tightening torque for wheel lugs

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Originally Posted by StevieC
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
I have never used a torque wrench on lug nuts , and I am nor a senioe citizen . None have fallen off yet .

^^^ I usually hit them with the pneumatic or impact driver until they stop and then move on to the other ones. Then I go back and hit them with a short burst of the gun again checking each one. Never torqued and never had any issues including bearing/hub issues or stud issues. My dad has done that for decades as well.

Torquing and torque procedures / order has it's place like with head bolts for example but I think there are a lot of places that it's not needed.

Why do they have a Torque Spec then? Well because they need to convey to someone else approximately the force used in some manner but aren't needed above common sense when it comes to things like lug nuts or oil drain plugs for example. Not torquing these things and using reasonable force that is "plenty" but not "over tight" is more than enough.


You need to post your you tube videos and forget giving hack advise on repairs. Now for 10 pages on why its okay and all the rest of that crap.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
You need to post your you tube videos and forget giving hack advise on repairs. Now for 10 pages on why its okay and all the rest of that crap.


Whatever you say... Why don't you tell me more about your love affair with Bosch and how they are the bestest and most super duper.
smirk2.gif
 
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Originally Posted by StevieC
Originally Posted by Trav
You need to post your you tube videos and forget giving hack advise on repairs. Now for 10 pages on why its okay and all the rest of that crap.

Whatever you say... Why don't you tell me more about your love affair with Bosch and how they are the bestest and most super duper.
smirk2.gif


Well Bosch is under the hood of almost every car on the road, so...
 
Originally Posted by StevieC
Originally Posted by Trav
You need to post your you tube videos and forget giving hack advise on repairs. Now for 10 pages on why its okay and all the rest of that crap.


Whatever you say... Why don't you tell me more about your love affair with Bosch and how they are the bestest and most super duper.
smirk2.gif


FTR What does that have to do with torquing lug nuts?
 
I always use brake clean to clean the taper in the wheel (mind the paint) and the inside of the lug nut and threads. No oil or anti-seize. Torque dry. You can anti-seize the hub where the wheel centers lightly.

Never had one come loose.

If they have been over torqued look at the lug stud to see if it is necked down right where it comes out of the hub. If there is any diameter decrease have new studs installed. I use a small steel rule,as a straight edge to make it easier to see.


Link to good picture.
https://www.google.com/search?q=overtorque+bolt+picture&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS819US819&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjghcOL0ObfAhUFXq0KHeXpA3cQsAR6BAgDEAE&biw=1920&bih=938#imgrc=8Z5rrGvVuKZIQM:



Rod
 
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I don't think so. Your post is way off on all accounts and anyone reading that and tries doing a job that way can end up with all sorts of issues.
Many if not most cordless impacts use a pin and clutch mechanism and not the more controllable hammer(s), the problem with that is they make high torque right out of the gate so a few raps with that could be way higher than spec.

Many of the guys that don't do this type of work for a living use cordless exclusively and many of them are the biggest offered (bigger is better right). People all over the world visit this site so you must be careful posting hacks, work arounds, and shade tree repairs.
 
In the words of Mr. Garison from South Park.... Mmmmm K

Well you have stated what is safe by all means and I have stated what has been our experiences where absolutely nothing has happened doing it the way I described and you can call it whatever you want but it doesn't change the fact that many folks do it this way and have 0 issues.

It's funny when tow-truck drivers put on your full-size spares they don't torque your wheel nuts either and what about people that put on their own spares using the tools provided by the OEM. How come they don't provide a torque wrench if it's soooooooooooo important to safety? Not to mention all the cars driving around missing lug nuts, missing studs for the nuts or using standard nuts in place of lug nuts, I'm sure the nuts that are present are torqued though in those situations because their wheels are staying on.

Hmmmm Seems dangerous to me not to torque and use reasonable tightness given your "it absolutely needs to be torqued" standard!
smirk2.gif


This is what I said for the record... Which endorses double checking each lug nut to make sure it's tight enough by hitting it again with the gun so unless you are using a pancake compressor or some other weak way to put the nuts back on it's not going to be a problem and if it was you wouldn't have gotten them off in the first place with the same tool that is too weak.
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Originally Posted by StevieC

^^^ I usually hit them with the pneumatic or impact driver until they stop and then move on to the other ones. Then I go back and hit them with a short burst of the gun again checking each one. Never torqued and never had any issues including bearing/hub issues or stud issues. My dad has done that for decades as well.

Torquing and torque procedures / order has it's place like with head bolts for example but I think there are a lot of places that it's not needed.

Why do they have a Torque Spec then? Well because they need to convey to someone else approximately the force used in some manner but aren't needed above common sense when it comes to things like lug nuts or oil drain plugs for example. Not torquing these things and using reasonable force that is "plenty" but not "over tight" is more than enough.
 
