Oh, Forgot to mention...I broke a 3/4 inch breaker bar trying to get one of the lug nuts loose. The breaker bar snapped right at the head. I wanna know what the guy that put them on there in the first place was thinking. My breaker bar and a piece of pipe weren't enough to get it off. I had to go buy a new air gun to get it off.

ive never had a problem with my lugs/studs until this last time that i had my snowflakes mounted. The <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" /> tire guy that was mounting them said he was having alot of trouble getting them to go back on. He said it felt like they were going on crooked.

I assured his manager that if they were cross threaded and if i needed new studs/nuts, they would be footing the bill. He scoffed at the idea. I had my dad call and tell him the same thing the next day...Something about being 17 that just doesnt get your point across to some people... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

But alas, they were all fine, and they have been going on alot smoother ever since...
-J <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Doesn't make it right. Whenever I have tires mounted I tell them up front that I want the lug nuts hand-installed and tightened to spec with a torque wrench... then I stand at the window and watch them. I'm sure they've made some interesting comments about me on the other side of the glass; but I'm a little more concerned with the well being of my vehicle than I am with making buddies <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

You stand behind the glass? Every time ive brought my truck into a place to have work done on it, i follow it back to where its having work done. They give me any trouble, and i just tell them to bring me some safety glasses and earplugs, or else get my truck off the lift.


Most of the time they just bring me the glasses and i fork over the cash for whatever service they are doing (mostly alignments at Sears.) I also dont care about making friends. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/evil.gif" alt="" />
-J <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I used to watch my dad load up the wheels in his truck and take them to the tire shop. Being too young at that time to realize why, I just took it as the right way. Then one day, after me and my friends were old enough to have trucks, I went with one them to the tire shop in my hometown. I watched the guys with their badarss air tools, floor jacks and all that. Reminded me of something from a NASCAR race. Anyway it occured to me that day, most people drive up with old tires, drive away with new ones...neato!! A little while later, I learned the hard way, why dad loaded his wheels in the truck and drove them seperately to the shop. The first time those numbnuts stripped and cross-threaded my lugs, and my dad made ME change and replace them...was the last time it happened to me.

I used to work in a garage and there is a smart way to use air tools. First thread the lugs with the socket in your hand. Then if possible turn the air pressure down or just dont tighten them down all the way. Make sure all wheels are torqued as well. Air tools are your friend if you know how to use them. I also dont know if many people know this but things like mounts/balances/tire repairs/oil changes are commonly done by an untrained novice in the larger shops. My best advice is find a small shop, befriend the mechanic, and TREAT HIM WELL. They will respond in kind.

And a respectable shop will let you supervise and ask questions, as well as show you the "broken parts". If they say no, pack up and go.

Because the damage was already done when he spun the nuts OFF with the air wrench. The speed of the air wrench is apparently enough to build up enough heat to cause galling of the threads when they are spun off. Of course he would have trouble getting them to start back on properly.

From Mt Boulder:


I owned a '86 Trooper that always had issues with the lugs stripping the studs (even when you removed and installed them by hand). The nuts were designed more for AL rims vs. the steel rims that came on the truck. The steel rims should have had tapered nuts. When you tightened the nuts the opening would get squeezed/pinched by the rim taper and the threads would be ruined. My '98 Trooper has never had a problem (at least with this).

He got a little mixed up between threads.

Just to round out the tire installation conversation . . . all shops that I use DO use impact tools. They start the lug nuts by hand, then use an impact with a torque stick:

Torque Sticks

Then finish off by using a manual torque wrench.

If done properly, this method will not stripor overtighten threads.