I had a new mechanic work on my Disco 2 back in September.
He replaced both front and rear wheel hub assembly.
Later on I noticed my rear seals were leaking, so i took it back to have him replace my seals.
Fast forward a week I notice my vibration was back so I did a little research and figured my rear differential was going out so I started saving up to get it done.
It progressed rapidly and by November I stopped driving it unless I had to. Since I wasn't willing to drive it 40 miles to the other mechanic I took to it my regular guy in my town.
Oh boy
The 1st thing they noticed which I hadnt even looked at because a) dumb female and B) figured it was fine since the previous mechanic hadnt said anything was my rim was shot due to loose lug nuts
ok
2nd thing was my axle nut was missing....completely. Not loose or damaged but never even put back on.
after doing some more digging they discovered that the seals the other mechanic was supposed to have replaced were in fact the old ones ( they fell apart as he removed them from the massive amount of silicone he had put in)
After all that explanation my question for you is
What do you think happens if an axle nut is not put on?
What damage occurs?
The previous mechanic says all of the damage happened because of loose lug nuts
funny thing is the other 3 tires are just fine.
weird that only the side missing the axle nut is having issues

 

Those appear to be LR3/RRS/RR lug nuts vs the proper 95-02 P38 RR or 99-04 D2 lug nuts.

 

This is what a D2 lug nut should look like.

 

Sometimes it’s the guys working for the head mechanic that are the issue does not excuse the work. I have some real winners around here

 

Are there a couple of studs missing completely, or did someone install an incorrect hub that has holes instead of studs?

 

I am in no way shape or form a professional mechanic.
, give me an engine and i can figure it out , anything dealing with the undercarriage I might as well be a newborn.
I did not know I had Aluminum rims when he messed with anything down there
I was supposed to know that I needed to get them tightened after 50 miles (which is one way home from the shop)
Since the mechanic didnt say anything I just went along my merry way.
Now that may account for the missing lugs and lug nuts but what about the missing Axle nut? What damage could that cause and could it have caused the tire to bounce around so much it caused the damage to the rim? This guy screwed up so bad I definitely need some opinions on what could have caused the damage

 

yes those are what are actually on the tires. I had taken my front tires off before to get a good look at the whole setup last year

 

@Faith Watters the lug nut check after 50 miles is just that a check to make sure nothing has come loose. In 40 of years I have never had one loose, 110 ft lbs does not just back off.

The axle nut that just plain out right incompetence there is no excuse of any kind for that

As noted above it looks like you have a couple of broken studs as well, although that could just be the image

 

Ditto - While I check lugs, always, I never have found a loose one after work.

This is the craziest thing I have seen a long time. I would even go as far as a small claims case to get my money back if this happened to me. This is not only negligent, its pretty dangerous. But discussion like that are not for places like this.

 

Depending on how close you are to NJ, I have a nice Hurricane Rim sitting around that I could let go of cheaply to get you back on the road.