Retorquing the Lugnuts

Oh yeah, it's all at bed bath and beyond (or was that home depot)? No.

I think the only other question for me is whether the budget torque multiplier and a small clicker is worth using as a backup (I still have to rig up a jig to test it too). Working on something else DIY at the moment though, changing tires manually on passenger vehicles. Like torque wrenches there are better tools out there for this on trucks.

 

How about torque ryhmes with Bjork!

Aha, she drives trucks too and this topic is somehow iconic (now, how 'bout that). Might have to go bjork something...

 

Not to go in circles with this (well that's wheel maintenance for you), I think it's good to have something for checking its calibration also, or you don't know if the wrench is always set correctly.

Just torqued two wheels with new tires after 50 miles, and one had a couple nuts that took two full wrench turns from parallel (before it bottomed out), so it's useful to take along for the ride, or I'd still have a ways to go with loose lugs.

Or actually I did. Next day, checked the wheel again (around a hundred miles from the first retorque), and two nuts tightened a quarter turn, same two I think. Checked it a hundred miles from there, and one still had to be snugged up. So I'd say any time a wheel nut is significantly loose, it could take two or three retorques to get it set. That's probably why they recommend checking frequently, especially after taking a wheel apart or finding any that need tightened (although they don't say it directly for tire changes, just the one rebjork, and something about it doesn't sound right). Guess I'll make that four retorques on this to see if the third time was a charm.

All too funny in a way, the tire people leave a note to have a certified technician retorque them once. Alright, so I'm more qualified in this case (not to brag, but good to know).

 

Yeah, I've been learning lately how significant it can be to get them retorqued sooner than later. Two more tire changes tell me that you never know... one set of steel wheels held its torque completely, then a set of aluminum wheels almost completely lost it. Another driver had rolled on them for 300 miles before I had the opportunity to check, and the wrench was literally falling toward the ground in my hands, until I had ratcheted it a few times, so all the nuts had gotten at least three full turns under their initial torque. I don't think it was too far from a wheel flying off after that relatively short of a distance. Both wheels looked about the same though. A visual inspection isn't going to tell us much. Most certainly it's a known issue, so go by the wheel makers recommendations, or else... good luck with that.

 

Finally got around to testing my wrench calibration at higher torque too. Used the pipe jaws of that multi purpose vise (which I bolted down to a bench, instead of a stand), and those bit into a 3/4 drive socket, so it couldn't spin. Found that I should have this wrench set nearer to 450 than 500 for best accuracy, to maximum (it had tested closer to its setting at lower torque, possibly because my stand was flexing). However, the majority of lugs I tested did not move when I had it set higher, so it isn't uncommon for them to be 50 lbs or so over (some of my readings were over 600 with it set at 500, while it was about 525 at most when set at 450, torquing really slow there). I'd say if you can't test your wrench, its safest to set it at 450 (as breaking torque doesn't likely factor in as high as miscalibration).