Wheel studs sheared off

[SBMech]

If you want to see what lubing the threads does to a bolt, put (2) 7/16ths bolts in a vice with a spacer in them so there is something for the nut to tighten on.

Leave one dry. Run it down till it seats firmly by hand. Count the number of turns to torque it to 100 lb-ft.

Add lube to the threads of the other one. See how many more turns it takes to get it to 100lb-ft. Then add lube to the surface of the nut and do the same.

You can add almost 3x as much tension on the bolt lubed vs dry. That completely ruins it's elasticity and ability to stretch instead of breaking when it's under a heavy load like hitting a curb, running over rocks or harsh terrain, even a good sized pothole can add tremendous load to the fastener.

They will snap off like a piece of uncooked spaghetti.

 

[4Waters]

Lube ? ? I use Anti seize on the studs - LIGHTLY. Have for years, do you consider it lube?

I use anti seize on the boat trailer

 

[H20 Toie]

Well shit I learn something every day
I have never used a torque wrench on any wheel my entire life
Just used a tire wrench or breaker bar and socket
And that’s a shit load of tire changes on cars trucks and trailers over the years
But I was always sure to have the right lug nuts for the wheel
Seen way to many wheels ruined ex specially The mag wheels back in the 70s and 80s from wrong lug nuts

 

[Kenboat]

Lost a rear aftermarket wheel on my 2015 Mustang GT. The wheel were not hubcentric and I felt on the car with 500 hp the twisting tension must have fatigued the studs to the point of failure. Very careful whit aftermarket wheels after that!

 

[Runs2rch]

Most recent set of tires on My F one fitty they overtightend the lugs causing pedal pulsation on high speed braking Thanks "Big Brand tires "

Newer F150's torque to 150 also. They did better haha

 

[530RL]

If you want to see what lubing the threads does to a bolt, put (2) 7/16ths bolts in a vice with a spacer in them so there is something for the nut to tighten on.

Leave one dry. Run it down till it seats firmly by hand. Count the number of turns to torque it to 100 lb-ft.

Add lube to the threads of the other one. See how many more turns it takes to get it to 100lb-ft. Then add lube to the surface of the nut and do the same.

You can add almost 3x as much tension on the bolt lubed vs dry. That completely ruins it's elasticity and ability to stretch instead of breaking when it's under a heavy load like hitting a curb, running over rocks or harsh terrain, even a good sized pothole can add tremendous load to the fastener.

They will snap off like a piece of uncooked spaghetti.

Excellent advice.

Torque values on fasteners in manuals are assumed to be clean and dry unless otherwise stated.

And different lubricants affect torque values differently.

Reduced Torque with Lubricated Bolts

Lubrication effect on bolt tension and torque.

www.engineeringtoolbox.com

 

[westair]

Discount Tire guy used an impact then a torque wrench on my toy hauler .... I really don't remember seeing anybody do that before.

 

[TimeBandit]

Discount Tire guy used an impact then a torque wrench on my toy hauler .... I really don't remember seeing anybody do that before.

Textbook wrong way to do it.

He already overtorqed them with the impact, the torque wrench just verified they were not undertorqued.

If the torque wrench does not swing at least 90 degrees before "clicking", the lugs are already too tight.

 

[westair]

Textbook wrong way to do it.

He already overtorqed them with the impact, the torque wrench just verified they were not undertorqued.

If the torque wrench does not swing at least 90 degrees before "clicking", the lugs are already too tight.

Good to know!

 

[SBMech]

Textbook wrong way to do it.

He already overtorqed them with the impact, the torque wrench just verified they were not undertorqued.

If the torque wrench does not swing at least 90 degrees before "clicking", the lugs are already too tight.

You can't just say that it's the wrong way to do it. I do that on every single fucking bolt or nut usually.

To run it down and put an initial load on it, then torque to specs.

