Wheel Stud Thread Lubrication

[Art_H]

Just trying to get some perspective on wheel studs and nuts and how everyone deals with the slight rust surface on both stud and nut threads. The super dry contact results in 'jumpy' torquing. ie; there is a lot of friction in the threads, and when torquing the nut, the nut needs a whole lot of force and moves a lot. This action is repeated until the desired tq is achieved, or so you hope. I would think that these 'jumps' would likely cause over torquing, the very thing that lubing the threads is supposed to cause. At least with some lube, the threads are less likely to gall and fail, and tq in a more progressive manner.

I was thinking along the lines of the canned spray graphite or something.

Just to be clear, most of my studs are new or recent, not 'rusted' out. But very dry.

Looking for experience on standard practice.

Thanks

 

[ValleyFirewood]

I usually dab a little bit of antisieze on studs that are like that.

 

[Art_H]

That is what I have been thinking. you could even dab, run the nut on to contact and the pull it off and remove the excess.

From the research I have done, one of the biggest differences in applied tq is when you lube the nut contact surface of the wheel.

 

[Ronsii]

I generally put a good coating on the threads, some of the tire shops around here use the sprayon antiseize and they give each stud a good coating but just on the top half of the threads.

 

[ValleyFirewood]

Yeah, that is what I have been told as well.

I'm sure we could assemble a committee of engineers from all around the world, spend 12 years and waste about 8 million dollars to figure out the answer (it's the government way right?)

Something else I've done is use a rethreader on the stud and nut to clean it out. I have something like this http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=641094&group_ID=675360

I had some on something that had gotten painted and the nuts didn't like going on.

From the research I have done, one of the biggest differences in applied tq is when you lube the nut contact surface of the wheel.

 

[planecrazzzy]

I use Motor Oil or Anti seize... Depends where you are... What you can get...

You might not be by the shop... But the Truck probably has some oil stashed...

This comes from experience...
.
Gotta Fly...
.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . In the bush it always used to be that you ran a bit of oil off the dipstick . . . rest the stick on the stud and wipe it down with a matchstick, you got two studs per dip, one from each side of the stick, you don't need much.

Cheers.

 

[wilko]

I use a dab of antiseize, a Harbor Freight one inch gun and run the nuts down tight, but don't let the gun hammer for more than a half second. I'm not breaking studs and nothing is coming loose.

 

[johndeere123]

I use a dab of antiseize, a Harbor Freight one inch gun and run the nuts down tight, but don't let the gun hammer for more than a half second. I'm not breaking studs and nothing is coming loose.

Do you torque the wheels at all? I will spend the 5 minutes it takes to torque a wheel over having a wheel come off any day.

 

[wilko]

If I had a torque wrench I'd use it, but I don't know anybody who uses one, that includes commercial tire shops. Some people let the wrench hammer longer, but some people break studs.

 

[Old Doug]

I use antiseize but i read a book at a tire shop that told what diffrent manafactures wanted and alot didnt want any oil or any thing used.

 

[Ronsii]

you can get chinese torque wrenches for 10-15 bucks all day long and they are plenty accurate for tire work, it is common practice around here for tire shops to use antiseize on big stuff but not passenger car wheels. Also most every shop I have seen uses torque limiting extensions and such on all passenger/light truck work.

 

[wilko]

Those 15 dollar Chinese torque wrenches aren't 1 inch drive and a torque wrench that will handle 500-600 ft-lbs of torque aren't 15 dollars.

 

[Ronsii]

Sorry, I didn't specify, I was talking about 1/2 inch drives that got to ~250 ft/lb.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . I'm afraid most of my wheel/tyre work was done along the track.

I was eleven and a half stone in those days and bouncing with one foot on a three foot breaker bar was all I ever did . . . main thing was to check them a couple of times over the next fifty miles or so . . . mostly by that time you could get a fraction of a turn and a satisfying creak.

Cheers.

 

[wilko]

Yair . . . I'm afraid most of my wheel/tyre work was done along the track.

I was eleven and a half stone in those days and bouncing with one foot on a three foot breaker bar was all I ever did . . . main thing was to check them a couple of times over the next fifty miles or so . . . mostly by that time you could get a fraction of a turn and a satisfying creak.

Cheers.

I'll bet the old boys had a good laugh watching that.

 

[tctractors]

In the U.K. some years ago a very in depth study was done into wheel loss and wheel fasteners, the basic answers found involving all styles of fastener types is the need to use engine oil on the stud and nut to attain the correct torque clamping effect on the rim to the hub, grease was found not fit for this task also copper ease/slip was found to draw moisture and effect the correct tension loading so also rated as not fit for this type of fastening other than coating the hub spiggot mounting area, a torque wrench should always be used or at the first opportunity to correctly load the studs, so the answer is to invest in an oil can and use a torque wrench as wheel loss is a killer to some-one, also in the U.K. if wheel loss happens it is possible to have a court sentence to the Queens Hotel (Prison-Jail)
tctractors

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . Dunno. A torque wrench seems to be making a mountain out of a mole-hill. It's just a bloody wheel.

I say again. The main thing is to tighten the studs and check them a couple of times during the next fifty miles of travel. Once they have settled in they are not going to come loose.

This checking once was standard practice, everybody knew to do . . . it was as automatic and natural as checking oil and water before you start up every morning.

Of course that was in the days when truckers fixed and fitted their own tyres. I see lots of trucks on the highway these days don't even carry spares.

I don't allow rattle guns to be used to tighten studs on any of my vehicles if they do I crack them off and retighten by hand . . . I believe over tightening is mostly the reason that they break.

Had a classic case a few years back . . . my old mate with a brand new Defender with a wheels rattled up so tight he couldn't change a flat until a trucker came along with bit of pipe to put on the handle of his breaker bar . . . they went around and cracked all the studs as they were tightened all the same.

Cheers.

 

[jofc]

Back in mechanics school they said never use any lube on wheel nuts. Lubing threads increases the torque so when you hit the torque wrench at 500 lbs your actually using a lot more torque than necessary, over torquing and breaking the stud.

 

[OFF]

Back in mechanics school they said never use any lube on wheel nuts. Lubing threads increases the torque so when you hit the torque wrench at 500 lbs your actually using a lot more torque than necessary, over torquing and breaking the stud.

I'll second that.

I hired (stole) the best tire tech (?) in the area. He had all the training & certificates a tire buster could have. The first thing he did was straighten out all us old dogs about lubing wheel studs. He was taught wheel studs & nuts and meant to be assembled clean & dry. Never lubed.