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Impact wrench question

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by OptimusPriustus, Oct 18, 2021.

  1. OptimusPriustus

    OptimusPriustus Active Member

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    When i was replacing tires of my 2010 i noticed the lugnuts were damn tight. Original Toyota alloys and nuts. I’ve been told that one should use short bursts with cordless impact wrench to get max impacts. My Makita is 1000nm and 1600nm at start up and i shot some 20 burst on some of the nuts and only then they opened. Is my technigue wrong or were the nuts just crazy tight? Should i have just let the wrench roar until nut opens and forget the bursting..?
     
  2. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Sounds like someone really tightend them, probably with an impact gun.
    I used an adjustable one and would adjust it down so they weren't too tight.
    76ft# is the torque in America. I imagine it would be the same in Finland.
    Not sure what the equivilent conversion would be there though.
    Just looked it up: 103.1nm.

    I've used a long breaker bar, with a pipe entention and had someone bounce on it while
    someone smacked it with a hammer to break them free. It's little tricky to do by yourself,
    but it is doable.
     
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  3. OptimusPriustus

    OptimusPriustus Active Member

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    I also use adjustable torque wrench in tightening. 110nm (81 foot-pound) which may be a little on the high side but the readins in the tool a little hard so 110 it is. I don’t trust those torque ”sticks” what the shops probably use (hence nuts crazy tight).

    btw, i noticed at least one metal curl coming off. Aluminum i suppose..
     
  4. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    They are easier to remove if they were not overtorqued to begin with.

    Even so, they can get stubborn if they have not been moved for a while.

    I have a technique that has worked well here.

    The lug nuts have captive washers. It is the washers that exert pressure on the wheel.

    People advise never using anti-seize on the threads. And I follow that advice ... I never put anti-seize there.

    Likewise, I never put anti-seize between the nuts and the wheels. (You wouldn't want motion there anyway; you want the nut to rotate and the washer to stay put.)

    But when I have all my nuts off to do tire rotation, I will use a thin tool like a jeweler's screwdriver, and put a small dab of anti-seize in the gap between each nut and its captive washer, and twist the washer around to distribute it.

    The result is lug nuts that are always very well behaved.
     
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  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah torqued to 76 foot/pounds, you will not have problems removing them.
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Oct 18, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2021
  6. OptimusPriustus

    OptimusPriustus Active Member

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    Here wheels are replaced twice a year and i bought the car in summer. So those crazy torques had been aplied no more than half a year ago. And there was clearly grease in the threads. Did not have time to clean it off. Tiny drop of some lithium(?) grease would have been nice to have in dried threads
     
  7. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Overtightning them can damage the threads. Walfart does this ALL the time!
    They screwed up all my lug nuts and several of the threads on my Van because they think
    it calls for 200ft#'s for the lug nuts.
    I always loosened them and torqued them correctly when I got home.


    QUOTE="OptimusPriustus, post: 3196583, member: 194588"]I also use adjustable torque wrench in tightening. 110nm (81 foot-pound) which may be a little on the high side but the readins in the tool a little hard so 110 it is. I don’t trust those torque ”sticks” what the shops probably use (hence nuts crazy tight).

    btw, i noticed at least one metal curl coming off. Aluminum i suppose..[/QUOTE]
     
  8. OptimusPriustus

    OptimusPriustus Active Member

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    yes, i need to reduce a little
     
  9. Georgina Rudkus

    Georgina Rudkus Senior Member

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    I do, however use anti-seize lubricant but all so sparingly. I coat the mating surface between the alloy wheel and the steel hub to prevent corrosion. Anti-seize is applied to the threads of the studs, too. Again, sparingly.

    Almost all of it is wiped off, before the nuts are tightened. Instead of 75 ft. lbs., I apply 70 ft. lbs. using a torque wrench.

    This method is often recommended by aircraft manuals in corrosive environments.
     
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  10. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    WHEN a few short bursts with the gun don't seem to be loosening them any.......
    give it one very short burst in the OTHER DIRECTION. Yes, toward tightening.
    That will sometimes help break them loose.
     
  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    or off
     
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  12. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    From the manual
     

    Attached Files:

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  13. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

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    almost sprayed my drink on the screen from laughing at this!
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    To be fair, slight tightening is a trick, for loosening stuck bolts/studs. If they're rust-seized, a counter-clockwise "jitter", then clockwise (carefully...), and so on, back and forth, you gradually increase the bolt's free rotation zone. Maybe just with hand tools is safer though.
     
  15. mr_guy_mann

    mr_guy_mann Senior Member

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    If the lugnuts were properly torqued AND haven't corroded in place then a few short bursts should spin them loose. Otherwise I just hold the trigger in and see what happens. The normal vibrating shocks from the impact gun will help loosen the lugs or they are dead anyway.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  16. OptimusPriustus

    OptimusPriustus Active Member

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    They certainly were not properly torqued. Since at least one tiny metal curl came off i think i need to check the threads. And I wonder whether replacing the bolts is DIY stuff at all(?). At least they seem to be easily available at autopart stores
     
  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    They press out of the hub, new ones press in. If you can do that, it's DIY. :)

    Use a proper threaded tool for the pressing, don't bang on them (bearings don't like that).
     
  18. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    It's more likely the threads are the the nuts. But both are easily checked.
    You should be able to get new nuts from an automotive store, or Toyota.
    If you have a large clamp, and larger sockets, you can replace them yourself.
    Put the wider socket on the backside of the stub, and start tightening the clamp.
    You may have to smack it a few times with a hammer to shock it free.
    Then install the other one and use a nut to tighten in the new one.

     
  19. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    There are about a dozen different varieties of thread-locking compound, from easily removed on micro screws all the way up to
    "don't even think about trying to get this loose" -
    - some require primer
    - know which product you apply

    Torque technology continues to evolve. A company called hytorc for example has a torque gun that will allow you to apply over ½ ton ft lbs, for example, with just one hand. iirc, about five years ago our company paid over $20K for one of these bad boys + attachments.

    [​IMG]

    .
     
    #19 hill, Oct 20, 2021
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2021
  20. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    No need to be fair.......or helpful.......when there is an opportunity to throw rocks at someone.
    :(