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Torque Wrench Safety Question



 
 
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  #1  
Old May 30th 20, 03:23 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Posts: 539
Default Torque Wrench Safety Question

I recently bought a torque wrench - the modern shaft collar design, 20-150ft lb torque,
and the appropriate size six point sockets for the lugnuts on mine and my wife's cars.

I recently loosened and re-torqued my wife's wheel lugnuts to spec, or maybe 1lb over,
but what was really scary was how tight they were on, initially. Of course I used her
tire iron, and not my new wrench! to loosen the lugs at each wheel, and for most of them,
I was able to STAND ON THE TIRE IRON and ride it down to loosen those nuts! I'm
guessing whoever last tightened them must have been to 100 or even 200 ft/lbs. WTH?!

The torque spec for her car's wheel lugnuts is 76 ft/lbs, so I set the wrench to about 77,
retorqued each wheel, then moved on to the next one: Loosen, retorque, 5X.

My question: After having been on her car at such overtorque for so long, is there any
risk of some of her lugnuts loosening, now that they are all within 1 pound of where they
should be?

I also waited almost two hours after she drove home from work before loosen & retorque.


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  #2  
Old June 7th 20, 01:26 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Default Torque Wrench Safety Question

Bump...
  #3  
Old June 22nd 20, 06:47 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
Tim R
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Posts: 9
Default Torque Wrench Safety Question

On Saturday, June 6, 2020 at 8:26:05 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> Bump...


I needed to pass inspection to sell a car in Germany, just had to swap two tires with ones I had.

I put a cheater pipe on the lug wrench and jumped up and down on the pipe, couldn't budge it. Went to the auto shop on base, borrowed their air wrench, and broke them loose. Changed the tires and was going to torque the new lug nuts on properly, but the shop guy was ready to close up, came running over and put them on with the wrench to "help" me. They seem to think the spec is the minimum and there is no maximum.
  #4  
Old June 23rd 20, 08:04 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
Paul[_47_]
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Posts: 2
Default Torque Wrench Safety Question

wrote:
> I recently bought a torque wrench - the modern shaft collar design, 20-150ft lb torque,
> and the appropriate size six point sockets for the lugnuts on mine and my wife's cars.
>
> I recently loosened and re-torqued my wife's wheel lugnuts to spec, or maybe 1lb over,
> but what was really scary was how tight they were on, initially. Of course I used her
> tire iron, and not my new wrench! to loosen the lugs at each wheel, and for most of them,
> I was able to STAND ON THE TIRE IRON and ride it down to loosen those nuts! I'm
> guessing whoever last tightened them must have been to 100 or even 200 ft/lbs. WTH?!
>
> The torque spec for her car's wheel lugnuts is 76 ft/lbs, so I set the wrench to about 77,
> retorqued each wheel, then moved on to the next one: Loosen, retorque, 5X.
>
> My question: After having been on her car at such overtorque for so long, is there any
> risk of some of her lugnuts loosening, now that they are all within 1 pound of where they
> should be?
>
> I also waited almost two hours after she drove home from work before loosen & retorque.
>
>


When you'd been fiddling like that, you're supposed to
drive 50 miles, then recheck them. Apply torque wrench
and see if any have come loose.

If they're fine after the 50 miles, and nothing seems
to have moved, enjoy until the next wheel rotation
comes along.

I have the whole outfit, floor jack, two jack stands,
torque wrench, and go though this "fun" twice a year,
as I wouldn't drive without snow tires here. I tried
driving all season radials once, and in a light storm,
my car was snaking all over the road, and I couldn't
keep up to the posted limit. That's when I decided that
it was time to get some real-winters on there. The
best winter tires (in terms of mileage rather than
grip), were some Michelin tires. On my last car,
I bought some Toyo, and they were only 3 out of 5
in terms of "being a winter tire".

One other thing, if I was torquing to 85, when I'm finished
with the wrench, I turn it down to 25 to 35 or so. That's
so the torque wrench doesn't develop any bad habits in
the off season.

And I store the floor jack where it's dry. And so far, it's
not mis-behaved like some of the stories I hear about them.
Take care of your equipment and it'll take care of you.

