Date:         Fri, 19 Jul 2002 18:59:20 -0500
Reply-To:     Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Lug Nut Tightening Comments (long)
Comments: To: email99@BELLSOUTH.NET
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

My Reply.
Short.
Duh! I was expecting #1 through #10, you must have skipped something.

Stan Wilder
83 Air Cooled Westfalia
Lugs torqued just like the driver.

----------------------
On Fri, 19 Jul 2002 19:45:28 -0400 Ed McLean <email99@BELLSOUTH.NET>
writes:
> With all the discussion on lug nuts and impact wrenches I would like
> add
> a few comments of my own:
>
> 1.      When I buy tires or have them rotated I insist a torque
> wrench
> be used to insure the lug nuts are tightened correctly.  I also ask
> what
> torque specifications will be used.  Most tire stores have
> specification
> books and many times the torque specs are also written right on the
> wheel bearing dust cover, wheel or brake disc.  If torque
> specifications
> are not followed, loose wheels, frozen lug nuts, stripped lug nuts,
> rounded off lug nuts, and broken lug bolts may occur.
>
> 2.      I always watch the technician actually install the wheels
> to
> make sure he knows how to use the torque wrench.  I once watched a
> kid
> carefully install the lug nuts by hand, tighten the nuts with a
> click
> type torque wrench until it "clicked", and then give it an
> additional
> healthy tug to make sure they were tight.  He was trying but he
> just
> didn't have a clue.
>
> 3.      If the technician doesn't install the lug nuts in the
> correct
> manner I report to the person who wrote the service order and
> request
> that the lug nuts/bolts be hand torqued correctly.  If he will not
> have
> them torqued properly, I won't pay.  It was part of the deal.
>
> 4.      Most all chain tire stores have poster that indicated the
> correct way to install lug nuts.  Just ask the sales person to
> explain
> it to you.  Then ask him to make sure the technician follows the
> directions exactly.  (This also works to insure the tire mounter
> uses
> the proper lubrication when pulling the tire over the rim.  This is
> important with tires with stiff or reinforced side walls, such as
> the
> MXL's or light truck tires.)
>
> 5.      Some tire stores use a calibrated "Torque Stick" to install
> lug
> nuts.  These are not designed for final tightening but to insure lug
> nuts are not over tightened before they are given their final
> torque
> check with a torque wrench.  Torque Sticks are not accurate unless
> the
> impact wrench used with them has been calibrated with the Torque
> Stick.
> If an installer insists on using Torque Sticks because "they are
> accurate", ask him to let you see the records of impact wrench
> calibration.  I personally do not allow the use of torque sticks
> because
> the wheel is generally tightened one lug at a time, a procedure
> that
> will induce excessive stress when the second lug is tightened.
> Wheels
> lugs should be tightened in a crisscross pattern in a stepwise
> manner.
>
> 6.      It is not only tire stores that don't install wheel
> correctly.
> On a recent trip to our local Volvo dealer I watched a mechanic use
> an
> impact wrench to mount wheels.  After a short discussion, the
> service
> manager used a Snap-On dial type torque wrench to remove a lug nut
> that
> was supposed to be torqued to 63 ft. lbs.  It required more than 150
> ft.
> lbs. to break it loose...  The service manager then, without
> comment,
> loosened and retorqued all 20 lug nuts.
>
> and finally:
>
> 7.      Everyone should have a 6 point impact socket and a torque
> wrench
> to use on their lug nuts.  These are not expensive ($7 at Sears a
> 1/2"
> drive 19 mm black impact socket and $19.99 for a 1/2" drive beam
> type
> torque wrench).  These sockets are designed for maximum grip on the
> lug
> nuts and will eliminate most problems with the socket slipping off
> and
> rounding off the nut or bolt head.  Never use a 12 point socket on
> lug
> nuts or lug bolts.  The impact sockets are usually black and are
> cheap
> compared to cutting off even one rounded off lug nut or broken
> bolt.
> The beam type torque wrench is probably more accurate than an dial
> or
> micrometer type torque wrench that has never or not recently been
> calibrated.  It is certainly good enough for alloy wheels.
>
> 8.      If you lubricate your lug nuts/bolts with oil or antisieze,
> you
> have to change the torque specifications to adjust for the
> lubrication.
> Generally, torque should be reduced by 20 to 30 percent, depending
> on
> the lubricant you use to insure proper bolt tension.  You must find
> out
> what your oil/antisieze specifications are before you do this.
> However,
> don't take my word for it.  Find out for yourself.
>
> I think that about covers it from me.
>
> Ed McLean
>

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