I just had brakes done and I was able to help the guy at the Paso Robles Truck Center , I have always felt helpless that I could not jack up coach and remove even a wheel, and like a lot of you guys I try to do most service and repair myself, my air compressor at home is a 2 hp 20 gallon unit that can't hardly fill up tires, so I bought a used/new Ingersoll Rand compressor that had fallen over on the skid it was on and damaged the compressor, Bought it on Craig's list , It is an 80 gallon 2 stage 7.5 hp that will go to 165 lbs. Had to replace the magnetic starter air cleaner assembly and a couple other parts, It's not perfect a little beet up but it seems to work fine. I bought a 1 inch impact gun and a 20 ton air bottle jack to lift it up , So now as soon as gun shows up I can see if will remove lugs and raise coach. At truck center the two handled impact removed and put on lugs no torque was used. What is the torque on the wheel lugs?
I have the same compressor in my farm shop. I would highly recommend using 1/2" air hose to supply enough air volume to the wrench.
Off the top of my head I think its 400 foot pounds. You can find the recommended torque in the Alcoa wheel manual.
From your signature, you have the Budd wheels. They are not as critical as the hub centering later wheels. The torque is 400-450 but just as important is to cross torque 12 o'clock then 6 o'clock etc. I have always used an air gun on my trucks and they are Budd also, never had a problem. The tire shops around here just use the air gun on the Budd truck wheels also,
My lug nuts have 450-500 ft lbs stamped right onto the face of them. You might give yours a look to see if you have something similar.
A one inch impact wrench can over torque the wheel nuts. When I bought my snow tires the tire shop over torqued my wheels and a few were over 1000 lbs. Had a hard time removing the wheels in the spring. I saw the shop using a torque wrench, but if they over
torque the nuts with the impact gun, the torque wrench was a waste of time. I change my tires myself now so I know its done right.
IR cordless 1/2 gun works great for me.
Stud pilot wheels are 450 ft lbs +- 50. They are left and right hand threads so pay attention to the correct direction to remove and tighten the wheels. Front wheels are straight forward, rears have an outer nut then the outer wheel comes off then an inner nut (outer stud) which has a square end, then an inner wheel. Torque the inner nut to a little over 450 and the outer a little under. Some times the inner nut turns with the outer and you end up with a outer rim that still has both attached. There is a tool for that too it fits around the outer nut and either rests against the rim or latches into the hole in the rim and you spin the inner nut.
As I remember, if you lube the studs the torque is around 350#. Higher torque figure if the studs are dry.
My lugs are wet torqued to 400-500 lb ft. That value is stamped into the lug nut. TCI tire uses a very long torque wrench set at 475 lb ft. Having said that it is very important to re check the torque after driving the coach. After a tire change this summer I had to do mine three times before they stayed tight. The first time at 100 miles and the next two times about 1000-1200 miles. TCI has shops all across the country so I was able to do this as we traveled at no charge. I was quite surprised the first two times at how many lugs were "loose"
There are bud wheel nuts on my 1996. I lubricate the threads (not the taper in the nut or the wheel) and torque the rear inner studs to 375#, wand the rear outer nuts to 325#. The fronts I torque to 350#, which is the torque recommended by Alcoa when threads are lubricated. I always recheck the torque at circa 100 miles, after removing a wheel and have never found a nut had loosened off. Are the hub centered wheel nuts more likely to loosen in the first few miles?
Regarding the inner stud on the rear loosening when the outer nut is removed, I was told by an old time trucker that it is very common for that to occur due to rust, particularly when the wheel has not been removed for years.
No, hub pilot wheel nuts are not more susceptible to loosening. However hub pilot wheels are much less tolerant of corrosion or foreign materials in between the mating surfaces of the rim causing misalignment and wheels coming loose.
As for checking the torque of stud pilot rear wheels. To do it correctly you really should drive after install then loosen outer nuts and retorque the inner then torque the outer and drive again and retorque the outer.
Got a Proto # 6020 90-600 lbs torque on Craigs List from Texas used $ 100 bucks looks good.
You might want to check the calibration or have someone do it for you.
I use one of these torque multipliers from Harbor Freight to R&R lug nuts;
Yes double check the calibration, you can do so against a known good wrench. Back off to lowest setting when not in use but not all the way until it bottoms out. This relieves the tension on the spring inside without letting the pin fall out of the end of it.
My buddy with Snap-Ons came by one day and we found that my cheap HF's were matched to his. LOL
Here is a Cheater Wrench
Torque Multiplier Lug Nut Remover Demo | Cheater Wrench™ - YouTube (https://youtu.be/vesBDXCWrUw)
Just got an IR (Ingersol-Rand) W7150 cordless 1/2" drive, and it will remove our coach wheel lugs without breaking a sweat. Speced at 780 ft-lbs.
I got a 470 ft-ln torque stick to install. Have checked the tightened lugs with the approved breaker bar plus cheater pipe at calibrated length plus known organic weight :) method, and installed torque is on the money as far as I can tell.
I'll have it at Q if anyone wants to see it.