Paul
  #5  
Old June 23rd 20, 11:32 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
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Posts: 539
Default Torque Wrench Safety Question

Paul wrote:
When you'd been fiddling like that, you're supposed to
drive 50 miles, then recheck them. Apply torque wrench
and see if any have come loose.

If they're fine after the 50 miles, and nothing seems
to have moved, enjoy until the next wheel rotation
comes along.

I have the whole outfit, floor jack, two jack stands,
torque wrench, and go though this "fun" twice a year,
as I wouldn't drive without snow tires here. I tried
driving all season radials once, and in a light storm,
my car was snaking all over the road, and I couldn't
keep up to the posted limit. That's when I decided that
it was time to get some real-winters on there. The
best winter tires (in terms of mileage rather than
grip), were some Michelin tires. On my last car,
I bought some Toyo, and they were only 3 out of 5
in terms of "being a winter tire".

One other thing, if I was torquing to 85, when I'm finished
with the wrench, I turn it down to 25 to 35 or so. That's
so the torque wrench doesn't develop any bad habits in
the off season.

And I store the floor jack where it's dry. And so far, it's
not mis-behaved like some of the stories I hear about them.
Take care of your equipment and it'll take care of you.

Paul
___________

As for your 50-mile recheck suggestion, I read up on rechecking and most sources said
NO - All "rechecking" does is overtighten your fasteners and put stress on your torque
wrench. Any truth to that?

Finally, your suggestion to relax the setting agrees with the instructions included with mine
and other models. I left mine at my Honda's setting - 80ftlbs - for two days before taking
the printed instructions out of its retail packaging! It now idles at between 20-30.
  #6  
Old June 23rd 20, 11:39 AM posted to rec.autos.tech
[email protected]
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Posts: 539
Default Torque Wrench Safety Question

Are you "computer" Paul?

If so, thanks for your advice in that newsgroup, and glad to see you away from the IT room,
lol and out in the garage!

Still waiting on some thought about my concern regarding lugnuts and other fasteners that
were previously overtorqued - for months or even years - and were later retorqued to
approximately specified torque.

Were/are they permanently 'plasticized' or otherwised strained(distorted) from being improperly
torqued for so long, and if so, will they loosen more readily now, down at specified tightening?
And... has damage been done to the surfaces they mated against?

Or am I just overthinking this, as I do most mechanical matters? lol
  #7  
Old June 23rd 20, 12:03 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
Xeno
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Posts: 363
Default Torque Wrench Safety Question

On 23/6/20 8:32 pm, wrote:
> Paul wrote:
> When you'd been fiddling like that, you're supposed to
> drive 50 miles, then recheck them. Apply torque wrench
> and see if any have come loose.
>
> If they're fine after the 50 miles, and nothing seems
> to have moved, enjoy until the next wheel rotation
> comes along.
>
> I have the whole outfit, floor jack, two jack stands,
> torque wrench, and go though this "fun" twice a year,
> as I wouldn't drive without snow tires here. I tried
> driving all season radials once, and in a light storm,
> my car was snaking all over the road, and I couldn't
> keep up to the posted limit. That's when I decided that
> it was time to get some real-winters on there. The
> best winter tires (in terms of mileage rather than
> grip), were some Michelin tires. On my last car,
> I bought some Toyo, and they were only 3 out of 5
> in terms of "being a winter tire".
>
> One other thing, if I was torquing to 85, when I'm finished
> with the wrench, I turn it down to 25 to 35 or so. That's
> so the torque wrench doesn't develop any bad habits in
> the off season.
>
> And I store the floor jack where it's dry. And so far, it's
> not mis-behaved like some of the stories I hear about them.
> Take care of your equipment and it'll take care of you.
>
> Paul
> ___________
>
> As for your 50-mile recheck suggestion, I read up on rechecking and most sources said
> NO - All "rechecking" does is overtighten your fasteners and put stress on your torque
> wrench. Any truth to that?


No truth at all. The recheck is only to ensure no nuts are coming loose.
You do not, on a recheck, go beyond the required torque setting so, in
theory, you should get no movement on the nut whatsoever if it hasn't
loosened.
>
> Finally, your suggestion to relax the setting agrees with the instructions included with mine
> and other models. I left mine at my Honda's setting - 80ftlbs - for two days before taking
> the printed instructions out of its retail packaging! It now idles at between 20-30.
>



--

Xeno


Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
(with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)
 




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