Tightening nuts and bolts in cold weather

[njohnson]

Hi guys,

I have a question for you all. I apologize if this is a silly question, but, here it goes. My brother's 1997 Civic needs some work, I'm going to be working on the ball joints and tie rod. He was hoping to make them last till spring, but decided not to take any chances.
I like to do the maintenance on my cars in warmer weather, all the plastic and rubber components get so stiff in the cold. But, since, my brother waited, now I have to work on the car in the cold. He doesn't have a heated garage, so I will be outside.

My question is this: With the air temperature around 27 degrees, if I tighten down the nuts with a torque wrench, will there be any problems? Once the temperatures warm back up, it won't be over tightened or anything? Sorry if this is a silly question, I just don't have a lot of experience with working on vehicles in the cold. I know spark plugs need to be changed with the engine cold versus warm, so, I was wondering what would happened if I tightened up the ball joint and tie rod ends in the cold.

Thanks.

 

[Tegger]

No problems at 27 degrees. Tighten to the figure specified in the manual and don't worry about it.

 

[Donald]

There will be no problems with the nuts and bolts. Your hand, maybe.

 

[friendly_jacek]

i've heard if you torque wheel lugs in warm garage and start driving in very cold, you could lose a wheel.

the other way should be fine.

 

[4wheeldog]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
i've heard if you torque wheel lugs in warm garage and start driving in very cold, you could lose a wheel.

the other way should be fine.


That is logically backwards. Torque is predicated on bolt stretch. If you torque a bolt warm, the bolt would shrink, not grow, when cold. So.....It would be even tighter.

That said, anything about 0F should not matter, for the purposes of torquing bolts. We do tend to overthink things here, on OCDtog.com.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: 4wheeldog
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
i've heard if you torque wheel lugs in warm garage and start driving in very cold, you could lose a wheel.

the other way should be fine.


That is logically backwards. Torque is predicated on bolt stretch. If you torque a bolt warm, the bolt would shrink, not grow, when cold. So.....It would be even tighter.

That said, anything about 0F should not matter, for the purposes of torquing bolts. We do tend to overthink things here, on OCDtog.com.


+1

 

[RF Overlord]

I'm glad the OP asked...I never thought about it before, but it's nice to know it doesn't matter unless the temp variation is extreme.

 

[eljefino]

I worry about snapping stuff when it's very cold, seems more brittle.

But the metallurgy in front end stuff is better, and 27 isn't cold.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I worry about snapping stuff when it's very cold, seems more brittle.

But the metallurgy in front end stuff is better, and 27 isn't cold.

Anything plastic should not be touched when its cold out.

 

[chestand]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
i've heard if you torque wheel lugs in warm garage and start driving in very cold, you could lose a wheel.

the other way should be fine.


If that's the case, there ought to be bunches of cars that have lost wheels upon driving away from heated tire shops in the dead of winter after having a new set of tires installed.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: 4wheeldog
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
i've heard if you torque wheel lugs in warm garage and start driving in very cold, you could lose a wheel.

the other way should be fine.


That is logically backwards. Torque is predicated on bolt stretch. If you torque a bolt warm, the bolt would shrink, not grow, when cold. So.....It would be even tighter.

That said, anything about 0F should not matter, for the purposes of torquing bolts. We do tend to overthink things here, on OCDtog.com.


it's not "logically" backwards if you happen to remember that alloy wheel expands and shrinks MORE than steel.