CK5
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A scary reminder to always check your lug nuts.

Yeah and again I don't know for a fact what caused the failure. All I can tell from the damage is that one of the studs definitely looks cracked or somehow fatigued previously as you can see in the close up.

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Oh and about the lubing threads thing. I hand cleaned the threads and all mating surfaces with a wire brush so I'm pretty sure everything was seated properly.

Sounds to me like you know what the heck you are doing. The mating surface of the wheel looked clean, not all fuzzy from corrosion. I remember when Volvo had us taking the wheels off of cars, cleaning the mounting surface of the wheels and hubs, and coating them with light grease because of a corrosion issue. The lugs wouldn't tighten properly because of the fuzz and the wheels would come loose. Cleaning and greasing solved the problem. Now I do it on my own cars too.
 
Any time you lube a nut or bolt you have to derate the torque setting for it. It would be hard to say how much on a wheel stud but there are charts for regular bolts n nuts.

Do you know where to find this chart off hand for those of us who use anti-seize on our fasteners?
 
I barely avoided that same scenario on the Vette....

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\My own oversight caused it and also saved my butt....I forgot to put antifreeze back in the radiator after a alternator relocation project, which of course made the engine get hot quick, so I turned around about 1/4 mi from home and got out and looked at the wheel, and about sh1t my pants...
 
Me or zim?

I torque in a star pattern then I always go around in a circle one more time to check.
 
Also NEVER torque a fastener until ALL fasteners have been gently snugged down otherwise you put alot more stress on the first couple fasteners.
 
Also NEVER torque a fastener until ALL fasteners have been gently snugged down otherwise you put alot more stress on the first couple fasteners.

Yep I do that too. Seriously I'm so anal about stuff like this and constantly check my work to make sure everything is done properly then it's a slap in the face when I'm the poor bastard on the side of the road calling AAA 'cause my damn wheel fell off.:crazy:

Oh well...live and learn and NEVER TRUST THE PO.:thumb:
 
Out of curiousity what did you torque the wheel to and with what brand and kind of torque wrench?
 
I've always heard 80 - 100 ft-lb but I've also seen people recommend up to 125 or so.

I do it to 90 on all my rigs.
 
I've always heard 80 - 100 ft-lb but I've also seen people recommend up to 125 or so.

I do it to 90 on all my rigs.

What is the stud diameter? I know that alloy wheels with a 9/16" stud torque to 115 ft/lbs and i'm betting that yours is slightly smaller (probably a 13mm stud)?
 
1/2" 5 on 4.5

I think Tire Rack says like 75-85 for a 1/2" stud. I just checked Discount Tire and they say 110 specifically for factory Jeep wheels. I figure 90 falls across the board well within the spec for most setups but perhaps I need to reevaluate.
 
i use a chart for color torque bars. change alot off tires this last month,and the last 25 years too.since useing the chart and a few bars .i don,t seem too have problems!
 
I always just torque to whatever the manufacturer said to torque that vehicle's lug nuts to.
 
did you torque them with the star pattern or did you go all the way around in sequential order?

I ddin't torque them at all. I had the car on jackstands over the winter, and replaced the rear diff. When I put the wheels back on I only hand tightened the lugs as it was off the ground, made a mental note that I needed to torque them, and lost my mental note somewhere between then and actually driving it 6 mo. later. I was so lucky to not have that wheel come off and tear up the fiberglass, and suspension.:doah:
 
I normally have the problem of over tighting the lug nuts and breaking the studs. I have never had any come loose. My 400 ft lb impact gun does a good job of getting them tight enough.
 
I just tighten them GOOD with a 4 way lug wrench or the stock "bar" that comes with the vehicle,I have not had any wheels fall off that way yet--I'd rather torque them a bit too tight than risk having one come loose...seems I always need a cheater pipe to bust them loose after a shop tightened them with an impact too--if they dont use a torque wrench,I guess I dont have too either..the only one I own is a cheap "beam" type one thats probably very innacurate anyway...only time I borrow a good one is when I'm replacing a head gasket ,other than that I've had good luck "guessing" at how tight I should put things..

I remember my '63 VW Bus I had,it sat in my driveway a year before I registered it--while it sat I was driving a 63 Beetle,and when its tires went bald,I swiped the like new ones off the Bus,and just threw the bald ones from my Beetle on the Bus,and just finger tightened the lug bolts,I was in a hurry,and figured the Bus wasn't going to leave the yard any time soon anyway..

---6 months later the Beetle threw a rod,so I put the plates on the Bus,and the first ride I took in it was memorable--I made it about 3/4 of a mile away,when suddenly I started hearing a terrible clunking noise--then almost instantly the Bus started bobbing up and down,and I knew right away what I heard was lug bolts rattling around inside the hub cap!--I pulled it into someones driveway just in time--when I took one hub cap off on the drivers side that was making the noise,4 out of 5 lug bolts fell out!--and the last one had about two threads to go before it would have fallen out too,letting the wheel come right off!..
:doah:...was lucky I didn't get myself in a real jam,and that I was able to put the now somewhat boogered up lug bolts back in too!..I tightened all 4 wheels and every lug bolt was loose!...ever since that day I'm pretty paranoid about loose lug nuts or bolts!..
 
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