So, the age old argument renewed. Lug nuts lube or no lube?

[French G.]

And to add, mercifully most things on a Sikorsky helicopter specified a lube. And while most run of the mill morons tried to confuse inch pounds with foot pounds and wonder why teeny little bolt go snap I did get to QA for one weapons grade moron. Why yes, I think it's just grand that you figured out how to torque the four bolts that hold the helicopter up in the sky without that pesky 6 foot long torque wrench that everyone hates...  Now if you could please put that wee little inch lb wrench away and attempt to achieve 350 ft. lbs on those bolts I'd appreciate it.

[280plus]

Newest mental note. Helicopter? NFW  

Cool, so here's the story so far. Daughter takes the truck to a place her friends recommended to get the tires rotated. Next thing you know it gets an "alignment" 30 days after they did the ball joints and put an alignment on it at the Ford dealer. She also tells me the emergency brake is broken. They took the drums off the rear to inspect the brakes that were inspected 30 days ago and parts fell out on the passenger side. Things are dangling and could get wrapped around this and damage that. I call the dealer, he cries and says he already spent too much money prepping the truck and as is is as is. Which I knew he was going to say but I had to do it to quiet the ladies down here if you know what I mean.

Then I call this other shop and the "owner" says, yup I have the part here and it's broken. Doesn't tell me what part. So, I go down and pull the drum myself and what do I find but one of the shoe return springs missing and it's the one that holds the ear looking thing that the little cable for the self adjustment mechanism wraps around. The little cable is what was dangling and the little lever thing on the bottom was being held in by only the pressure of it's associated spring. Nothing at ALL to do with the E brake. Capable of great damage? Absolutely. It took me about 2 minutes to get the cable off and get the lever and spring out of there. Less actually. These idiots sent it out like that. He had the end of the cable stuffed into the shoe retainer spring.

So I had to buy TWO hardware kits. One for the spring and another for the ear looking thing. Plus the axle seal and wheel cylinder are leaking on that side. So I put it right for now and the plan is on Sunday do the seal, wheel cylinder, replace the shoes (because for $20 why not?) and use up all that nice new hardware I had to buy. Meanwhile daughter is under strict instruction to never take it anywhere for mechanical work again without telling me first.

[280plus]

And I guess I'll be adding a little dab of anti seize around the bolt holes  those alloy rims too. And speaking of too tight. Yes, I had to stand on the lug wrench to break them free. I have to admitto being a slug and not ever torquing mine.But I do happen to have this torque wrench that I never use so...

[bedlamite]

And speaking of too tight.

Picked up a VW Bug years ago for parts. I don't remember the exact metric spec for torque on the rear axle nut, but it worked out to a little over 200 ft-lbs. After soaking it with penetrating oil overnight, we had two pieces of C channel bolted to to the drum, and me bouncing on the end of a 6 foot pipe over a 3/4" breaker bar to finally break it loose. Ruined the drum in the process, but the axle was still good.

[MechAg94]

I have mostly driven new vehicles the last 15 years, but drove older vehicles before that.  I have NEVER had rusted lug nuts or bolts, but I think I have seen that on older trailers and such.  I've never lubed the luggs.  I have been using Discount Tire locations for tires down here for some time.  Never had trouble with them overtightening anything.  I guess they use regulated impact wrenches or maybe I am lucky.  Weighing over 200 lbs, I can usually put some weight on the lug wrench and break the bolts.  Talking to others around here, most guys do use never sieze at least on boat trailers and such, and prefer that or some lube on bolt.  Live and learn I guess.

Here at work, we have 4 big reciprocating hydrogen compressors.  The mechanics generally use never-seize compound on just about every compressor bolt and flange bolt in the plant.  We generally try to use coated bolts.  Raw steel anything rusts immediately here along the Gulf Coast, and raw bolts would be nearly rusted through in 5 years.

[Brad Johnson]

At the Discount Tire stores in Lubbock they have one guy (presumably a managerial type) that checks all the lug nuts with an actual torque wrench before the vehicle is released.  I was pretty impressed by that.

Brad

[AmbulanceDriver]

I got the tires for my truck here at the local Costco.   Was really impressed when I watched them hand spin all the lugnuts on and then hand torque each one.  Even more impressed with the fact that they did it twice.  Once while on the lift with the little tire grabber block in place, an once more to check once it was on the ground.   Triply impressed by the fact that they torqued them on in a star pattern

[zxcvbob]

I remove lug nuts with an impact wrench (if it's handy), and I also use it to spin them back on barely-snug.  Then I tighten them by hand, and I go around the wheel twice.

[280plus]

Picked up a VW Bug years ago for parts. I don't remember the exact metric spec for torque on the rear axle nut, but it worked out to a little over 200 ft-lbs. After soaking it with penetrating oil overnight, we had two pieces of C channel bolted to to the drum, and me bouncing on the end of a 6 foot pipe over a 3/4" breaker bar to finally break it loose. Ruined the drum in the process, but the axle was still good.

I had to go back and read that again. I thought, "200 f lbs on lug nuts? What kind of VW IS this? I mean, I know them Germans are nuts and all but ,,," lol

[Tallpine]

wd-40 

 

[AZRedhawk44]

A good way to sum this whole thread:

If it's worth screwing, then it's worth using lube.

[lupinus]

A good way to sum this whole thread:

If it's worth screwing, then it's worth using lube.

Especially on the rear, as I understand it.

[Tallpine]

A good way to sum this whole thread:

If it's worth screwing, then it's worth using lube.

If your nuts are too tight, a little lube will help them come off 

[Hawkmoon]

Meanwhile daughter is under strict instruction to never take it anywhere for mechanical work again without telling me first.

This is the most important part. And never to "a friend who is going to do [me] a favor by working on it."

Several decades ago, when I was married to wife v1.0, we had a friend ... who worked as a carpenter and drove a pickup truck on construction sites.

One fine day I followed him somewhere and I noticed something hanging down beneath his rear axle. It turned out to be the steel brake line from the junction on the axle tube to the left rear wheel. Yep ... his "friend" (who ran "the best" repair shop in town) had done a brake job. The line on that side was rusted out, so he replaced it ... with a piece of brake line at least a foot or eighteen inches too long. Rather than cut it to the right length and make a new flare (which was probably beyond his capability, even though Mr. Non-mechanic me could do it), he just coiled up the extra length and left it hanging there ... ready to be grabbed and ripped off the axle by the first convenient rock or stump. (Did I mention that my friend worked on construction sites? Yes? Thought so.)

Yes, there is a reason I never trust a shop to do anything on which my life and safety or that of my wife and daughter might depend.

[Hawkmoon]

I got the tires for my truck here at the local Costco.   Was really impressed when I watched them hand spin all the lugnuts on and then hand torque each one.  Even more impressed with the fact that they did it twice.  Once while on the lift with the little tire grabber block in place, an once more to check once it was on the ground.   Triply impressed by the fact that they torqued them on in a star pattern

That is, indeed, impressive. I can't imagine any shop around here doing that, but it's exactly the way it should be done.

[KD5NRH]

That is, indeed, impressive. I can't imagine any shop around here doing that, but it's exactly the way it should be done.

Only takes a few extra seconds per wheel with a clicker wrench.  Spin them on to a brief rattle with the impact and finish with the clicker.

Just more convenient with the 4-way on the side of the road.