my torque wrenches havent left the drawer for lug nuts..... impact wrench "3 hits after tight" and its good to go....

over the years I've only sheared a dozen or so lugs

I do take it easy on the AMG wheels because the donkey **** looking lugs can be "over tightened " but every other vehicle gets the impact!!!

 

I do it everyday at least 6 times. From Expeditions to F-150's to Ford Vans, it is very easy to torque to 150 ft lbs.

If any of you have any doubt as to what the 12mm lugnuts should be torqued to, it's stamped on the damn lugnut 100 ft lbs.

Can't anymore positive than that. Ford wants 150 ft lbs on a 14mm lugnut, that is what we do and with a little anti-seize as well.

 

Ok, then maybe some can torque them to 150ft-lbs but not mine. As much as I could get putting my 200lbs into it was 130ft-lbs which was well more then actually needed. Lug nuts should never have to be torque to such a force you have to put your entire body weight into it or use a air gun to get them tighten correctly.

And yes it is true that if you put a bit of lubricant, such as anti-seize on a stud it will help give you a more accurate load applied to the threads. Oil or lubrication will not affect the torque placed on a bolt and it will not cause it to loosen up…

Lug nuts are not a normal wear and tear items that need scheduled replacement unless you’re changing tires every weekend racing. For normal use the lug nuts should last as long as the vehicle does.

Ford tends to over torque everything. Hell it took driving a screwdriver into the stock oil filter to get it off…

 

Thanks Tim for the link, nothing like more information to learn from...

 

I do agree that oil on studs do help with torqueing of head, etc is good practice.

However since this is about lug nuts, a 5 page thread is actually quite simple - look in a ford shop manual, tsb's, ssm, recall info on 97-98 f150's etc for what ford themselves call for.


As for the 150 ft.lbs - i just push down on my tourque wrench and let it click - maybe its just my tourque wrench (25-250 lbs) but it doesn't seem to bad. If they do feel like they are streetching then they just might be, for example i just put on my traction bars (lakewoods) and i tourqued them to 55 ft.lbs, this was laying on my back but it felt a lot harder then when i put my wheels back on and torqued them to 150. The bars felt harder as the wrench just would not want to click - due to the brackets deforming some under the load (upper plate), where as a lug nut should not really move much if any from say 130 to 150 ft.lbs as it is solid.

That reminds me of a tempo that i tourqued them to 100 ft.lbs, all but 1 stud on 1 wheel torqued properly, but one just did not feel right (would not reach 100 ft.lbs) - pulled the wheel back of and that lug was stretching before i ever reached 100 ft.lbs.

BTW - the trucks that run on the train tracks that have special wheels are torqued between 180 - 200 ft.lbs. (dry)

as for studs being maitence - metals are not the same as they were 20 years ago - they are less pure due to recycled metals. Studs/nuts are cheap insurance - personally if they look/feel good i leave them but if there is any question then i replace them. Also you can tell if they stretch be retouquing every so often.

 

I use a Craftsman 1/2 in. square drive torque wrench with a digital readout. It measures 25 to 250 ft. lb. in 2 ft. lb. increments. I apply a little never seize on the threads and then torque the lug nuts to 150 ft. lbs. and I have never had any problems.

 

I've got a 150lb craftsman 24" torque wrench, and its what I always put my lug nuts to. Was never hard to do on my truck? *shrug* I use and impact wrench to take them off and put'm on, then touch it up with the torque wrench. My impact wrench is "rated" for 150ft/lbs, but its electric, so doesn't always get there.

 

Holy old post torqueman.