Copper grease on wheel stud threads

[drivewasher]

no it won't. I was referring to wheels we remove to do repairs and tyre fitting.

Transits for example are renown for wheels coming loose. A torque wrench is the only measured way of fitting wheel nuts. We buz gun em on set on low just for speed, then do them up the last turn or so to the correct torque setting.

Also it prevents over tightening so the customer can get them off again with the acme mickey mouse wrench that came with the car.

If there is grease or copper slip on threads the torque wrench won't set the torque it just keeps going.. try it thats why threads strip and studs snap with over tightening

[les]

Optimally TA grease specified in my manual for wheel nut/bolt threads.

[philthehill]

I have just done the wheel bearings on my trailer and when re-fitting the wheel studs gave them a smear of Copper Ease then did them up by wheel brace to what I consider is a suitable tightness then set the torque wrench to that tightness/torque and then checked/set all the wheel studs to that torque.
Yes you can over tighten a stud by lubricating it but you have to take into consideration the lubrication and adjust the torque accordingly. No different to fitting/lubricating some cylinder head studs in which the stud manufacturer gives an adjusted torque reading for lubricated studs.
Using the above method has never caused me any problems at all with either loose or over tightened wheel studs.
Any fool can over tighten and strip a thread- it is knowing when to stop and what is a suitable tightness which possibly comes from years of removing and re-fitting wheels on all sorts of vehicles.
Nevertheless I shall still continue to put a smear of Copper ease on my wheel studs and check the tightness regularly.

[les]

There is one point that might be worth mentioning, don't grease the part of nut or bolt that makes contact with the wheel.

[drivewasher]

Each to his own.
I have to account for the safety of our passengers and the general public. I can just see being called up in front of the traffic commissioner to defend a lost wheel accident.
"How did you fit the wheel" "Well torque setting is 250Nm but as I greased the threads I set the wrench to 120Nm to allow for that" That would would at best get us moved from green to red then our vehicles would get stopped every time they passed a Vosa ANPR camera. I think we'll stick to the prescribed method though just in case!

[drivewasher]

Les

I changed the tyres round on one of our Mercedes Vito's about 2 years ago as one of the steel rims was damaged I had to fit the spare rim that had been under the bus since before we bought it. The tapered holes that the nut taper fits into was a bit rusty so I torqued the wheel up intending to fit the new rim that was on order the next day when it came. I did an airport run that night to help the drivers out. As I approached Manchester airport 23 miles later I noticed a rumble as I changed lanes to get off the motorway as I came round the right hand bend on the link road it sounded like I was on the rumble strip. When I stopped to see what was going on I was horrified to find the wheel bolts had come loose on that wheel, not just a turn but almost out completely all 5 of them. I used the mickey mouse wrenched and believe me I jumped on it! When I took the wheel off next day the tapered holes in the wheel were shinny like a mirror.

I think had a driver been on it the wheel would have been lost, All the care we take and that happens

[morris van]

I had a 10 month old VW Golf once which I bought from a VW dealership and I needed to change a wheel because of a puncture after two days of ownership there was no way it was coming off so pumped up tyre and took it to the garage and it took them nearly two hours to remove all wheels as they had been over tightened.