Touching lugnuts at pre-trip

Yeah,for average vehicle work I have got by with Matco,Craftsman or even Harbor Freight on a 318 Magnum intake manifold with the notorious blown plenum gasket.

 

My 360 had that issue. Lived with it for a year and then flogged the truck at 240k

Probably 80% of my basic hand tools are Craftsman, Mastercraft or Westward. Those tools have made me just as much as Snap On or Mac tools would have. Most of those tools get used every day and they're over 9 years old now.

 

You checked during pre trip and nothing was wrong . A driver is not required to torque check them. You did not see anything wrong and the nuts were tight with hand. If the studs snapped or something else fail who knows, the they were good during the pretrip.

 

Any tool no matter the quality or cost is only as good as the man using it

 

Yes,the Problem is metal Plenum gasket on Aluminum intake .Heats up and cools at different temps.It was time involved ,but after the 1/4 aluminum plate off ebay for $60 ,no more fouled plugs,4 more mpg ,lower engine temp and slow idle.Takes a day to do it Right,but Worth it.Cost maybe $100 worth it.No pinging.A good time to replace water pump,bypass hose,thermostat housing etc.JMO

 

On aluminum I go 500. Steel rims I go 550. Nuts are stamped 450-550 IIRC. Been awhile since I've looked though.

 

After having a set of Michigan super B-trains today have a non-functional air-suspension on the pup due to a broken valve... despite just passing safety, I've started to lose my once strong faith in our shop. 99% of the time, there is never a problem... but hey, that 1% is when it's going to be a big deal.

I always look at the nuts and the hub oil level, but only touch them if they seem like there has been some recent change (shiny metal or scratches on wheel).

If I were picking up a trailer that wasn't my company's, you'd be certain I'd being going through absolutely everything with a fine-toothed comb. I did a couple of those this past summer for a local lumber company, found a mostly flat tire that they didn't fix but said they did (after coming back the next day to pick it up).

Dispatch said run it, and if it blows, it's all on them.