Why Are My Nuts Sooo Tight.

[Zep]

All of the local tyre places seem to have torque wrenches. The trick, it seems, is to use all of the ugga duggas and then use it to make sure the bolts are at least 100nm.

 

[2b1ask1]

All of the local tyre places seem to have torque wrenches. The trick, it seems, is to use all of the ugga duggas and then use it to make sure the bolts are at least 100nm.

Well I'm shocked; I genuinely have never seen one in use in East London/Essex at a tyre shop even Kwick £it

 

[rockits]

Voicey is pretty anal and organised on this exact practice. Every time I have been there he has a torque wrench set for wheels nuts and onlyfor wheel nuts. Always checks every car before it goes out one last time to make sure nuts are torqued correctly.

 

[Zep]

Well I'm shocked; I genuinely have never seen one in use in East London/Essex at a tyre shop even Kwick £it

I should have said, local to me! For all the good it does of course.

 

[jasst]

Most tyre shops have torque wrenches, but very few know how to use them properly, the amount of times I have watched them buzz the bolts up with a nut gun, then put a torque wrench on and it clicks without actually moving the nuts, no no no no no, boils my ****, as anybody with a brain knows the correct way is to do them up part way with nut gun, then tighten them with a torque wrench until it clicks, I've been asked to leave workshops on many an occasion when I point out the error of their ways, needless to say they never get my business again.

 

[CatmanV2]

Voicey is pretty anal and organised on this exact practice. Every time I have been there he has a torque wrench set for wheels nuts and onlyfor wheel nuts. Always checks every car before it goes out one last time to make sure nuts are torqued correctly.

Does he use coppaslip?

C

 

[rockits]

Does he use coppaslip?

C

Not sure about that one. I often have done but I ain't no qualified mechanic.

 

[TimR]

I knew someone would say something about the slip & wheelnuts but as the topic was veering into cahones and fat ar5es suddenly, I lost interest...!
It may not be strictly recommended. If the manual doesn’t state whether their torque settings are dry or not, they are also fairly pointless. Using any kind of lube ( water for example ) on a thread, significantly changes the actual friction involved, & given that you are essentially trying to convert a ‘moment’ ( rotational force ) and translating that into a tensile measurement into the bargain, I’d say it isn’t a deal breaker for most normal people.... Given that people clearly don’t put the wheels on or off very often, it makes life a lot easier in the longer term...Or just blame others for pi55 poor standards of maintenance .It’s not rocket science, is it?

 

[Soenvious]

I knew someone would say something about the slip & wheelnuts but as the topic was veering into cahones and fat ar5es suddenly, I lost interest...!
It may not be strictly recommended. If the manual doesn’t state whether their torque settings are dry or not, they are also fairly pointless. Using any kind of lube ( water for example ) on a thread, significantly changes the actual friction involved, & given that you are essentially trying to convert a ‘moment’ ( rotational force ) and translating that into a tensile measurement into the bargain, I’d say it isn’t a deal breaker for most normal people.... Given that people clearly don’t put the wheels on or off very often, it makes life a lot easier in the longer term...Or just blame others for pi55 poor standards of maintenance .It’s not rocket science, is it?

I think the copper slip, or dry bolt discussion could go on forever without any firm conclusions. The tightness of my bolts, which were dry, would, I think, potentially cause more damage. I will be using a small dab when refitting to protect the threads from seizing.

 

[philw696]

It's an interesting point to lube or not too.
Having worked for Manufacturer's they all come from production dry.
I think for the UK climate it's important to put a little lube on the hubs and studs or bolts due to salty winter weather and the corrosion issues it creates.
When in the UK I used a white water proof grease which worked well and at service time you could always get the wheel off the hub without needing to clout it from behind.
My choice was purely influenced from my years being involved with having boats and using them in the Sea.

 

[conaero]

We see it from time to time.

Maserati wheel nuts should be torqued to 105nm.

I suspect it’s a combination of laziness and 400nm torque guns in the domestic general garages.

If the wheels have not been off in years, heat cycles and corrosion do play a part.

Any workshop worth their salt will wire brush the hub mount, use a smear of copper slip on the mount and on the nuts/bolts and check the torque setting at least twice, once as it comes off the ramp cold and a second time after a road test hot.

Ashley has drilled it into us from the start, he has a few stories from his Meridien days. People often overlook the simple stuff.

Phil, I suspect you have a few too?

 

[Oneball]

We see it from time to time.

Maserati wheel nuts should be torqued to 105nm.

I suspect it’s a combination of laziness and 400nm torque guns in the domestic general garages.

If the wheels have not been off in years, heat cycles and corrosion do play a part.

Any workshop worth their salt will wire brush the hub mount, use a smear of copper slip on the mount and on the nuts/bolts and check the torque setting at least twice, once as it comes off the ramp cold and a second time after a road test hot.

Ashley has drilled it into us from the start, he has a few stories from his Meridien days. People often overlook the simple stuff.

Phil, I suspect you have a few too?

Volvo main dealers didn’t do up a wheel on my sister’s XC90 a few years ago. Didn’t come off but by the time she realised what the noise was and stopped it had damaged the wheel

 

[conaero]

Yes, TBF wheels will rattle and give you some warning.

Starts with a clunk when you brake/accelerate as the wheels move on the loose bolt tapers.

 

[Zep]

I nearly had a wheel fall off my Alfasud back in the day. Lots of clonking on right hand corners. I have been more careful of my nuts since.

 

[conaero]

I nearly had a wheel fall off my Alfasud back in the day. Lots of clinking on right hand corners. I have been more careful of my nuts since.

With an Alfasud it was more likely the entire hub unit coming away

Still not driven one.

 

[Zep]

With an Alfasud it was more likely the entire hub unit coming away

Still not driven one.

That is totally out of order

That only happened once, bottom suspension arm broke off on a speed hump to a pub car park. I was ratted by the time the recovery truck turned up.

 

[philw696]

@conaero I could tell some stories so far resisted but might one day.
The most honorable i have worked for were and hopefully again Toyota with Honda a close second.
The most Glamorous obviously Maserati and we were Lotus too.
The worst Ford and having read Newton's rant I couldn't get out of there quick enough.
Good training is the key element and working with good professional people and sharing knowledge and experience.
Never think you know everything as everyday is a school day in the Automotive World.

 

[Oneball]

You mention Ford, I really liked my mk1 Focus. My boss had a Mondeo at the time. It needed a service and was a bit smoky so he booked it in via fleet. When it came back it wasn’t any better. So fleet booked it into the same garage the following week for another look. Service manger rang my boss up after they’d had it a couple of hours and said “don’t know where you had this serviced last week but we can’t see that they’ve done anything”!

 

[Phil the Brit]

100Nm ( +/- a few)
Use copper some slip or equivalent....

What is 100Nm in English money anyone, I normally do mine up to 55 pounds per square inch. OK?

 

[conaero]

You mention Ford, I really liked my mk1 Focus. My boss had a Mondeo at the time. It needed a service and was a bit smoky so he booked it in via fleet. When it came back it wasn’t any better. So fleet booked it into the same garage the following week for another look. Service manger rang my boss up after they’d had it a couple of hours and said “don’t know where you had this serviced last week but we can’t see that they’ve done anything”!

That’s brilliant....the old blame another garage swerve....blows up in your face!