Wheel lug nut torque

ghickey

Member
Jun 12, 2019
73
8
8
While I am thinking about it, this past weekend when I dropped the fuel
tanks I needed to pull one of the wheels to get to the air/liquid
separator that was located behind the wheel. I torqued the lug nuts down
to 100 ft-lbs based on what Les Schwab torqued them down to when I had
the tires replaced. But I seem to remember that the manual had some
absurdly crazy torque specification. Unfortunately, I don't have the
manuals here to reference that specification, but I thought it was in
the order of 250 ft-lbs. Maybe I am thinking of something else....

So what is a good torque for the lug nuts? I have the Alcoa hubs instead
of the original steal hubs if that makes a difference.

Thanks.

--
Gerard Hickey / WTØF IRLP:3067/Echolink:529661
hickey DMR: 3102272
425-395-4554
 
If you look at the Alcoa nut they say 45 lb-ft.
The 150 was for the original steel wheels.

Emery Stora
77 Kingsley
Frederick CO

>
> While I am thinking about it, this past weekend when I dropped the fuel tanks I needed to pull one of the wheels to get to the air/liquid separator that was located behind the wheel. I torqued the lug nuts down to 100 ft-lbs based on what Les Schwab torqued them down to when I had the tires replaced. But I seem to remember that the manual had some absurdly crazy torque specification. Unfortunately, I don't have the manuals here to reference that specification, but I thought it was in the order of 250 ft-lbs. Maybe I am thinking of something else....
>
> So what is a good torque for the lug nuts? I have the Alcoa hubs instead of the original steal hubs if that makes a difference.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Gerard Hickey / WTØF IRLP:3067/Echolink:529661
> hickey DMR: 3102272
> 425-395-4554
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
 
Sir, 140 ft lb on Alcoas .

> While I am thinking about it, this past weekend when I dropped the fuel
> tanks I needed to pull one of the wheels to get to the air/liquid
> separator that was located behind the wheel. I torqued the lug nuts down
> to 100 ft-lbs based on what Les Schwab torqued them down to when I had
> the tires replaced. But I seem to remember that the manual had some
> absurdly crazy torque specification. Unfortunately, I don't have the
> manuals here to reference that specification, but I thought it was in
> the order of 250 ft-lbs. Maybe I am thinking of something else....
>
> So what is a good torque for the lug nuts? I have the Alcoa hubs instead
> of the original steal hubs if that makes a difference.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Gerard Hickey / WTØF IRLP:3067/Echolink:529661
> hickey DMR: 3102272
> 425-395-4554
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org

--
C. Boyd
76 Crestmont
East Tennessee
 
250 ft lb torque on OEM steel wheels and lug nuts.

> Sir, 140 ft lb on Alcoas .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

> > While I am thinking about it, this past weekend when I dropped the fuel
> > tanks I needed to pull one of the wheels to get to the air/liquid
> > separator that was located behind the wheel. I torqued the lug nuts down
> > to 100 ft-lbs based on what Les Schwab torqued them down to when I had
> > the tires replaced. But I seem to remember that the manual had some
> > absurdly crazy torque specification. Unfortunately, I don't have the
> > manuals here to reference that specification, but I thought it was in
> > the order of 250 ft-lbs. Maybe I am thinking of something else....
> >
> > So what is a good torque for the lug nuts? I have the Alcoa hubs instead
> > of the original steal hubs if that makes a difference.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > --
> > Gerard Hickey / WTØF IRLP:3067/Echolink:529661
> > hickey DMR: 3102272
> > 425-395-4554
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > GMCnet mailing list
> > Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> > http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org

--
C. Boyd
76 Crestmont
East Tennessee
 
>
> Sir, 140 ft lb on Alcoas .
>
>
>
Chuck
thanks for posting the correct torque. I had remembered 145 lb-ft but in my earlier posting i mistyped it and it was
posted as 45 lb-ft as written on the nuts. The nuts however do show 140 lb-ft.

Emery Stora
 
> 250 ft lb torque on OEM steel wheels and lug nuts.
>
>

>> Sir, 140 ft lb on Alcoas .

