Crud!!!!!!!!!!!! Sportline 15mm wheel adapter studs broke!! - now while driving...

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19 January 2003
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Maryland
I mistyped the title... should have read "NOT while driving".

In any event, I've had an eventful morning. I couldn't get in to see my mechanic as quickly as I wanted to, so I figured I'd tackle the easy projects myself, which included changing my carbotech panther plus pads for my old stock ones (as the carbotech pads are sooooo loud) and installing my TC sport line wheel adapters. I've never done brake pads before, but I was brave and went at it (having read loads about doing so on Prime and Danoland's site). Anyway, the front brakes and adapters went on easily enough--- though I couldn't get the shims to fit in, so I left them off on the inside on both the front calipers. At this point, I'm feeling good about my mechanical abilities, so after a brief break, I embark onto the rear brakes. Well, I ended up deciding to take the brake fluid line off the caliper, which I hadn't done on the fronts. I finally got the pads out and replaced with the stock ones and tried to put the brake fluid back in... Not sure why it was so hard to get it lined up, but finally I get it. I use a wrench to snug it up and dang, the bolt broke (this is going to be a common theme in my day (little did I know at the time)). I have my little panic attack and run inside, change into clothes that don't suggest that I'm panhandling and zip off in my functioning DD to the Acura dealer. I get very, very lucky, they have one in stock! Yippee... Off I go back and within a few minutes, I've got the new bolt on and from there, I finish the install of the brake pad and wheel adapters on the rears. I put the wheels on the car and get the hand tight to the new adapter all around and drop the car down from the jack stands and grab my handy dandy torque wrench, which is set at 80lbs. The first wheel is no problem. The next wheel I know there's a problem right away, the lug nut is moving, but it's not getting progressively tighter and then, POP... the lug nut breaks off of the stud. Crap. Now, what? Well, I tried to tighten up the rest of the wheels and sure enough, another stud breaks off from one of the front adapters! What kind of crap are these made out of? I'm not sure what to do now? They are 15mm, so I don't want to get the H&R because I don't want to have to remove the hubs. I don't want to have to replace all of the bolts either, but I'm not sure what to do. I also need a few new lug nuts as the studs broke off inside the lug nuts, and there is no reasonable way to remove the piece that's in the lug nut. This stinks. Need advice.

I've e-mailed MJ just before posting this message, so he hasn't even had a chance to reply to me yet, but I need to get this resolved asap. I suppose I can try to get a few lug nuts and take the adapters off for now. I wanted them because my back tires are touching the bottom of the thing that the spring sits in, so I needed to move them out a bit. I'm inclined to just try to get a 3 mm spacer from my local tire shop and forget about the adapters. I don't want to track the car with these flimsy things... :)
 
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