Question about tightening wheel bolts

[devilly]

i grab wheel brace two hand and foot on the other side,see the car rock and stop as long as you do it in correct order you should be fine left then right,then up and down pattern.

 

[diysv6]

I normally let the tyre/alignment guys tighten the wheel nuts - their way.

Then go home, use my tension wrench to set each nut within torque range. Must admit I set to the lower NM setting so that I can undo them on the roadside.
Lot of times the nuts are very tight, then some are looser.
Maybe they don't tighten is sequence, and the mag rim binds a little during the torque down, hence the looser nut.

I bought a new VF and could not loosen the wheels on one side of the car. Had to get a breaker bar from SCA about 2 foot long or so. That talked to those nuts.

As someone has said elsewhere, get your breakdown guy (RACQ etc) to come change the flat for the spare - easier ?

 

[vc commodore]

Yes that is why I asked this i've never seen anyone tighten them with a torque wrench.

The issue I find these days (and call me an old funny idiot), is not a lot of people these days know how to do a wheel nut up properly, so they rely on service mechanics or some other method to do them up.

Fair enough, the factory manual these days places a particular setting per wheel nut, but they never used to. People used common sense to tighten them up... (No offense to anyone)....ie they knew when they were tight, because they were taught the proper method, or learnt the hard way.

It has always been suggested to do wheel nuts up in a criss cross fashion, so the wheel is set on the hub correctly and all the wheel nuts are done up properly. These days, it's more important to do it this way, because wheels are an interference fit.....ie a tight fit around the hub....So doing them in a criss cross fashion in makes sure it is seated properly and all the wheel nuts are done up.

Yes mechanics/tyre stores use torque bars...These are used for time saving and make sure wheel nuts are actually done up. The ones that use torque wrenches are used again, so the wheel nuts are done up properly.....call it, the fail safe, because rattle guns are used for time saving....

Of course there are places that use rattle guns and rattle them till they are tight.....That shows being inconsiderate and laziness.

This is my take on it all

 

[C B]

What I've been taught to do (by the mechanic I work for...) is to rattle them up tight, then when car is back on the ground, go around and tighten all by hand with the wheel spanner.

 

[Juice3]

I normally let the tyre/alignment guys tighten the wheel nuts - their way.

Then go home, use my tension wrench to set each nut within torque range. Must admit I set to the lower NM setting so that I can undo them on the roadside.
Lot of times the nuts are very tight, then some are looser.
Maybe they don't tighten is sequence, and the mag rim binds a little during the torque down, hence the looser nut.

I bought a new VF and could not loosen the wheels on one side of the car. Had to get a breaker bar from SCA about 2 foot long or so. That talked to those nuts.

As someone has said elsewhere, get your breakdown guy (RACQ etc) to come change the flat for the spare - easier ?

Well I like to do all my servicing and repairs myself and need to change my pads and rotors. I know that for some this may seem like a stupid question and yes I can tighten them with a wheel brace and they will be fine but after reading about how if you over tighten them they will tighten up more and more as you drive to the point it will break the studs and the wheel will come off that scared me... i uess i'll just buy a workshop book and a torque wrench

 

[vc commodore]

and yes I can tighten them with a wheel brace and they will be fine but after reading about how if you over tighten them they will tighten up more and more as you drive to the point it will break the studs and the wheel will come off that scared me...

New one to me and I've been in the trade for years...Actually I tell a lie....left hand wheel nuts did have a slight habit of it, but never to the point of snapping off.....but I'm yet to come across a commodore with left hand threaded wheel nuts.....

And if the car has been sitting for years, and the wheel nuts and studs have a slight coating of rust, well that's another story

 

[vc commodore]

What I've been taught to do (by the mechanic I work for...) is to rattle them up tight, then when car is back on the ground, go around and tighten all by hand with the wheel spanner.

It should be, loosen them off, then re tighten them to make sure they're not overly tight. ie, they've been rattled up to tight for the general public to be able to loosen them off, if they were to get a flat tyre and want to change it themselves.

And yes, this is the method that used to be taught in the trade, before torque bars and tension wrenches became the norm