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Need lug nut torque spec

S

Shoeman

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Bangor, Me.
Gotta replace my rotors this week. Sounds like improper lug nut torque is a primary cause of the warping I have. Betcha the monkeys at VIP who put the BFG's on last winter just blasted 'em on.
So what's the correct torque spec I need for my '00 with the factory 16" alloy wheels?
 
Is the spec the same for steel wheels and the alloys? Just wondering.

Van Buren to Alaska? What's next, the North Pole? :laugh3:
 
I tighten my steel wheels to 80-85 lb/ft.

Just as important is the sequence you tighten the lugnuts. Tighten them in a cross-pattern to a lower torque before going to the final setting. Visualize the 5 lugs in a star pattern and tighten alternating lugs across from each other rather than just going around a circle.
 
Yeah, I always do that, it's burned into my reflexes after years of building racebike motors. I do it in two stages too.
But nobody has said what the specific torque is for the factory alloys. That's what I really need to know.
 
The factory service manual only gives one torque. However, that torque has changed over the years, even though the studs are all 1/2x20. For my '88 the torque was (going from memory here) 100 - 115 ft-lbs.

I always use anti-sieze on the studs, and that requires de-rating the torque by 20% to 25%. I've been using 80 ft-lbs for years on both steel and alloy rims and haven't found any problems. I always use a torque wrench, and I never let tire shops touch my hubs. I carry the wheels to them for mounting and balancing.

I carry a cheapie torque wrench and a Sears "flip" socket (3/4 x 13/16 reversable) in each XJ.
 
Awesome. Thanks for the info. I too like a bit of anti-seize on the studs. I hate that dry "scritch!" sound you get when the dry corroded nut finally breaks loose.
So 80 ft/lbs it is!
 
Speaking of Anti Seaze, have any of you had a repair facility refuse to use thread lock for safety reasons? A friend of mine works for Discount Tire , and I took mine to his store to have the tires spin balanced and rotated, and they informed me and Dad that they removed the anti-seize we applied when changing brake pads, because it was unsafe and would cause a broken wheel stud, or worse. They also wouldn't give Dad a chance to explain our reason for using the stuff, or that he even knew that in the first place. When I talked to the friend later he refered to them as "chuckle heads" several times, because of that and that they lost a center cap off one of the wheels and tried to pass it off as one that was missing when I brought it in (I thought they were talking about valve stem cap, so that was my goof). They found that later and gave it to him to give to me.
 
It should say in the Haynes/Chiltons/FSM manual. I'd check for you, but I'm not anywhere remotely near those books.

Yeah Alaska is awesome. I'm in the AF, reason being why I moved so far away. North Pole?... there is a North Pole, Alaska :)
 
bjoehandley said:
Speaking of Anti Seaze, have any of you had a repair facility refuse to use thread lock for safety reasons? A friend of mine works for Discount Tire , and I took mine to his store to have the tires spin balanced and rotated, and they informed me and Dad that they removed the anti-seize we applied when changing brake pads, because it was unsafe and would cause a broken wheel stud, or worse. They also wouldn't give Dad a chance to explain our reason for using the stuff, or that he even knew that in the first place. When I talked to the friend later he refered to them as "chuckle heads" several times, because of that and that they lost a center cap off one of the wheels and tried to pass it off as one that was missing when I brought it in (I thought they were talking about valve stem cap, so that was my goof). They found that later and gave it to him to give to me.
Click to expand...
Are you talking about thread lcok, or anti-sieze? They aren't the same thing. Notice what I wrote a couple of posts above about the need to reduce the torque by 20% to 25% when using anti-sieze. The goons at a big tire shop use pneumatic impact guns that put out a lot more torque than the spec for DRY studs. They are probebly correct -- use their burp gun on studs lubed with anti-sieze and they probably will strip or snap a few studs.

That's why I don't let those shops touch my wheel studs. I take the rims to them in the MJ, bring 'em home and mount them on the vehicle myself, using a real torque wrench.
 
nate said:
The tire shop I work at has torque sticks we use with the impact guns, then after we check over them by hand with a torque wrench.
Click to expand...
You cannot "check" the torque with the torque wrench unless the gun is set at a torque lower than the required torque. If the gun is set at a higher torque, then the torque wrench will click when it reaches the specified torque. The nut will not be loosened to the required torque. It is ok to run down the nut with a pneumatic gun, then tighten to the final torque with the torque wrench.
 
One thing I have noticed with the alloy wheels is that some lugs can loosen a little after they've been torqued the first time, so check them again after a day or so. I think it's because there's no steel insert for the tapers on the lugs to seat against, and it sometimes gives you a false reading. Retorque them to 80 or so and they'll stay tight from then on.
 
highhilleer said:
You cannot "check" the torque with the torque wrench unless the gun is set at a torque lower than the required torque. If the gun is set at a higher torque, then the torque wrench will click when it reaches the specified torque. The nut will not be loosened to the required torque. It is ok to run down the nut with a pneumatic gun, then tighten to the final torque with the torque wrench.
Click to expand...

you can if you use a beam style torque wrench. The beam style can even show removal torque.

personally I don't think there is anything wrong with using a good quality torque stick. But I am sure a torque wrench could be more accurate.
 
Thanks Captain Obvious.

The torque stick limits the torque to the required torque or lower, so don't need to worry about anything being overtorqued.

highhilleer said:
You cannot "check" the torque with the torque wrench unless the gun is set at a torque lower than the required torque. If the gun is set at a higher torque, then the torque wrench will click when it reaches the specified torque. The nut will not be loosened to the required torque. It is ok to run down the nut with a pneumatic gun, then tighten to the final torque with the torque wrench.
Click to expand...
 
Eagle said:
That's why I don't let those shops touch my wheel studs. I take the rims to them in the MJ, bring 'em home and mount them on the vehicle myself, using a real torque wrench.
Click to expand...

That's nice if you don't live in a state where the goons are REQUIRED to pull wheels for the annual inspection!

I know a number of folks who loosen and retorque as soon as they get home afterward, tho. I should.

Den
 
DenLip said:
That's nice if you don't live in a state where the goons are REQUIRED to pull wheels for the annual inspection!

I know a number of folks who loosen and retorque as soon as they get home afterward, tho. I should.

Den
Click to expand...
You're right, and I hadn't thought of that. I guess in that situation I'd try to find an inspection shop where the goons are as un-goonlike as possible, carry in my torque wrench, and insist that they use it even if I had to pay an extra $10 for their "lost time."
 
I did mean Anti-Seize (just miss-spelled it once), this shop also uses those "torque sticks" and dropped air line pressure to keep from over tightening the studs. After this incident Dad told me he was involved in a study at Iowa State in the 60's where it was discovered that the difference was what you mentioned, but has also used Anti-Seize for more than 3 decades without incident on a large number of vehicles from most domestic manufacturers (including 4 out of the 5 Jeeps we've owned) in most pplications. What really ****ed me off was that the guy at the tire place wouldn't give Dad a chance to explain. That's probably the the last time I do that for anything other than new tires.
 
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