Granted you did follow up with the has to swing 90 deg, but even that is not really necessary, as long as it moves before it clicks, it will be properly torqued.

I'm so good with my own tools by familiarity and trigger sensitivity, I hardly need to move my torque wrench an 1/8 of a turn to set them once they are run down.

 

[Your ad here]

Textbook wrong way to do it.

He already overtorqed them with the impact, the torque wrench just verified they were not undertorqued.

If the torque wrench does not swing at least 90 degrees before "clicking", the lugs are already too tight.

Depends on how much trigger they pulled while spinning them on with the impact. I spin mine on with the impact lightly then torque them with the torque wrench. No way do I feel like hand spinning 32 lug nuts then taking time to bring them up to spec starting from 0.

 

[rivermobster]

Depends on how much trigger they pulled while spinning them on with the impact. I spin mine on with the impact lightly then torque them with the torque wrench. No way do I feel like hand spinning 32 lug nuts then taking time to bring them up to spec starting from 0.

Yep. This is where those torque sticks come in handy. But you still have to be smarter than the tool.

 

[TimeBandit]

You can't just say that it's the wrong way to do it. I do that on every single fucking bolt or nut usually.

To run it down and put an initial load on it, then torque to specs.

Granted you did follow up with the has to swing 90 deg, but even that is not really necessary, as long as it moves before it clicks, it will be properly torqued.

I'm so good with my own tools by familiarity and trigger sensitivity, I hardly need to move my torque wrench an 1/8 of a turn to set them once they are run down.

I'm not taking away anything from the pros on this site. Some of us have been pulling wheels for 40 plus years.

The average tire store monkey does not fall into that category and I usually hear quite a few ugga dugas on the impact gun and it makes me cringe.

I watch the Costco guys do the same thing many ugga dugas and then a torque wrench that clicks immediately with no swing whatsoever.

The torque sticks help the monkeys but only if they're guns are not turned up all the way which negates the torque sticks ability to do its job.

 

[575cat]

Back to who touched it last ?

 

[rivermobster]

Back to who touched it last ?

Both of the vehicles the OP mentioned had aftermarket wheels on them...

On one, it's clear a installation problem. The studs are Way too short and it also looks like the wrong lug nuts were used, as another member pointed out.

On the other one, not enough details to know what went wrong, but probably another defective installation.

What can we learn from this??

Be VERY PICKY when choosing Who is going to put aftermarket wheels on your vehicle for you!

It's not as simple a job as it might appear to be at first glance.

There are some Very knowledgeable/reputable wheel/tire members on this board.

Use them if you are able.

 

[Badchoices03]

Man...I have changed many tires, cars, trucks, boats, trailers, golf carts in my life, and never once used a torque wrench...a couple of UGHHH UGHHH on the old lug nut star, maybe a foot press on it, and thats about it....I wonder how I went my whole life without an issue...maybe because I slapped the tire and said "thats not going anywhere"??

 

[JUSTWANNARACE]

There is a reason when you go through "tech" at a dragstrip one of the main things they check is that you have the correct wheel studs and cant use a "blind" lug nut, they have to be open ended and the lug stub has to protrude the lugnut.

 

[rivermobster]

Man...I have changed many tires, cars, trucks, boats, trailers, golf carts in my life, and never once used a torque wrench...a couple of UGHHH UGHHH on the old lug nut star, maybe a foot press on it, and thats about it....I wonder how I went my whole life without an issue...maybe because I slapped the tire and said "thats not going anywhere"??

It's because back in the day...

Brake rotors weighed a Ton. You could easily machine em three or four times, before they were too thin to be usable. Also, old school cars had drum brakes (no issues there).

Today?

Everything on a car/truck is manufactured as light as it could possibly be. Brake rotors are now a disposable item, you replace them when you replace the pads.

Overtighten the lugs, and odds are the rotors Will warp, and your brake pedal will pulse under your foot when you apply the brakes.

Less weight is Mostly a good thing.