Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:29:51 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: lug nuts torque-
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="utf-8"; reply-type=original
If I use one of those cross 4 way lug wrenches at all,
I keep a nice fat cheater pipe to go with it.
they don't tighten, or loosen, at all, like 18 inches worth of pipe or
breaker bar can.
and checking how tight they are after getting van back from a tire store -
very smart !
just get a length of pipe to fit over the end .
the stock little thing ..
they would be OK if used correctly.
for one thing ..you need some cheater extension for them ...either solid bar
to go inside , or pipe to go over ..
but that is not the 'weak part.'
what is weak about them is that many people don't realize that while
applying a turning force on it, you need to be careful not to apply a
tilting force on it.
When people allow tilting force, it just splits the side of the socket area,
which I have seen a few times . ( Wieldable though )
It is underbuilt for sure.
Should have been a cast or forged thing, but used right, they're 'tolerable'
I'd say. And having something better, and in addition to the stock lug
wrench is the only way to go really.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Mcneely" <mcneely4@COX.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2010 7:45 AM
Subject: lug nuts torque-
> Several of you indicated that using a 4-way lug wrench one would likely be
> unable to take off the lug nuts on my camper ('91 VW Vanagon GL
> Campmobile). One problem mentioned was that tire shop techs might be
> prone to set their impact wrenches at too high a torque. So, I decided I
> needed to run a drill to make sure I could loosen the nuts if need be. I
> also wanted to run a drill with the OEM jack again, to see how I went with
> that (it'd been a while since I tried it).
>
> 1. I think the jack is ok, maybe better than I formerly thought. It
> raised the van perfectly well, and seemed as stable as one might expect of
> any except a floor jack. I chocked the wheels with 4"x4" wooden blocks
> before jacking.
>
> 2. I was able to loosen the lug nuts perfectly well with the 4x4, which
> has torque arms about 8" each way, giving me 16" of torque (8" for each of
> my arms). No problem. I then tightened them as tightly as I could with
> the 4-way.
>
> 3. Does this mean, in your minds, that the nuts might not be adequately
> tightened (the owner's manual states 130 ft lb or 180 Nm, and that any
> person of average strength should be able to obtain that with the OEM lug
> wrench). I do have the OEM wrench, but it looks completely inadequate,
> and I did not try it.
>
> 4. I'm taking the van in to the tire shop today to have the five wheel
> rotation and balance. I'll make it a point to tell the tech to torque to
> 130 ft lb, then I will check the nuts again myself when I get home.
> Should I still get a breaker bar, or is torquing as tightly as I can with
> the 4-way wrench ok? I have never had a heavy vehicle like this before,
> and have always been satisfied with the torque that I could get with a lug
> wrench.
>
> Thanks, David McNeely
| 
