20
My buddy swore by using a breaker bar instead of a torque wrench on lug nuts
A few months back, my friend Mike in Phoenix told me to just crank lug nuts with a breaker bar and skip the torque wrench, saying it saved time. Then I had a wheel wobble on my '05 Civic after a tire rotation, and two studs snapped off when I tried to remove them later. Has anyone else had bad luck following advice from guys who don't use torque specs?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
the_tessa12d agoTop Commenter
Not saying it's a great idea, but one time with a wobble doesn't prove it's always a disaster. You sure the studs weren't already damaged?
7
reesemoore12d ago
Wait wait wait, @the_tessa - you're saying two studs snapping off later isn't a big deal? I mean, I get the point about maybe they were already damaged, but come on. My buddy Mike was cranking them down so hard with that breaker bar I could hear the threads screaming. When I finally got the wheel off, the remaining studs were all stretched weird and one had a hairline crack across the base. That's not pre-existing damage, that's pure brute force from someone who thinks "good enough" means gorilla tight. I'd rather spend the extra 2 minutes with a torque wrench than risk replacing a whole hub assembly again.
4