Retorquing the Lugnuts

Books on the topic seem to have been popular in the 1970s.


Torque And Torque Wrenches


Physics of technology: The Torque Wrench

 

By the way I found that there's such a thing as a ratcheting drive adapter, so that beam style wrench could be converted into a ratchet too (as I was considering it for a torque multiplier).

 

Help the Yankee out! Two weeks ago he had already pulled his hair out. Beam torque wrenchs in the 70's? I bought one back then brand new and broke a head bolt off in a WD45. Through it in the woods where the rest of them belong. Budd nuts on the left side are LH and some wrenches will not torque LH.
Everyone has said everything I will only add does the manual only require a visual inspection? I also do hands on at every service and anytime I pull a new unit or something looks questionable. The ones with aluminum wheels often do not show just turn. How long will it take to R&R all those covers to torque them? You would be amazed how many times I have unscrewed a lug nut by hand because it did not look correct. Then walk up to the driver at the fuel island, in the field, etc. and tell them I just took this off your trailer with my hand. Give my friend Cranky a break, I don't know if he can take much more. Start a new topic or right a book: Old school trucking comrodery, check your neighbors nuts don't pull their pin, or something anything. What happened to trying to help each other out or thanking a problem with someone else's unit could save your, his or someone else's wife and children.

 

Yeah I was comparing the beam type against a torque adapter in the rotating vise today (torquing on square steel stock) and found that I had to be looking staight at the scale line to read it accurately, which wouldn't work well at angles off the wheel, especially if multiplying an error. So the best use of the beam wrench to me is for verifying that my torque adapters are staying set correctly, so that I can use those to test calibration on other types of wrenches. As for the ratcheting socket adapter, it could be useful to position a torque adapter for easy reading too.

 

Next I was able to test the big wrench from England uponst a vise, which I mounted on a grinder stand for portability and positioning (general purpose there). Can only torque on that set up to around 250-300 ft/lb before it either wants to tip over or the stock wants to slip out of the vise jaws (which I tightened as much as I'd care to without a sledge hammer). So I think it would be better to bolt the stock directly to something for high torque tests. However I got a pretty good idea of my wrench accuracy being consitent through low to mid range, it's calibration certificate is in newton meters, and oddly enough it tests more accurately in newton meters than foot pounds, which were around 25 lower than its settings on the scale, while the newton meters were within the margin of error above or below that setting. So I'll dial it in with Nm on my wrench, equivalent to the ft/lbs specified on the nut for best accuracy. The thing about those break back wrenches is that you're not done torquing to its setting until the handle is all the way at the end of its breaking angle, whereas a clicker is done torquing as soon as it hits the tipping point. So far I like the hinged wrench though, it seems less cumbersome than heavier click types I looked at, and can fit the extended depth socket, regular deep socket, extension, adapters, spare nuts, spinner handles, and an automotive monkey wrench in the case (for adjusting its scale at the moment, still gotta determine the monkey conversion to a socket for some unusual 1/2" spinners I found on special, well someone had to need those for something).

Other than that I confirmed with a 1/2" clicker on my latest personal vehicle that its new wheels were under torqued from factory specs (after its test drives), some of the nuts on 3 out of 4 of them needed significant tightening up to 100 ft/lbs. Good practice in that case (& a caveat emptor, the tires were a little low too), almost funny that they bothered to 'Armor All' the sidewalls, and I'm thinking okay, where's my wrench... this also reminds me of the time I picked up a rental rig with newly painted wheels, yet 60psi steer tires (flipped a coin on those lug nuts, and unless I'm standing there with a gauge of some kind, they'll say it checks out I guess), caveat renter too.

 

Wow!

What a thread ... Maybe this thread has been stretched too ...

 

What is that an intermission of a comment, gotta take leak or something?

 

So it wasn't my imagination, I finally got around to torquing on the truck wheels, and found that several were undertorqued on one front wheel, and a couple on the other. The rest were good that I've checked so far (can't really tell by looking at them if you'll get a quarter turn or so, at least a couple I had to ratchet once or twice, since a step was in the way also, could go with a short extension off the front wheels too).

Set the scale to 678 Nm with a 7/8" socket + universal joint connected to a 6-inch spinner handle, which makes it easier to crank around from a 90 degree angle in either direction, and unwind it when I'm done (the 1/2" impact u-joints from Harbor Freight go to 90, unlike most of those). The 4AR wrench is fairly easy to push at the equivalent of 500 ft/lb mark, even from a kneeling position, wasn't sure about this after trying lower torque ranges up high in a vise, which is good because any wider of a case would have to be up on a ski rack. I also confirmed that the ten inch long socket with a short extension was easier to reposition than a 3.5" length socket on a twelve inch extension, like I was thinking (and further, I'll have to try a ratchet adapter to maybe spin it in either direction there, one handed). Didn't time myself, but it wasn't a gruelling exercise, so it's more a matter of memorizing the torque sequence for me (forgot to bring that sheet, and it was like how do you make a ten point star)...

 

You don't need a torque sequence for that since they're already tight. Just go around in a circle pattern and be done with it. This is a truck wheel not the space shuttle.

 

Well I don't know if they're still tight to such an extent the sequence won't make any difference, and I didn't consult NASA on this, just read what manufacturers advise, for instance:

Flange nuts must be kept tight, and studs and nuts should be checked frequently.
Torquing of flange nuts should be done in recommended sequences.

I think it's good practise to always torque them the same way too.