dragging.
Yes, the hub should spin fairly freely.
@@MaxSophieinaVanIt should have some resistance due to the prop shaft and diff. But not be binding on the brake pads.
Adding an extension to a torque wrench changes the value of the force applied , they will need to be torqued again after having done so many miles depending on the vehicle 🚗
Interesting, I’ve done a bit of Googling and it appears this might be a myth, but thanks for the heads up! Will definitely be re tightening after a few miles 😊👍
Hi guys. You ok? Haven’t heard anything from you for a while!
Nice video. Do you guys have any plans to spray paint the van to other color?
I was going to say unclean mating faces when you refitted them..... Lesson learnt I think. 👍
Sure is! Could definitely have ended worse! 😊👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan I'm sure you have since, but retorque the wheels after a few weeks.. 👍
We sure have, and we checked all of the other wheels too! 👌
But thanks for the tip! 👍
I guess the biggest question is did you torque the lug nuts to proper setting. ?
We certainly did Daniel, we have t manual and it specified the torque in there 😊👍
What was the You Tube VIdeo you guys saw that showed the torque specs please?
No more content?
Hey guys just checking to see that you are all ok? Haven't seen a video for a while :-( but thats maybe because you have finished your bus. Anyway hope you are both well Cheers from Andrew & Carolyn in Australia. PS loved your build series 🙂
We're have you gone to
Are you guys okay?! It's not like you to go over a month without posting any new vlogs!
Is that a crack at 4.17 on the stud hole rim. dead centre of the screen right hand side of hole?
Good spot, it’s actually a split washer to help centre the wheel onto the stud but thank you so much for commenting because we could have missed something like that! 😊👍
Hey guys what was the torque settings on your vario?
Q. Did you do the other side as well?
Excellent comment Kenneth! We certainly did, we gave every wheel, hub and stud a good once over! 😊👍
Guaranteed to be the rust. I'm an engineer for a bus company running various makes of vehicles including mercedes. We had issues with unclean and painted wheel rims and all rims are cleaned using an air powered wire brush to a shinny metal surface every single time a wheel is removed and refitted. Wheels are torqued on refitting and rechecked after about 30 miles and again after a few days driving
Where are you guys?
Hello Guys, TH-cam is missing you! Hope you are both OK?
Do you remember my brother Thomas whitford he is in a levels now 😌
Just out of curiosity what’s happened to you guys ???
Nice one guys, very proficient and diligent of you to get the technical drawings/spec sheets and all new parts and consult various professionals, most people would of cut corners.
However I do fear this film will stir up many comments from keyboard warrior know it alls.
Thank you so much for your lovely words Ed! And it might but we appreciate the mistakes we have made and have learnt from them! I definitely trust Mercedes’ advice so fingers crossed for us going forwards 😂👍
Umm any new videos?
Drive it for 20/30 miles and re check your wheel nuts.
That’s exactly right! Thanks for the tip 😊👍
Watch the entire van build series, what is next no travel vides?
As an HGV driver each time we have our wheels off and the wheel face cleaned of all rust and dirt and put back on, each wheel that’s been removed is then tightened up to its torque setting and then after 50 km is re tightened again to its torque setting..a wheel coming off is not something that should happen as the consequences can be fatal..remember your driving a HGV, daily walk around checks should be done without exception. double check and triple check everything…it could be someone’s life, your life or your license at cost.
You’re absolutely right Simon, it’s crazy how quickly it can all go wrong! We had tightened them up 50 miles after changing and had checked them the morning before the incident! Now with all the right tools we can be 100% sure everything is just right! Thanks for the advice 😊👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan I’m glad you managed to sort out the issue leaving nothing to chance, your going to come across things like this often..always cover your ass, if unsure ask…then commit to memory and enjoy the ride. You both have worked hard for this journey, may it be long lasting and safe. You’ll look back in 50 yrs and say “we did that, no problem, have we got some stories to tell”.
Safe travels xx
We certainly will! And that is the dream, we really can’t wait for all of the amazing adventures! Thank you so much for watching 😊👍
@@MaxSophieinaVan twas a pleasure, may do it again 😜🤪😘
Hahaha, please do 😂👍
This is common with the Vario. The near side rear will come loose randomly lol. I ran one for 12 years and you just learn to listen out for the telltale chatter.
Good to know it’s not just us then! 👍 we definitely know what to listen and look out for now which will help! Thanks for watching! 😊👍
Any news???
Typical problem with the Mercedes best course of action replace studs nuts and inner and outer cone spring washers check wheel studs regularly 👍
Is there anybody there?
You would like to sell one? How much do you want?
Not just yet, but will let you know if we ever do 😊👍
Hi Do you need some great lighting for your car to help you better driving, off-road. We're the pro auto lighting manufacturer for nearly 20 year and we're looking for sponsorship!