Tools & Tool Brands

[chrisp]

So you were there when on several occasions that I have been in peoples workshops and noticed they were just rattling and leaving it at that? I might need to go to Specsavers because I have obviously missed the part where the torque wrench came out before they lowered the car to the ground and drove it for a test drive. Even the bloke I use at home who works in a pretty big garage at Invermay just rattles and leave it at that.

If you are happy with that, then that’s fine - for you.

I suspect that it’ll be very difficult to find an authoritative source that will support the ‘rattles and leave it at that’ as suffice and responsible.

I would strongly encourage you, and anyone else, to properly check the torque of critical fasteners. And I certainly wouldn’t be arguing against it. It’s certainly not being pedantic, it’s being responsible.

If I saw a wheel fitter just ‘rattle and leave it at that’, I will be checking those wheels myself after they are finished.

 

[Skylarking]

I would like you to read my last post and explain how our government in all states will allow these plastic devises to be used on wheel nuts on Nissans...

Unfortunately there are alot of places that don't give a rats and rattle wheel nuts up and say see you.....Three are also a lot of places that also torque them up with a wrench or torque bar, which @losh1971 was considering buying...

And if a wheel comes off, the shop is in the deep end and the person doing the job is in deeper

Read my post and explain how the government didn’t mandate reverse cameras which without doubt would have saved the majority of this kids run over in their own driveway…

The answer to both is that profit matters to governments and has higher priority than many other things, often including safety things…

 

[vc commodore]

If you are happy with that, then that’s fine - for you.

I suspect that it’ll be very difficult to find an authoritative source that will support the ‘rattles and leave it at that’ as suffice and responsible.

I would strongly encourage you, and anyone else, to properly check the torque of critical fasteners. And I certainly wouldn’t be arguing against it. It’s certainly not being pedantic, it’s being responsible.

If I saw a wheel fitter just ‘rattle and leave it at that’, I will be checking those wheels myself after they are finished.

The funny thing is, torquing devises have only been in use for 20 ish years on wheels...Prior to that, the torquing process was called a cross brace....And to this day, I prefer to use a cross brace to any torquing devise and have even given a cross brace to a customer when they have had doubts they can't undo my torqued up wheel nut...

 

[vc commodore]

Read my post and explain how the government didn’t mandate reverse cameras which without doubt would have saved the majority of this kids run over in their own driveway…

The answer to both is that profit matters to governments and has higher priority than many other things, often including safety things…

We not talking about a camera...We are talking about a factory fault with wheel nuts coming loose, with the potential of killing someone anytime....

Reversing cameras are only good when reversing....Wheel coming off at 60 + KPH and splatting someone is more likely than someone getting splattered by a vehicle reversing....

So it's got nothing to do with cost cutting to maximise in profittering

 

[chrisp]

The funny thing is, torquing devises have only been in use for 20 ish years on wheels...Prior to that, the torquing process was called a cross brace....And to this day, I prefer to use a cross brace to any torquing devise and have even given a cross brace to a customer when they have had doubts they can't undo my torqued up wheel nut...

I don’t disagree, and twenty years ago I’d happily be satisfied with as-tight-as-I-could-by-hand but that was back in the steel rim days. These days with alloy wheels, and torque wrenches being readily available, I’ll do the last nip up with a torque wrench - it’s easy and reassuring.

Hell, I even check them when my car comes back from service. It was pleasing to find that the dealer service department torqued them up just right (which strongly suggests that they used a torque wrench).

 

[losh1971]

Well, I'm only stating my observations. By pedantic I'm referring to JC members who seem to on the most part use a TW. I didn't realise I had said this wasn't a good thing but maybe it was interpreted that way. The fact is that there are plenty of garages out there that don't use a TW. I've hung around garages since I was 15 and am stating what I see, which apparently I somehow missed the part where the TW comes out? As writing has a way of being misunderstood, maybe I'm mistaken with what you implied Chrisp? My original post was re torque bars. I wanted something to make life easier. I know my wheel nuts are tight enough because of the setting I use on my gun. My reason for wanting torque bars was I'm thinking I might be making the nuts tighter than spec. But since these torque bars are not really what I thought they were I will be sticking to my old method.
I was simply looking for something to make life easier and it ends up in a **** fight.

