Busting a nut: members blow their own horn on the least messiest way to get it off

[vengie]

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During removal is what I meant...over torquing can definitely happen while tightening, but I've never heard of breaking while using a breaker bar to loosen them.

I've done it, ironically it was also on an STI (90_Shelby).
I think whoever installed that wheel used an impact gun, Impact wouldn't budge it, used a 3' breaker bar and a snipe, after penetrating oil... That stud was bound to snap.

I agree with ThePenIsMightier, use impact to take them off, and obviously properly torque on.
I've never had an issue using this method on my personal vehicles for ~8 years.

[sabad66]

phew, thought i was doing something wrong using impact to remove. Will continue to do that.

btw, does anyone know if there is a database or something out there that tells you proper torque specs for each year/model/make? in the past i've always googled, but sometimes i end up having to dig through forum posts to find an answer when really it should be a lot easier.

[ExtraSlow]

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phew, thought i was doing something wrong using impact to remove. Will continue to do that.

btw, does anyone know if there is a database or something out there that tells you proper torque specs for each year/model/make? in the past i've always googled, but sometimes i end up having to dig through forum posts to find an answer when really it should be a lot easier.

Owners manual usually has it. That's my source.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Have you ever broken a stud with your human torque strength?

Not yet. But I've rounded a head off. There's no reason it's less likely with an impact gun than me standing on a sniped flex bar, though. Is there?
I suppose one could recognize the extreme tightness while attempting with a bar and then go to a Plan-B with heat & lube. Is that why people are saying "don't use the tool whose sole purpose is making this job easier"?

[sabad66]

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Owners manual usually has it. That's my source.

Yeah but this is 2019 and i'm a millennial. I expect an easy to use app that will give me this info quickly instead of having to risk a paper cut and flip through a paper manual.

[benyl]

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Have you ever broken a stud with your human torque strength?

Stud broken... Did this with a breaker bar...

[ExtraSlow]

I use an impact wrench, I just don't use it to break the lugs free or for final torque. Maybe (probably) I'm over-cautious, but I use a breaker bar for breaking, impact gun to remove, start threads by hand, impact gun to get to "finger tight" then manual torque wrench to do final tighten. I'm sure there's faster ways to do it, but I'm really happy with my system, and I feel it's the least risky possible procedure.

I've had to replace lugs before, and I don't want to do it again.

I guess however you choose to bust a nut, as long as you get it off, you are fine. We all have our preferences.

[D'z Nutz]

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whoever named this thread...

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Realy missed opportunity. Should have been "how to bust a nut".

How about now?

[Tik-Tok]

I do it the same was traSlo does, I always break the torque before I get the wheel off the ground with the jack, so it doesn't move.

This is anecdotal evidence, and on much smaller size hardware, but I can tell you from the literal millions of screws I've removed and installed on aircraft, that many many screw heads have been snapped off, or stripped by using a power tool before breaking the torque slowly with a speed handle first.

Personally I'd rather be overcautious and spend the extra 30 seconds per tire, then have to replace a stud.

[ExtraSlow]

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How about now?

Thank you, I can die a happy man now.

- - - Updated - - -

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I do it the same was traSlo does, I always break the torque before I get the wheel off the ground with the jack, so it doesn't move.

da fuq did you just call me? I will CUT you!

[sabad66]

I guess i'm just not seeing any evidence that using a breaker bar is better than using an impact wrench to 'break' the initial torque. Benyl a few posts up shows he broke the bolt with a breaker bar, so i assume it probably would have broken if he used an impact wrench. That tells me that if its gonna break then its gonna break regardless of what you use.

[Darell_n]

If you have keyed lugs, cheap Chinesium nuts or those stupid 2-ply nuts some domestic trucks use, don’t use an impact to loosen either. They will get fucked up. I use a breaker bar for all, not in so much a hurry to save 2 minutes.

Nobody wants swollen chrome clad nuts from being beaten off too hard. Be gentle.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

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I guess i'm just not seeing any evidence that using a breaker bar is better than using an impact wrench to 'break' the initial torque. Benyl a few posts up shows he broke the bolt with a breaker bar, so i assume it probably would have broken if he used an impact wrench. That tells me that if its gonna break then its gonna break regardless of what you use.

Agreed - if she's going to break, she's going to break. If anything, the impact from the gun has a better chance of loosening corrosion than the steady force from the breaker bar.

[Tik-Tok]

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I guess i'm just not seeing any evidence that using a breaker bar is better than using an impact wrench to 'break' the initial torque. Benyl a few posts up shows he broke the bolt with a breaker bar, so i assume it probably would have broken if he used an impact wrench. That tells me that if its gonna break then its gonna break regardless of what you use.

You'll never see hard evidence either way. But a hardwares lifespan is going to be less if it's battered around by an impact gun it's entire life vs being hand loosened/tightened. That's just a part of metallurgy. It probably doesn't matter if you only keep your car 3-5 years, and only swap wheels twice a year, but if you have it for 20+, you might see the benefits.

I'm 100% sure that tire shops don't ease off the lugs when removing wheels though. Time is money.

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Agreed - if she's going to break, she's going to break. If anything, the impact from the gun has a better chance of loosening corrosion than the steady force from the breaker bar.

That's what anti-seize on lugs/nuts are for.

[Toilet_X]

Well i got all worked up for nothing

[bjstare]

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That's what anti-seize on lugs/nuts are for.

[ExtraSlow]

Well, snapped zero out of 16 lugs tonight on the Fit. I'll take it.

[ercchry]

Just used one of these tonight... on AND off, for on I hand start, then just press and release the button before the lug even makes contact... it “clunks” like 2-3 times still. Then finish by hand wi a breaker bar and my trusty arm which has been dialled in after years of swapping spares at the track

[eblend]

Haha, got interested in the thread based on the title, was surprised to see that it was a post by me from the Post your latest purchase thread. Another thing I learned when replacing the nuts is, don't use the tongue gun to "seat" them into the hub. The nuts have this slitted end that's supposed to slide into the hub to keep them in place. I figured an impact gun would do a swell job seating those bolts, it does not! I bought like 10 lugs just in case as I still had to remove the second wheel when the bolts on the first one snapped, and didn't want to go to the store, but doing the first wheel and using an impact gut to sit the bolts into the hub...destroyed the thread on 2 bolts. At full torgue the bolts wouldn't sit into the hub. I got them in a little bit and put on the wheel, and then when torqueing by hand, the bolts sat all the way no problem. Figured a torque gun would do the job, but I guess the way the force is applied, it's too rough and destroyed the threads instead. Lessons learned, just going to do the whole thing by hand from now on. Glad I learned on the wife's car and not my brand new one