In the past, there has been a discussion about the torque before.

https://groups.google.com/forum/m/?fbclid=IwAR0imSu4WNsI6Mx1yFPlp8e7Ok0dmBH7qdoAp0MCDQBu1-OgYiV5AueSJSU#!topic/gmcnet-archive/iZeLAsOmQs4

Anyone care to shed a light on, what's true and what's not?
--
Best regards

Peer Oliver Schmidt
PGP KeyID: 0x4196BF22
*currently needing to retorque two wheels*
'76a 26' Eleganza II - Virginia, US
'73 23' Sequoia - Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
 
> 250 ft lb torque on OEM steel wheels and lug nuts.
>

> >> Sir, 140 ft lb on Alcoas .
>
> In the past, there has been a discussion about the torque before.
>
> https://groups.google.com/forum/m/?fbclid=IwAR0imSu4WNsI6Mx1yFPlp8e7Ok0dmBH7qdoAp0MCDQBu1-OgYiV5AueSJSU#!topic/gmcnet-archive/iZeLAsOmQs4
>
> Anyone care to shed a light on, what's true and what's not?
> --
> Best regards
>
> Peer Oliver Schmidt
> PGP KeyID: 0x4196BF22
> *currently needing to retorque two wheels*
> '76a 26' Eleganza II - Virginia, US
> '73 23' Sequoia - Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Peer,

I am going to try to sort where this will leave you.

You were not there, but the presentation I did at the last rally at Amana was reproduced in "Vintage RVing" Fall 2018 and is available on the GMCMI
website will shead some light here. If you get this open and look at page 17, you we see that we (as a part of ASTM) identified 54 variables that
significantly influenced the torque/tension relationship in a threaded fastener. Five of those were specifically about the lubrication and another 6
are specific to the material finish involved.

The situation with our studs, nuts and bearing surface of the nuts is about as bad as could be hoped. As such, I do fully believe that one can
burn-off the additional 100+#-ft of torque just in the friction. In my case this has proved true. Very early in my GMC experience, I did break a
stud on one of the front hubs. Inspection revealed that it had been fractured before I got the chance.

As stated in the referenced in that thread, I now use either the OE (forged) lug wrench or (if at home) the 3/4 drive ratchet and both with a piece of
pipe. With the wrench in place, I put my full shoulder weight on the tool and that is real close. I do have a doubler for one of my beam type torque
wrenches. When I set it up with a tracer to record the value some years back, I did a "Torque to Align" on several lug nuts and determined that I was
real close to the 240 value.

An interesting thing is that all that friction, aside from being an assembly nightmare, actually sort of works for us. When I did that "Torque to
Align" previously mentioned, one starts by backing of the fasteners and re-torquing so the marked fastener is re-aligned with the mark of its original
position. The tracer works both way, and the threshold to back the nuts loose was nearly what was seen at the alignment. So, that friction also
serves as a locking mechanism. This is why I have resisted the temptation to put any lubrication or anti-sieze on the studs/nuts.

I have not done any of this with Aloca or other alloy wheels that use a Stem Nut (Nut with attached finished washer). That could change the situation
very profoundly. Without real data, I will not even venture a guess by how much.

Matt
--
Matt & Mary Colie - '73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan
OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Twixt A2 and Detroit
 
140 for Alcoas. It is stamped right on the nuts. The confusing part is the tightening sequence which is NOT intuitive but is on the Alcoa website.
--
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
 
I like it simple.
When one has a washer that grab the Al wheel and spins on that steel
washer, the torque is applied more effectively and requires less.
The original nut has no washer that allows it to spin on and digs directly
on the rim and the diameter is large, so it requires more torque to
overcome the friction.
I believe that is one of the question on the ASE test to be certified.

On Tue, Oct 22, 2019 at 2:44 PM John R. Lebetski via Gmclist <

> 140 for Alcoas. It is stamped right on the nuts. The confusing part is
> the tightening sequence which is NOT intuitive but is on the Alcoa website.
> --
> John Lebetski
> Woodstock, IL
> 77 Eleganza II
>
>
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--
Jim Kanomata
Applied/GMC, Newark,CA
jimk
http://www.appliedgmcrvparts.com
1-800-752-7502