 

[Skylarking]

The funny thing is, torquing devises have only been in use for 20 ish years on wheels...

I thought torque wrenches have been used since the early 20th century in many industries including automotive, having been designed in 1918 by Conrad Bahr.

Having said that, I can’t remember what my VH commodore specified in the owners manual re wheel nut torque settings but I’m reasonably sure either the owners manual or workshop manual specified a torque figure. Just can’t be bothered searching though some storage boxes for either of those books).

I know mid 80’s Mazdas specified a wheel but torque figure in their owners manual, 120Nm to be precise.

So manufacturers wheel nut torque specs and the torque wrenches that could be set to that specs have been around much longer than even the 35 years of my recollection, but like now tyre places prioritised quick tyre changes and alignments… shoddy then, even shoddier now (in some sense as you’ve also acknowledges with yje just get it in the green cloud)…

As I’ve said, each to their own and if a tyre place won’t accomodate my wishes, or begrudgingly does so with attitude, then I’ll take my money elsewhere

PS: As a non professional home tinkerer mechanic, I bought a Warren Brown torque wrench back in mid 80’s and it cost a pretty packet back then. They are cheap as chips now so no reason everyone doesn’t have one in their garage and make use them.

 

[EYY]

Explain 2010 era Nissan Patrols...From factory, Nissan had problems where the wheel nuts came loose, so the fix and an accepted fix was to fit silver plastic pieces on each wheel nut, that had a pointer...you adjusted the pointer on each individual wheel nut, so it pointed at each other, so at a quick glance, you could see if the wheel nut started to loosen itself off.

It didn't matter if you rattled the wheel nut until you needed to be superman to loosen it to begin with, or whether you tightened it upto the specified torque of 80 FT/LB, it came loose...

These days, there are plenty of vehicles out there with yellow plastic pieces fitted to wheel nuts, with a pointer, that you have pointing to each individual wheel nuts...This is done for the very purpose of having a quick glance that the wheel nuts aren't coming loose

We got the recall notice for our old 98 model. We only received the notice in the mail 2 years ago when the car was already 22 years old… and yep the pointer was their ‘solution’.

 

[lmoengnr]

Well, I'm only stating my observations. By pedantic I'm referring to JC members who seem to on the most part use a TW. I didn't realise I had said this wasn't a good thing but maybe it was interpreted that way. The fact is that there are plenty of garages out there that don't use a TW. I've hung around garages since I was 15 and am stating what I see, which apparently I somehow missed the part where the TW comes out? As writing has a way of being misunderstood, maybe I'm mistaken with what you implied Chrisp? My original post was re torque bars. I wanted something to make life easier. I know my wheel nuts are tight enough because of the setting I use on my gun. My reason for wanting torque bars was I'm thinking I might be making the nuts tighter than spec. But since these torque bars are not really what I thought they were I will be sticking to my old method.
I was simply looking for something to make life easier and it ends up in a **** fight.

Just remember VE/VF's use 14mm wheel studs and a higher torque loading on the nuts. (170Nm)
I tried changing a wheel on the Maloo using the supplied 'jack pack'....
Was near impossible to loosen a factory torqued nut with the factory wrench due to its size and shape.
So now I carry an old Proto torque wrench with the jack pack with a long 22mm socket. (set at 125 ftlbs)

 

[vc commodore]

I don’t disagree, and twenty years ago I’d happily be satisfied with as-tight-as-I-could-by-hand but that was back in the steel rim days. These days with alloy wheels, and torque wrenches being readily available, I’ll do the last nip up with a torque wrench - it’s easy and reassuring.

Hell, I even check them when my car comes back from service. It was pleasing to find that the dealer service department torqued them up just right (which strongly suggests that they used a torque wrench).

Alloy rims have been around since the 70's, so what's different between then and now?

Comical, not that long ago, I made a comment about people carrying torque wrenches in their car and only 1 person alledgely did from this forum, for that just in case I get a flat situation....

What do you do on the side of the road? Don't think you carry a torque wrench and it don't take long for a wheel nut to come undone if it's not done up properly