Red Loctite - Removing Bolts, etc.

[iwannadie]

Yah - and replacing lug studs gets irritating. Which is why I have forbidden the use of air tools on my wheels - it's too damned easy to screw it up.

Then, either I've got work to do replacing the studs, or I have to go to the time and trouble of making them do it.

I don't care about the "torque sticks" they've got - you don't have the feel for something going wrong when you use air tools that you have when working by hand!

I had a friends cousin mount/balance some tires for me and when I got the XJ back I was loosening and re-torquing the lugs just to check. Everyone of them felt like they were on at a majorly different torque spec. I got to one tire and they all were on so tight I had to stand on a breaker bar and bounce to break them loose. My IR thunder gun wouldn't budge them, I was lucky to not snap the studs.

I asked my friends cousin what he did, he used an impact and his torque stick that he uses all the time and never had problems with.... I was mad because I mad a very specific point to tell him to use a torque wrench when putting my wheels back on. He argued the torque sticks are fine and he uses them on everyones vehicles. Of course he then had no answer why some where impossible to get off while others came off with little effort the same day I got it back from him.

Now I haul rims and tires to a shop to get them mounted, I don't trust people to put on my wheels anymore. I use my impact to put lugs on but I set it to a lower setting and I then hand torque in increments the rest of the way. It is handy to zip the lugs on and snug them but taking the extra time to hand torque only takes a few minutes.

 

[ChiXJeff]

From that perspective, I've had VERY good luck with Discount Tire. They do know how to use a torque stick, i.e. air guns set low, and not used to hammer down the lugnuts, then finish up with a properly set torque wrench. In better than 10 years, I've only had an issue once.

 

[MaxxXJ]

From that perspective, I've had VERY good luck with Discount Tire. They do know how to use a torque stick, i.e. air guns set low, and not used to hammer down the lugnuts, then finish up with a properly set torque wrench. In better than 10 years, I've only had an issue once.

Same goes for me for America's tire, but I think I'm going to start going the air soft beads route and say screw the weights all together... Mounting the tire will be my only issue...

 

[X E Ryder]

Wheel Mount Check List

I'm not going to bother with asking WTF on the Red thread locker - you've heard enough already - in short - Hell No! :lecture:

So in summary...

Wheel Spacers: Never use the aluminum washer type, they'll likely kill you or someone else. Use Bolt-on types only for your and others safety. If the manufacturer of the spacers specs thread lock, use One Dot midway up the threads of the Hub's studs only.

Wheel Studs: Use one "swipe" of the anti seize brush on the threads, then a rag on the stud twisting your wrist. This will distribute the "swipe" around the stud and threads and remove excess. It is just enough to prevent galling and seizure, without skewing proper torque readings, or the ability of the surface touching the wheel from retaiing the nut.

Mounting The Wheel: Prop the wheel on your boot and lift with both your hands and boot to slide onto the hub. These melonheads at shops throw the wheel on, just drifting lazily to the left. Well metal stud vs. wheel = metal filings in the stud threads, which they next suck into the lug nut with an air gun! "Place" your wheels on the hub and things last longer and go much better.

Lug Nuts: Make sure the nut is the correct design for your wheel - most wheels have a specific angle and diameter of the actual retention surface. Hold one up to the wheel while it is off the XJ and peek through from the hub hole if you can, to see if they will shoulder properly. Most backing off problems can be found here, because the back of the nut touching the inside of the wheel is the surface friction we need to retain the nut (not thread lock!).

Finally, as mentioned, the last thing you want is some a$$hat with an impact touching your rig. Hand thread on the nuts, spin up with an impact or cordless until they touch, then move around the wheel several times so you are sure they all centered. Then always, always Hand Torque to 75-80ft lbs. and I promise they won't back off. Recheck after 50 miles, then at 100 miles if you get any more on them than the pop of the torque wrench, you have other issues.

Did I miss anything here?