James Stanbury
Special Contributor
PT Cruiser & big Jeep
Picture the scene. After consigning the 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser to short local journeys only, due to the loudest droning wheel bearing I’ve ever heard, I was relieved when it pressed out easily. It hadn’t spun and welded itself in place – my fear – and the reassuringly heavy new Blue Print bearing went in smoothly. The rejuvenated hub was soon back on the car wearing its disc, and my other half stood on the brake pedal so that I could tighten the hub nut.
As usual, the torque required is hefty, so imagine my utter disbelief when, just as the torque wrench was about to click, the nut went loose instead. And remained loose. For crying out loud, this is a hub nut! They’re designed for mega torques and both the nut and the thread on the driveshaft appeared in A1 condition. What had happened?
Short answer: don’t know and never will for sure. Was the nut faulty or had it softened due to repeated excess heat and cooling (from the growling bearing or maybe a partially-seized brake caliper – another common PT problem)? Whatever, I now had a big problem
