Thread: 140NM Wheel Nut Tightening Torque

Originally Posted by Tote

one of my nuts was so rusty I needed to pierce the cover and add lubricant to get off.

Really - too much information

Originally Posted by 101RRS

Why do you need an extension bar - a standard wheel brace is fine. With an extension bar you run the risk of over torquing.

The "Standard" wheel brace that comes with ANY car is always a POS and is bloody useless, If you like smashing your knuckles when changing a flat then by all means use the standard brace.
As long as you dont add a length of pipe to an extension bar the risk of over torquing the nuts is barely minimal unless you are exeptionaly strong/heavy.
The other advantage of an extension bar is that you can use it on many other things as well, All the standard bar is good for is as an inprovised tent peg

Originally Posted by trout1105

The "Standard" wheel brace that comes with ANY car is always a POS and is bloody useless, If you like smashing your knuckles when changing a flat then by all means use the standard brace.

After over 50 years of driving I have never had an issue with standard wheel braces and not found them to be a POS - never smashed my knuckles - maybe I know how to use them correctly.

Originally Posted by trout1105

The "Standard" wheel brace that comes with ANY car is always a POS and is bloody useless, If you like smashing your knuckles when changing a flat then by all means use the standard brace.
As long as you dont add a length of pipe to an extension bar the risk of over torquing the nuts is barely minimal unless you are exeptionaly strong/heavy.
The other advantage of an extension bar is that you can use it on many other things as well, All the standard bar is good for is as an inprovised tent peg

I guess if using it as a club ro bash the wheel in aggravation it's likely to bite back.

Never yet had a nut come undone as many of the so called engineers on various forums reckon will happen if you use lubricant.
.

No thread lube and not enough torque = loose bolt /nut and it will fail or bits will fall off

Thread lube and torque applied for dry threads = overstretching the bolt and it will fail and bits will fall off.

Thread lube and correct torque for lubricated = happy days and no bits fall off.

No Thread lube and correct torque for dry threads = see 3rd point above.

one of the challenges of specifying a torque for a fastener is to consider all the applications. I suspect LR probably though about those who put Thread lube on the wheel studs and those that don't, the 140Nm is most likely a compromise to cover all variables and also so that bits don't fall off.

I'm glad I have a few torque wrenches and use them quite a bit, I wonder if the same comments made here would appear if talking about tightening main bearing caps on a 2.7 or 3.0 engine block...

Originally Posted by 101RRS

After over 50 years of driving I have never had an issue with standard wheel braces and not found them to be a POS - never smashed my knuckles - maybe I know how to use them correctly.

So you think that these are the bees knees do you?
Personally I think they are bastards of things.
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I wonder if the same comments made here would appear if talking about tightening main bearing caps on a 2.7 or 3.0 engine block...

You are absolutely right in my case... I'm in the 'have never torqued wheel nuts in 45 years of driving' camp, and happy with my practice based on not being dead yet, or. having a succession of wheel missiles hurtle expensively from my vehicles. But I'd always torque bolts on expensive, complex, and 'hard to see easily every day' bits and pieces like transmission and engine components. The thing is, they are absolutely precision bits of engineering that will pay you back for sloppy treatment.

Without getting flamed to death here, wheel nuts and the hub are not at the same level. We used to regularly do an exercise in the military of putting a wheel back on a landrover with the nuts and jack missing (a test of initiative and strength). The solution was to remove a nut from each of the other wheels, and have 3 blokes lift the affected corner while their mate slipped the wheel on. All 4 wheels then had less than the complete set of nuts, but the vehicle (with 3 or 4 untorqued but heaved tight nuts on its wheels) could be (and was) driven to a 'safe' location... No one died doing this.

Ironically, this thread, and the fact that LR ownership is a fun journey into DIY mechanical games, (so my shed and tools are getting a good workout), means that I may use the torque wrench next time - more to see how 140 compares to my usual 'heave' than anything else...

Originally Posted by Jpdv

You are absolutely right in my case... I'm in the 'have never torqued wheel nuts in 45 years of driving' camp, and happy with my practice based on not being dead yet, or. having a succession of wheel missiles hurtle expensively from my vehicles. But I'd always torque bolts on expensive, complex, and 'hard to see easily every day' bits and pieces like transmission and engine components. The thing is, they are absolutely precision bits of engineering that will pay you back for sloppy treatment.

Without getting flamed to death here, wheel nuts and the hub are not at the same level. We used to regularly do an exercise in the military of putting a wheel back on a landrover with the nuts and jack missing (a test of initiative and strength). The solution was to remove a nut from each of the other wheels, and have 3 blokes lift the affected corner while their mate slipped the wheel on. All 4 wheels then had less than the complete set of nuts, but the vehicle (with 3 or 4 untorqued but heaved tight nuts on its wheels) could be (and was) driven to a 'safe' location... No one died doing this.

Ironically, this thread, and the fact that LR ownership is a fun journey into DIY mechanical games, (so my shed and tools are getting a good workout), means that I may use the torque wrench next time - more to see how 140 compares to my usual 'heave' than anything else...

After many years of using various nasty wheel braces I use a torque wrench on my Discovery's its so much easier anyway and you know you've got it right. I'll be taking a torque wrench to the tyre shop next time after having most of my nuts destroyed by a gorilla with a rattle gun. This nutty debate has probably run its course.