Wheel changing tools

I might just add a bit to Brian's great tip. The F250 wheel nuts are tightened to 220 Newton Metres and to put that in perspective the nuts on my BT (each stud size has a different torque setting) are torque'd to 108Nm. It is very hard to gauge torque by using a wheel brace especially at these levels even seasoned mechanics of 20 years only get it right by luck rather than design. With the BT wheel nuts only having to be half as tight as the F250 you can see how hard it is to get right with a wheel brace. It is very important to get each nut tightened evenly especially in the F250's case as you are tightening alloy onto steel with a special "grip nut". The only real way to get the nuts evenly torque'd and at the right amount is to use a torque wrench. They range in price and quality but $250 should be about the average. Because the nuts are different sizes between BT and vehicle you could buy two sockets, one to suit each nut , a 150mm 1/2 inch drive extension, a torque wrench and use this to tighten wheel nuts. For undoing use the socket and extension and a 1/2 inch drive bar not a rachet drive ..... at 220Nm the rachet drive teeth will eventually fail. Having this onboard gives peace of mind when a puncture is repaired by a tyre fitter and they do it up with a rattle gun, you can then check them with the torque wrench. All vehicles should have their wheel nuts tightened by torque wrench especially 4x4's towing BT's .....it is considered severe service so all maintenance and checks should be shortened .....I check wheel nuts every 500k on dirt. With Xmas round the corner how about it ladies .....a nice new torque wrench for the BT guy in your life ..... [smile] Regards Anthony

Anthony, Just want to make sure I get this right - the Nm you have quoted for the BT, does that assume steel wheels are fitted? Thanks, Phil

G'day Phil et al, In my case I have steel wheels with a tapered "type" nut which centres the rim as the nuts are tightened. The torque setting I use is right for my stud size, nut and wheel type. BT's can differ from one to the other depending on stud size, wheel pattern or rim type. Check with BT first ... the wheel maker second ...failing that here is a general guide .... Source : ROH Wheels Aust. 10mm stud ...45-55 ft lbs 12mm stud ...70-80 ft lbs 14mm stud ...85-90 ft lbs 7/16" stud ...70-80 ft lbs 1/2" stud ...75-85 ft lbs 9/16" stud 135-145 ft lbs Most torque wrenches have dual readout i.e. ft lbs and Newton Metres. The conversion is ....to convert ft lbs to Nm multiply by 1.3558.(One point three five five eight) The torque wrench technique I've used since a boy is to use approx 1/3 of the final setting at a time to give three "tightens per stud/nut". When tightening a wheel to say 100Nm whack 35Nm on the dial ...do nuts up in right sequence .... this first low torque setting also centres the wheel more evenly .... then say 65 Nm ....then final 100Nm. While on corrugations when warming engine to take off next morning whack correct setting for stud on dial run around vehicle/van ..... easy. More damage occurs from over-tightening than under-tightening. Over-tightening of a taper seat steel wheel leads to the taper deforming resulting in a wheel that becomes ill-fitting. As the right clamping force cant then be applied cyclic failure/fatigue life is reduced markedly. Regards Anthony Explore this Great Land ...Do it Easy ...Tow a Bushtracker