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It is interesting how lug torque seems relatively low for the application yet it works just fine. I figure it's not just one lug, but 4 (or 5 or more) all working together and spread across an area. So the wheel stays put. I imagine the engineers are shooting for a balance between being tight enough so that it doesn't fall off, but not so tight that it warps the rotor or damages the stud (or wheel). This is exactly why torque specs matter. Yes, they do matter. Just because someone hasn't had a bad experience without torquing, doesn't mean it's OK. These people place their own values into a risk vs reward equation... as if there is a reward to be had for not using the proper tool. To me, there is no equation. The torque spec is provided by the equipment manufacturer. I mean really, it's not hard to do it right. And if you know how to use tools, it's not very inconvenient either.
 
I think my 10-year-old Craftsman clicker has gotten out of calibration, even though I always park it at 0 when I'm done with it. It takes so little force to torque my car's lugnuts to "95" that I think it's shorting me about 20 ft-lbs. Ordered a beam-style to see how far off I am. Thanks for the advice, guys!
 
I have to torque the lug nuts on my RV to 450-500 lb-ft. Takes a BIG torque wrench. Drive axle means loosening the outer nuts, torquing the inners, and then retorquing the outers. That makes a total of 80 lugs; MFR recommends redoing it every 2000 miles.

Yes, I use a torque wrench on my cars as well and torque to the center of the manufacturer's suggested range. Never a problem with stretched lugs or bolts coming off. I feel better knowing that when I get a flat at night in the rain I can count on being able to get the bolts off with the supplied wrench. I'll snug up the replacement wheel and then set the torque when I get home.
 
Originally Posted by BobGoblin
Hi. I bought a torque wrench. What a cool tool!
laugh.gif


Anyway, my tightening torrque for wheel lugs is 88-107 Nm by the book. But previosly by hand I tightened them to over 200 Nm. So this 100 Nm feels unsafe and weak. I can turn about 1/4 turn after 120Nm! I am afraid it is too low torque. What do you think?


Something sounds not right.

140 ft lbs tq is too much for wheel lug nut on most of cars. If you can turn more by hands, something messed up there.
 
Originally Posted by s2krunner
BobGoblin said:
Something sounds not right. 140 ft lbs tq is too much for wheel lug nut on most of cars. If you can turn more by hands, something messed up there.


I agree. Most Kia's are in the 70 - 80 ft. lb. range. His 150+ ft. lbs. may have buggered up (stretched) the bolts beyond their proof load (elastic range). Or, as suggested above, his wrench is not accurate.
 
All the info you need is in this post. Tighten them. Your feel is obviously way off and causing damage. Technique is responsible for a lot more variation in torque than calibration. Sounds like you need some retraining.
Originally Posted by djb
Originally Posted by Kestas
I bought my first torque wrench after 20 years of wrenching. I was surprised how little torque was needed for wheel bolts compared with previously doing it by feel.

My clicker torque wrench was bought from JC Whitney. I calibrated it at work and found it torques 10% light in the range I use it the most.


That's the usual experience. Just because you *can* over-tighten the fastener, and have been doing that for years, does not mean that you *should*.

10% accuracy for the tool is good enough -- that's well within the error range for conditions and technique. If you have a calibration tester available, observe the changes with different grip positions, applying a bit of twist, using a medium socket vs a shallow socket, and a sloppy vs snug socket fit.
 
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I know you are not an experienced mechanic or a mechanic at all but seriously you need to stop. Don't run this garbage you are posting on and on because you cant/wont admit you are wrong under any circumstances as usual, just post your videos and finding problems with your new car and leave advise on wrenching to others that know what are doing.
 
Funny story I just remembered which pertains to this. About 2 years ago I got a call from my nephew, a 35 year old NYC Fireman, a big guy and strong. He got a flat not far from my house and couldn't get the tire off to change it. He called and asked I bring some tools. I grabbed a 3 ton floor jack, a 25" breaker bar, 2' of pipe, sockets and an extension. Long story short two of us couldn't get that tire off. I suggested we stop before we break something. After some cursing of morons using mega power impact tools to tighten up wheels I asked him to call my niece and see if they had road side assistance, which they did. LOL We joked about that too. I hung with him, and the guy who came couldn't get the tire off, without either snapping them off, or using a tool to cut them off, and he didn't have lug nuts with him. He towed the vehicle to a local shop, and the following morning they used "special tools" as described by my nephew to remove the wheel. I'll continue to use a torque wrench. My guess is some fool at a tire shop or service station ran the lugs down with a 1" impact gun.

Oh and we broke two star wrenches. Could I have gotten them off? Most likely, if it were in my driveway, not freezing cold, and I didn't have to be concerned with busting something that wasn't mine. Me I'll stick to my method and using a torque wrench.
 
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