Torque questions

[idlerockfarm]

Could someone please explain to me how to correctly torque the lug nuts? I believe the salesman made an error and used 120 ft/lbs instead of 75. I have a Quicksilver 6.0. Regular sized wheels.

What do I do now? Reset them at 75 ft/lbs?

This forum has made owning a 6.0 seem much less "solo" and intimidating as I'm the first of my friend group with a towable so far.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

[admin]

Resetting them to factory specs would not be a bad idea. Do you have a torque wrench? If so it's as simple as loosening the nuts and retightening. Remember anytime you are tightening lug nuts you want to do it evenly and in a star pattern.

With that said, if it were me personally I wouldn't worry about it but I'm just some faceless name on the internet When in doubt always go with the factory recommendation.

[spot1]

Here's a good link on wheel lug nut torque. Like Sean said, use LivinLite torque values.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=107

[idlerockfarm]

Thank you.  I'll loosen and then tighten to LL recommendations.  My torque wrench awaits at Ace Hardware.

[drdave]

After you torque them down break out the lug wrench you keep in your vehicle and make sure you can break one loose should the need arise on the side of a cold dark rainy highway.  

I found out the hard way with my my wife's car.  luckily in daylight with help nearby, that I, and the dinky lug wrench included with the car jack, were no match for the torqued lugnuts.    Since then I bought a breaker bar and deep well sockets for both our vehicles.    

[jgivand]

Does anyone have a recommendation of a good torque wrench to get (new owner)?

[pinstriper]

Harbor Freight

[billmoore]

I have this one:

http://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-1-2-in-Drive-Click-50-ft-lbs-to-250-ft-lbs-Torque-Wrench/3381202

It is probably 5 years old now, works great. I also have a smaller one for lower torque values, but don't remember what brand it is, that one I've had for at least 10 years...

[gnies]

What I have been doing is just taking a regular wrench and verify if they are loose or not by putting some force on it. Should I stop doing that and use a torque wrench?

[billmoore]

With drum brakes like are on our trailers, exactly evenly torqued lug nuts are not as critical so that is better than nothing. For cars and trucks with disk brakes I wouldn't do it though - unevenly torqued lug nuts can warp the rotors.

The danger with not using a torque wrench, especially if using a big breaker bar, is that you could significantly over torque the lugs without knowing it. My torque wrench has a handle that is over 2 ft long, so to get 120 ft-lbs, I only need to apply about 60 lbs to the end of the handle. I've seen people put their entire body weight into a lug wrench, and even bounce on it. Probably have it torqued to over well over 200 ft-lbs when they do that. That can fatigue the lugs and lead to failure.

[gnies]

[quote timestamp="1469648046" author="@billmoore" source="/post/23459/thread"]With drum brakes like are on our trailers, exactly evenly torqued lug nuts are not as critical so that is better than nothing. For cars and trucks with disk brakes I wouldn't do it though - unevenly torqued lug nuts can warp the rotors.

The danger with not using a torque wrench, especially if using a big breaker bar, is that you could significantly over torque the lugs without knowing it. My torque wrench has a handle that is over 2 ft long, so to get 120 ft-lbs, I only need to apply about 60 lbs to the end of the handle. I've seen people put their entire body weight into a lug wrench, and even bounce on it. Probably have it torqued to over well over 200 ft-lbs when they do that. That can fatigue the lugs and lead to failure.[/quote]
There is a torque wrench on sale at canadian tire I'll go buy it

[fasteddieb]

Harbor Freight

Beat me to it.

They go on sale from time to time for $9.99, and get the job done. I have two, one 3/8" and one 1/2".

[thudd3r]

good old hazard fraught... [a href="http://itsamanslife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ToolSale.pdf"]hazard fraught mailer[/a]

hurry up and get you meglinating variable intensity multifunction power tool before the price goes back up!

[cruiserdon]

120 FT LBS IS WAY TOO MUCH FOR LUGS!!!!! 90 FT LBS MAX!!!!