Lug nut tightening

Lynnmor wrote:

DUNEBUGGYDOUG wrote:
I have never lost a wheel , ruined a wheel, bent a wheel and have never torqued a wheel lug nuts I have had ATV'S, dune buggies, trailers and motorhome , plus drag cars and street cars. I just never really saw the need to torque, it is not like engine work.I am 73 years young and been messing with cars and such since I was 14 .Not saying I am right or wrong , just saying .

OK, then. I'll say you are wrong. To advise anyone to ignore the proper tightening of something as important as fasteners for wheels is just plain wromg.

Many of us have seen loose, too tight and stripped lugs over the years.

Like it's so complicated and time consuming to do.

I think my owner's manual or Dexter, recommends checking after 50 miles if a wheel has been removed and again at 200. I check mine periodically and, occasionally, gain a bit on one or two.

As mentioned, the side loading on TT wheels puts more strain on them than car or truck wheels.

Cheap insurance:

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-drive-click-type-torque-wrench-239.html
Often on sale for $11.99 or less.

Old-Biscuit wrote:

Like it's so complicated and time consuming to do.

My manual says to check the torque at 50, 100 and then at 200 miles after the wheel has been removed and reinstalled. I do it. I have found lug nut torque to vary slightly but have never come loose.

I check them after the first 50 and once a year after that. But, I'm just a weekend camper and only put about 1600 miles on last year.

I lube torque mine to 95 ftlbs. Ck them when convienient after a repack.

What you are doing is tensioning a bolt, in reality stretching it. You do this
Torque is simply a measure of the twisting force required to spin the nut up along the threads of a bolt, whereas tension is the stretch or elongation of a bolt that provides the clamping force of a joint. Bolts are designed to stretch just a tiny bit, and this elongation is what clamps the joint together. Torque is a very indirect indication of tension, as many factors can affect this relationship, such as surface texture, rust, oil, debris, thread series and material type just to name a few. There are tables that will tell you which torque value to use for each bolt/lug-nut size and lubricated vs dry.
This is one example http://www.countrytrailer.com/WNDisplayItem.ASP?NUMBER=25
I use antisieze and the lower torque value, take the lugs to 10 foot pounds below value do one sequence then 5 below and the final tightening.

Yes. at 50 and 100 and before any new season trip and at first stop on a trip feel the hub to compair bearing heat rise... some preload needs to be on the spindle nut... full tight, then spin the wheel to position cage and rollers, on reassembly to firmly seat those newly greased bearings..then back one slot.. If no preload to share the weight the three bottom rollers carry all the load/weight and sometimes will let the inner race spin on the spindle.

BobJoh wrote:
Yes. at 50 and 100 and before any new season trip and at first stop on a trip feel the hub to compair bearing heat rise... some preload needs to be on the spindle nut... full tight, then spin the wheel to position cage and rollers, on reassembly to firmly seat those newly greased bearings..then back one slot.. If no preload to share the weight the three bottom rollers carry all the load/weight and sometimes will let the inner race spin on the spindle.

There is NO PRELOAD. You are to run a small amount of CLEARANCE.

You will find similar warnings, not "every 50 miles" but more like "50 miles after a wheel has been removed and replaced" in the manuals for medium duty trucks, and lighter trucks with dual wheels. You will find the precaution in the safety instructions packaged with almost all aftermarket alloy wheels. Dig deeply enough, you might find the same precaution in the owners manual for your car..

Call it lawyer's CYA, but it is because of a real problem, when first torqued a wheel might not be seated properly.

Dealers, tire shops, sometimes work around the problem on passenger cars by overtightening, which brings its own risks. Tire shop I use most for my cars, and alignment shop that takes care of wheels, tires, brakes on my RV, tell me "come back after 50-100 so we can check the torque on the lug nuts." Obviously, they treat it seriously. It is something I take care of myself, at least seasonally. Typically, 2-3 of the 32 lug nuts will tighten a little more when rechecked. None have been close to backing off.

Delivering used cars, from dealers to the shop where I worked, I have lost a wheel while moving. It taught me to check, and made me dislike wheel covers in principal. This is something that doesn't happen all at once, one or two nuts come off, additional load snaps the rest of the lugs. If you hear something rolling around inside a wheel cover, would be a good idea to check it out.