If I am not mistaken, a typical torque wrench will not have the high torque value you will need. Most shops use a "torque multiplier", to increase the torque required for truck lug nuts.
Hi G, you're right. A typical 33mm truck lug nut should be torqued to 450-500 ft/lbs. We used an inch drive impact to take them off.
We had our mech. use torque paint and place a little dab on the nut and rim. We also had those cheap plastic indicators ( 50¢ each ) that worked very well. I always got a kick out of a driver when they had baby moons on the front to look good. Hey why not, they even looked good in the compound yard after the wreck.
A 1 inch drive torque wrench will go high enough. Unfortunately they are 5 feet long and a good one runs 8 to 12 hundred dollars. A bit cost prohibitive for a typical driver to pack.
I would like to get one of those X14 torque wrenches. Would like to at least rotate my own wheels around. Also I think just jacking up the front axle to grease the kingpins might not be enough-- take that heavy wheel off and grease it up to take absolutely all the bind out of the kingpins. Whenenver I have my steers rotated or replaced, I always sneak into the shop and grease the spit out of the kingpins with the wheels off.
i have seen shops leave lug nuts loose before. i need to get a tq wrench as i occasionally do my own tires these days and also do my own repairs that sometimes require removal of the rims ie breaks ect. got a 1 inch impact honestly im more afraid of over tqing than i am leaving one loose witch is why i need to get a tq wrench. if I'm on the road though i go to a shop. watch them and make sure they put a tq wrench on the lugs if they don't ask them too. unless its a steer tire I'm limping to a tire shop rather than getting a roadside. safer/cheaper.
I punctured a steer on a gravel road. That's one advantage to having stud-piloted wheels...roll an inside tire up onto a block and you can pull the outside wheel off while your jack is under the steer. Was able to get my load dumped off and drive to a tire shop to buy a new steer tire and have the drive tire moved back to where it belonged...for less than half what it would have cost me for the service call.
Wheel nuts are supposed to be retorqued within 50 miles of being installed. Rather then carry a torque wrench I usually stop at a tire shop and get it done
Most if not all reputable tire shops will no longer single out a position, and it could result in an OOS if stopped. Changes in the rules in early 2014. Twice in the last 8 months I've had a flat or blowout and asked the shop to single it out so I can get home, every time they refused, TDS will hand you a copy of the rules explaining why.
