Date:         Sun, 2 Nov 2008 20:32:29 -0800
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject:      Un-removable lug nuts?  Prevent this and another hint..
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

I bet someone will say..."Oh sure, but you can't do that," on this one, but
here's what I've learned to do, at the racetrack.

  Stick a little dab of anti-seize on the bolt or stud every time you change
the wheel.  Torque it down..I use 120ft lbs on these vanagon steel wheels.
In a pinch, that translates to "substantial effort with a Star lug wrench"
You should find what is recommended for your  torque on your alloy wheels..I
used about 110ft lbs on my alloy wheels on my P-car at the track.  Don't use
alloy nuts..especially if your studs are steel...the dissimilar metals will
react and cause the threads  to corrode and stick.
  I use that high temp silver anti-seize..Maybe not on a Vanagon, but under
high braking loads,  hubs can and do get red hot ..
  Always... always re-check the tightness of your lugs..If you're out in the
backcountry and can't change a wheel because some tire shop guy got his
finger stuck on the trigger of his impact wrench, you will be very sorry you
didn't take the time (2 minutes) to check.
  Whenever I am changing wheels on any vehicle, I always tie something
(string, tape, whatever) onto the steering wheel.  The very last thing I do,
before I remove that string,  is go round with my torque wrench and check
everything.....and then and only then, I untie my 'reminder' off the
steering wheel and go on to the next "thing"..  If you get called inside or
otherwise distracted during a wheel change...you can forget that you didn't
torque a wheel.  If you get in to go somewhere and you still find a
string..You know you should re-check the lugs.....I saw a really beautiful
Ferrari 360 Modena (in my  mirrors, of course, grin!) go three-wheeling into
a concrete wall because someone forgot to check the lugnuts.
  Another 'race mechanic' double check trick?  If you are changing plugs or
doing any work where you have to temporarily plug some holes into the inside
of the motor...Always have a count of the number of shop rags you've put in
there and before you crank it over...make damn sure you have the same number
you've taken back out....
I once did a 3 day long cam change on my 4-cam 32 valve V-8 racecar.  I
found, after driving from Portland to Arizona for a race, that my oil
pressure was not quite right...after dismantling the whole motor again (back
home, of course) we finally found a shop rag that had been sucked  down into
the pan and had partially worked into the oil pickup, clear down in the
bottom of the motor....Musta sucked it into a valve when turning the motor
over off the flywheel,  to time all those cams, and I never noticed one
missing...32 rags in--31 rags back out...not good.  A weeks driving and 3500
miles wasted  for no racing at all...Luckily at the time, diesel fuel for
the towing vehicle was only about 1/3 of it's present cost..


  Don Hanson