Torques off

[Cofe]

Brought my car into the tire shop last week to get new rubber put on. Was hanging out talking to the owner as the workers put the new tires on. Everything was going ok, until one of the workers grabbed the impact wrench and started rattling on my good looking aluminum rims. I had the owner stop them and politely asked it they could torque the bolts to 85 foot pounds like the owners manual stated. The owner with a snicker said they didn't have a torque wrench. Luckily my tool box was in the trunk with a my torque wrench. So I introduced them to the torque wrench and gave a little lesson about proper torque. The owner listened intently and asked if he took a little off the tire price if he could purchase my torque wrench. I agreed and handed over my wrench. This just made me think about the numerous times I have dropped of one of my vehicles to have tires put on, and if they were put on right? .....oh just needed to rant.....

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Torques off

I guess I am lucky. The place where I do my tire business always uses a torque wrench AND has the customer's sign a paper that the wheels will be re-torqued (free of charge) after the first 100 miles.

Yes, I feel your pain. I had a young lad use a huge air gun on the lugs on a older chevy I had. I stopped him and handed him the standard lug wrench and asked him to remove the nut...... he could not! I taught that young man the proper way that day ...... about 20 years ago!

 

[dolluper]

Re: Torques off

Hummm torque sockets are sold everywhere....never surpass the torque

 

[4JawChuck]

Re: Torques off

Most shops use these now a days, no need to torque with a wrench as they are pretty accurate.

 

[jimr]

Re: Torques off

Most shops use these now a days, no need to torque with a wrench as they are pretty accurate.

We use these but you still cannot have your gun turned all the way up. what they need to do is tighten the nut with this then check it with a wrench every once in a while.

 

[JB]

Re: Torques off

Have had problems with both ways.

1. Couldn't remove a flat with a manual wrench because they were torqued at 125ft.lb. Had to be towed to a shop to replace a flat.

2. 2 Wheels fell off a block from the shop because the lugnuts weren't even finger tight.

I now personally chaperone the mounting of wheels

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Torques off

Me too.

I once couldn't stop them when they put the wheels back on my Ford truck. My brakes pulsed like crazy until I got home and retorqued the wheels. Fortunately disk warp went away.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: Torques off

Brought my car into the tire shop last week to get new rubber put on. Was hanging out talking to the owner as the workers put the new tires on. Everything was going ok, until one of the workers grabbed the impact wrench and started rattling on my good looking aluminum rims. I had the owner stop them and politely asked it they could torque the bolts to 85 foot pounds like the owners manual stated. The owner with a snicker said they didn't have a torque wrench. Luckily my tool box was in the trunk with a my torque wrench. So I introduced them to the torque wrench and gave a little lesson about proper torque. The owner listened intently and asked if he took a little off the tire price if he could purchase my torque wrench. I agreed and handed over my wrench. This just made me think about the numerous times I have dropped of one of my vehicles to have tires put on, and if they were put on right? .....oh just needed to rant.....

In my opinion torquing the wheels is one of the most important things to torque on your auto.

 

[QC]

Re: Torques off

I lost a trailer tire this year at 65 MPH due to me not rechecking after getting new tires. They were all too loose and I did not recheck like I normally would. Could've killed somebody.

 

[MRS]

Re: Torques off

Had new tires put on and they broke a stud and said I could not leave till they got a new stud put in and were going to charge me($50.00) for it. Said stud was bad and had to wait till it was delivered from local auto parts house I had just changed that drum and hub and axle so I knew it was all good. Told them to pound sand I would not pay for that because I knew they broke it and was not waiting and paying for something that I could fix for 2 bucks myself signed a weaver and left told them would not ever be back to them again. When I took the lugs off they put on I could bearly get them loose they were way to tight.

 

[JRJ]

Re: Torques off

I thought hand torquing was SOP, I've never had a tire shop run up the nuts with a gun and call it good.

 

[Jhoppy]

Re: Torques off

A tire shop without a torque wrench? A shop without a torque wrench? How dose that work? I would not ever go back there, they either are to ignorant to understand why fasteners need to be torque or they just don?t care.

 

[The_Kid]

Re: Torques off

Couldn't remove a flat with a manual wrench because they were torqued at 125ft.lb. Had to be towed to a shop to replace a flat.

JB, you're going to have to start working out.

Torque specs for my F250 call for 150 to 165 lbs. It's a pretty good workout when I rotate tires. I always torque in stages. 50# on all 8 lugs, then 100# and then 160#.

 

[642mx]

Re: Torques off

Wow thats pretty scarey stuff... A shop without a torque wrench...lol

Whats even crazier is techs who never send there torque wrenches off to have them recalibrated. You'd be surprised how far off they get in 6 months when you use them everyday.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Torques off

We use these but you still cannot have your gun turned all the way up. what they need to do is tighten the nut with this then check it with a wrench every once in a while.

A buddy has been a tech at a local GM dealer here in Vt for about 15 years. They have a policy that even if a torque stick is used to hand-check the lug nuts with the vehicle on the ground with a click-type torque wrench- every time.

Can't imagine not doing that!

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Torques off

First thing I do when I have something done with the tires on my car is I request them to use a torque wrench and then I watch them to make sure. I also tell them what torque setting to use.

 

[Cofe]

Re: Torques off

Thanks for the replies!
642mx you bring up a good point about getting torque wrenches re calibrated. Where I worked, a torque wrench was verified to be accurate before it left the tool room.
I will definitely keep an eye on tire shops I use in the future!

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Torques off

Most shops use these now a days, no need to torque with a wrench as they are pretty accurate.

I've seen these, but can someone explain how they work?

I have a torque wrench (3 actually) but have never tried the above.

 

[Jhoppy]

Re: Torques off

The torque stick above work as a calibrated spring or torsion bar. Once the torque is reached the bar flexes instead of rotating the fastener when used with an impact

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: Torques off

JB, you're going to have to start working out.

Torque specs for my F250 call for 150 to 165 lbs. It's a pretty good workout when I rotate tires. I always torque in stages. 50# on all 8 lugs, then 100# and then 160#.

Is that Inch-Pounds or Foot-Pounds?