OK, My Father took my convertible to work with him so he could take it to an inspection station that was not a strick by the one where we live....well the brakes decided to start telling him that they want out. He goes to replace the pads(he is a poly tech teacher in West NY, NJ) and he can't get 2 lugs off the driver side wheel.....he bracks 3 sockets, one which was an impact socket(with a breaker bar(guess it did it job huh?)) and totaly ****ed up a lug nut(it was broken in half about half way down) So he comes home and we order a 19 mm and 18 mm impact sockets from Sears...They came in Friday and we went to where I work today(Excavating, big machins big tools)....We hook up the compressor and take out the 1/2" drive impact gun...it just sit there and hammers away and nothing moves...While he is doing this I am looking for the more powerful 1/2" impact gun///and what do i find....the 3/4" one ....I take out that and hook up the 3/4 to 1/2 adapter and we try to use and that sit there and hammers fot like 10 seconds and it the lug breaks loose but we sheared off the adapter at the same time.....back to 1/2" Well to get the 2nd lug off I go back and forth between Foward and Reverse.....I eventually shock it loose....now on the other wheel....All of them come off easy but 1.....It was cross threaded and cockeyed... , The impact gun would not work at all, put eh bracker bar on it and a huge pipe....my dad presses on the pipe and Dave(I guy I work with) beats the **** out of the end of the breaker bar....finally it comes loose :hail: . I would reccomend getting solid lug nuts and replaceing yours....If they ever get stuck on there and you round them off(we NEARLY did...you should have seen these things) you are screwed, you will have to try and drill out the stud....just a FYI.....

 

One word.......ANTISIEZE

 

Another few words. Don't let anyone install your tires with an impact gun.

Wheel nut torque should be no more than 80 pounds. An impact gun used by tire shops or repair shops who may have done a brake job will torque down the wheel nuts to 200-300 pounds.

This has a number of bad effects. It breaks the chrome off the nuts, it can stretch the studs, It distorts the holes in the wheels, it can distort the brake components (drum, rotor etc) and lastly it makes it a real pain in the butt when you have to try taking the tire off to fix a flat on the side of the road.

The wheels on my truck have been off and on for many years now when I swapped on my racing tires. The wheel nuts are at least 4 years old now and still look like new. I can remove them very easily without needing an impact gun. When I'm due for new tires I'm going to hate taking it into a tire shop. If they use an impact, I'll demand new wheel nuts and rims.

As for the race car it's also a breaker bar and torque wrench only. I use a speed wrench to get the nuts off the long studs.

 

I am a mechanic and I have NEVER, EVER, seen a garagethat torques lug nuts to 200-300 pounds. That's crazy talk....impact wrenches have adjustable torque and you get a feel for how tight a lug nut should be torqued, I have never torqued a lug nut to 200300 pounds and don't know anyone who has.

 

AntiSeize would not have worked on the one that was cross threaded and lop-sided. When I get Tires I give them the wheels only....not the whole car...But still, the studs should have snapped before the lugs rounded off that is what may father expected to happen....he was a mechanic for 30 years...don't tell me he does not know what he is doing..Nothing is rednecked on our car....unless it is needed as a temp fix that is perfectly safe..... I still would get rid of those trash lug nuts GM gave you....The new ones feel so much more solid...cost me $50 but it was worth it....

 

I agree, replace with new. I was concerned about the seat angle of the new chrome lug to the aluminum wheel, (83 15" Z28 ) although they have stayed on tight. Never let the typical tire store anywhere near your wheels with an air wrench. They usually just watch me use my own lug wrench even when they have a torque wrench and socket hanging on the wall.

 

I never understood why shops don't hand torque lugs. It only takes an extra minute. And I know those fancy torqe sticks can't be that accurate when you look at them and they've been dropped a hundred times.

 

Hey I was just wondering, do many of you guys use Never-Sieze or something similar on your studs? I was always told to never ever put anything on your studs, even never-sieze, but it sounds very good in theory, especially with hollow lug nuts that leave exposed threads.

 

Wheel nuts should be torqued dry. Using oil or anti-seize gives a false torque reading.

 

The torque rating for most Chevy vehicles is 100 lbs. for steel and alloy wheels. I use the torque sticks all the time and as long as they're not cracked their 'tuned' torque will not change any measurable amount. Wheel studs and nuts can be areal pain sometimes. My advice is to use only solid types without the thin wall chrome or black caps that fit over the end.They can come off and create nightmares if you have to change a tire on the road or if they get rounded even slightly. An oz. of prevention = lb. of cure...

 

As far as the false torque readings go, is that why you should always use lube on bolts in an engine assembly? I believe if you dont you, surley will get a false reading due to galling.

 

I a some grease on my lugs....80 ft/lbs, i thought that if you don't put it on you get false readings buy the lug getting help of up something....