How to Tighten Lug Nuts

[FIRE UP]

But I would want one with a ratchit style head

Yep, mine has one and it's very handy with that style head.
Scott

[A Traveler]

Originally Posted by Journey cat

...Im looking for opinions as how others may handle this task...

I call the nearest truck tire shop.

This kind of work is not for the weekend amateur with Rube Goldberg tools.

[C.Martin]

Take them off with 1" air impact wrench...put them back on with 100-600 ft-lb 4ft long torque wrench...with bolt pattern written onto plastic case for remembering
..

[FL420]

Originally Posted by C.Martin

Take them off with 1" air impact wrench...put them back on with 100-600 ft-lb 4ft long torque wrench...with bolt pattern written onto plastic case for remembering
..

This is exactly the way it should be done. Those of you putting your faith in a tire shop expecting "trained professionals" better stay away from Premier Tire LLC in Livingston, Texas.
Just one of the very many unprofessional practices I observed them using when I had to buy new tires from them due to circumstances beyond my control. They removed and reinstalled my wheels using only the impact wrench shown by C.Martin above. When I insisted they torque them to the 500 ft.lbs. required in my owner's manual or at least to the 450 ft.lbs. minimum imprinted on the lug nuts they said they couldn't afford a proper torque wrench and they could get "close enough" with the impact wrench.
After leaving there I drove up to Lufkin to a real tire shop where 2 guys(one to operate the proper-sized lug wrench and the other to hold the socket on the nuts) checked all 40 and torqued them to 500 ft.lbs. They said the tightest one they checked was 325 ft.lbs. and 2 of them were barely finger tight.
Unfortunately, the recommendation to use Premier was from the manager of the Escapee's Rainbow Park as relayed through a park volunteer.

[wa8yxm]

Originally Posted by 1doodadd

Scott, Don't take this the wrong way, But thats some High End Red Neck Engineering.


I just use my 1 inch air impact gun. The same way the tire work in done on my T800 KW Heavy Haul tractor.

Mine is a tad smaller and can just barely do the job.

But yes. Same idea..

OH and I once changed a tire on a Ford F-350 Custom (10K option) straight truck. when the poor tire guy tried to get it off.. Id tightened the lugs so tight his BIG (3/4 or 1" not sure which) wrench.. was sweating as it were. Ok so I'm big and I'm strong

I was using the standard lug wrench clamped to the inner fender under the hood, like the one for your car. not a special tool at all.

[PbdBlue]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

"Redneck" is my middle name. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do in my neck of the woods.
Scott



Now that was cracking me up. Yep, the slots just make for way smoother use rather than disconnecting the wrench, poking the extension through a hole, then re-connecting the wrench to the extension.
Scott



Yeah, before I built that slotted tower, I was using a jack stand with different levels of plywood. Talk about a pain in the a$$. I knew I had to come up with something better and more efficient. My explanation took a lot of words on how to build it. But, if anyone looks at the pictures, and has even the slightest hint of ingenuity and a tad bit of wood working skills, as stated, you can knock one of these out in about 1-2 hours. And if one REALLY wants to get fancy, you can STAIN it and coat it with Urethane to make it look REAL pretty.



Hey Journey Cat,
You're quite welcome. Every once in a while, I get to actually HAVE FUN in my man cave, behind the motorhome. That was a FUN project. And, it doesn't take up much room for storage when not in use. It sits anywhere or, you could pop a small hole in the top of it and hang it some place.


By the way, to all who've commented on my little gizmo, here's the only commercially produced assist for torquing those lugs that I've found so far. It's considerably larger than my little contraption but, it still works. It DEFINITELY COSTS a bit more than mine too.
Scott

Hmmm.....seems like one could build something similar out of plywood. Maybe two 3/4" sheets back to back?

[Journey cat]

Hmmm .... And i will . Christmas is comming early this year

[Mr_D]

Some time ago I traded a personal protective device for a Proto torque multiplier. I have to apply 151 ft lbs to get 500 ft lbs with it. So far I haven't had a need to use it with the present rig but did with the previous one.

[jerboy]

Is there a different torque spec for Alcoa wheels than steel?

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by jerboy

Is there a different torque spec for Alcoa wheels than steel?

Nope, 450 ft. lbs. on all four corners of mine.
Scott

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by PbdBlue

Hmmm.....seems like one could build something similar out of plywood. Maybe two 3/4" sheets back to back?

I had thought about that when my son sent me the video on that thing the first time. I watched it a couple of times and, looked around for some plywood. Didn't have any at the time and, around here in southwest AZ, Home Depot's price on even the cheapest 3/4" plywood hovers around $20 if I'm not mistaken. So, I came up with what you see in the pictures. I had that wood and, the time to goof around with it to get it to what you see. Besides, it acts as a doorstop 'till I need it for its real intended purpose.
Scott

[jerboy]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Nope, 450 ft. lbs. on all four corners of mine.
Scott

Thanks Scott

[fcbbob15]

Fire Up has it right. I use air to remove and install and then torque. Mine torque to 450 ft pounds and I use a 0-750 torque wrench I purchased on Amazon. Not something I want to guess at. We boondock a lot and and also carry a spare.

[BonS]

Here's an idea for a homemade torque wrench that is pretty darn accurate, low cost, and not too bulky to stow. This is the IRV2 link: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/wheel...cs-149739.html