overtorqued wheel bolts: what to do

[N80]

Just for a thought, suppose they were loose enough that shortly after delivery one falls off? Which way would you prefer? I'd rather have them a little tight then to loose because someone was in a hurry to get a tractor delivered to a customer and didn't retorque them. You loose either way to a degree but no damage done to the tractor or the wheel vs a wheel hitting the fender and egged out holes that is not a warrantee issue but a big snag with a customer. They are supposed to be tightened after a few hours of operation after assembly. So to run it two hundred hours before you found out they were over torqued is not a dealers fault or is it?

Of course its the dealer's fault. If they were overtorqued at 0 hours then they were still overtorqued. And this isn't about horse shoes and hand grenades. There are more choices than too loose or too tight and somehow hedging against a wheel falling off! There's 'just right' and 'just right' isn't such a small target as to make it some sort of impossible dream.

When I do it, I do it right. Why would I expect any less from the dealer?

(Can you tell that overtorqued wheel nuts is a GIANT pet peeve of mine. Makes me mad as a hornet. It such a pointless thing to do. No excuse for it.)

 

[hench861]

i work at a automotive parts manufacture we make lugnut and wheel locks and our biggest problem is people over torquing our product if its designed for 90 ft pounds 150 is not better its dangerous,we constantly are doing torque tension testing to provide consumers with the proper specs,but most people think if a little is good more is better,i always use a torque wrench and after running for a while i recheck,**** maybe but ive never lost a tire or broke a tool getting them off

 

[N80]

Well, I have had that experience where you stop to help someone with a flat on a dark highway. Back then I was a pretty strong fellow and couldn't loosen this womens lug nuts even with one of those 't' shaped tire irons, which I bent. No cheater bar available. Had to have it towed.

Years later I got some tires and wheels for my truck from a small local shop. They tightened the lug nuts with a torque wrench and their policy was never to touch a wheel with an impact wrench.

 

[Redbug]

Sevilla,

Lucky you checked the lug nuts. You are doing the right thing by getting a larger breaker bar and retorqueing the nuts. If you would have left them overtight and not done anything about it, you would just be putting off a problem for a later time. I would rather solve the problem now, and your time in the future could be used for other pursuits.

 

[alchemysa]

Ive loosened overtight, rusted nuts by applying a little heat to the nut. (Heat expands the nut). I have a little gas burner the the size of an aerosol can. Might be tricky to do it without burning some paint but you dont have apply much heat.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

P.S. I spoke with the dealer this morning: yes they overtorque the bolts, but just a little, to make sure they stay in place....

???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would ask for that policy in writing. I was a dealer mechanic for over 15 years. Torqued to spec is torqued to spec. I guarantee that Kubota does not endorse their policy. I have seen loads of mechanics that do this same thing and I wouldn't let them put air in my tire.

TalonDancer is correct. An over torqued fastener is worse than an under torqued fastener. Because of their confession of over torquing your bolts, I would demand that they all be replaced under warranty and if they don't, tell them you are going to contact Kubota and ask that the dealership personnel be retrained in proper bolt torque procedures. If tighter were better, we wouldn't have torque wrenches and all air guns would be 3/4" drive.

And, what is a "little" overtorqued? 5 lbs, 15 lbs? A little overtorqued is like stealing a little. It's still wrong.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Of course its the dealer's fault. If they were overtorqued at 0 hours then they were still overtorqued. And this isn't about horse shoes and hand grenades. There are more choices than too loose or too tight and somehow hedging against a wheel falling off! There's 'just right' and 'just right' isn't such a small target as to make it some sort of impossible dream.

When I do it, I do it right. Why would I expect any less from the dealer?
(Can you tell that overtorqued wheel nuts is a GIANT pet peeve of mine. Makes me mad as a hornet. It such a pointless thing to do. No excuse for it.)

A pet peeve of mine too. When you bring something to a dealer for repair, you are paying a premium price. In that price, you are paying for a higher level, better quality of service and factory training that independent shops don't get. Any factory I have ever dealt with has stressed the importance of proper bolt torque procedures. This dealership is amateur at best.

 

[cp1969]

Well, I have had that experience where you stop to help someone with a flat on a dark highway. Back then I was a pretty strong fellow and couldn't loosen this womens lug nuts even with one of those 't' shaped tire irons, which I bent. No cheater bar available. Had to have it towed.

Years later I got some tires and wheels for my truck from a small local shop. They tightened the lug nuts with a torque wrench and their policy was never to touch a wheel with an impact wrench.

Not to fear the impact wrench.

There are attachments called torque sticks that limit the amount of torque that an impact can deliver. They are color-coded for different torque values and look like an extension.

Professional torque sticks, sockets, multipliers and extention bars - INDIVIDUAL TORQUE STICKS

For the technically inclined, they are designed so that their 'frequency response' is such that what you get out at the lugnut is not what you put in with the impact. Something like when you go over a washboard section of road at high speed...the frequency of input from the bumps to the suspension system is too high to get a lot of response.

 

[SPYDERLK]

???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
An over torqued fastener is worse than an under torqued fastener.

Prevalent in this post, and many in the thread, are extreme statements. Problem is, to a little cooler analysis they never always hold up. Take the one above. It will get you in real trouble to err very much on the loose side because if the fastener is employed in a demanding situation its tightness becomes paramount. If its loose the joint will squirm around, wearing the joint and the threads, and backing out the bolt. A hi strength bolt in such a situation can severely damage the parts it is holding, especially when several fasteners are meant to be holding evenly- loosening of one allows prying against those adjacent. Strong bolts can break castings in this way. Assuming the joint is correctly designed this would not happen if the speced torque, or in many cases a few % above spec were used. I say "in many cases" because seldom are bolts employed to their max, where they are torqued to yield [plastic deformation], and are not to be re used. Connecting rod endcap bolts are sometimes speced to be used to this level, and the wise person replaces them, but the less wise usually gets away with reuse. --- Our tractor uses usually spec torque well short of yield for the appropriate fastener, leaving a significant margin of unused capability. In particular, with things like wheel lugs and loader mount bolts, thats why the experienced mechanic can work with a familiar impact wrench. Hes playing in that "about right" area which can actually extend more above spec than below it. You wont find him doing it with your head bolts or rod caps tho.

larry​

 

[Sully2]

Anyone that thinks over torqued bolts ARENT the bad way to go...dont know much about bolts!

Torque is specified as a "RANGE"...such as "95-110 ft lbs" and its perfectly OK to lean to the high side of the range...but that range dont say squat about "150 ft lbs"!

I have nothng against impact wrenches...even have a large electric one myself...but the impact wrench needs to be set at a torque value LESS than whats specified as the proper torque for that bolt.

Just finished servicing my little B3030 2 days ago.....checked all the subframe bolts. All TIGHTER THAN HE**...and one was stripped out. Some "kid" with an impact had to have done it.