Stripped lug nuts
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,015
Likes: 2,709
From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Stripped lug nuts
My wheels have been off/on the car about a dozen times, I always used a torque wrench or had the shop use one. Last week, the shop used anti-sieze (!) on the lugs when they installed the wheels, then torqued them to the manual spec of 100 lb/ft. When I noticed the goop, I raised hell and so today they removed the wheels, wiped off the goop and sprayed with brake cleaner, then reinstalled. Bad news- the tech said that the nuts felt "mushy", and when we removed one, we could see a tiny spiral of loose metal inside. So we junked all the nuts, recleaned the studs, and reinstalled the wheels with new nuts. This time the nuts felt normal under the torque wrench, and the stud threads, to my uneducated eye, looked normal. Big questions:
1. Does the anti-sieze reduce the friction so much that the lug nuts stripped at 100 lb/ft, or did they just wear out from a dozen times of on-off?
2. What are the chances that the studs are damaged, and how can I really tell?
Thanks for the help!
1. Does the anti-sieze reduce the friction so much that the lug nuts stripped at 100 lb/ft, or did they just wear out from a dozen times of on-off?
2. What are the chances that the studs are damaged, and how can I really tell?
Thanks for the help!
Instructor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 112
Likes: 1
From: Mesa, AZ
Re: Stripped lug nuts (Gearhead Jim)
I have never had the threads pull out of the nuts...Have had the bolts stretched and ruined the bolt threads which locked the nut to the bolt resulting in breaking the bolt. This is done by shops using high torque air wrenches..not torque wrenches.... I have used anti-seize before but not on the Vette, with no problem.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,248
Likes: 1
From: Newland US
Re: Stripped lug nuts (Gearhead Jim)
Jim,
The manual says to torque 'em dry. I can't help but think that a light coat of engine oil would NOT affect the torque that much, but I guess it comes down to an individual judgement call.
Good luck.
Mark
[Modified by MDT, 10:20 PM 8/3/2001]
The manual says to torque 'em dry. I can't help but think that a light coat of engine oil would NOT affect the torque that much, but I guess it comes down to an individual judgement call.
Good luck.
Mark
[Modified by MDT, 10:20 PM 8/3/2001]
