here I am, drowning in 2 inches of water again - antiseize on wheel nuts/studs - bad idea?
To keep my aluminum wheel nuts in good condition, I put aluminum antiseize on them. Now I think it is a bad idea because they can more easily back out.
I have used the gray anti seize on many threaded connections including lug nuts for quite a few years and never had a problem. Hundreds of brake jobs each year for over 25 years.
Good idea. They should not back off if torqued properly.
Don’t put on too much antiseize, just a dab
You can bottleneck the threads
Let me qualify that last statement . . . if you put on too much antiseize and then use the torque wrench, you might never hear/feel the click. Then you remove the lugnut or lugbolt, only to realize you’ve just bottlenecked it
Less is more
Never apply any kind of lubricant to the lug nuts/studs.
These are dry torque fasteners. And adding a lubricant will result in false torque readings resulting in over tightening of the fasteners.
Because the wheels/tires are removed and installed often for various repairs/services, this over tightening can stretch the lug stud over time causing the stud to fatigue causing failure.
If I get a vehicle in the shop that requires that I remove and reinstall the tires, and I find any lubricant on the nuts/studs, I refuse to touch the vehicle.
http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/yokohama-s-drives-on-pch-1/make-sure-your-wheels-are-properly-torqued
Tester
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I stand corrected!
The subject of using anti-seize on wheel studs has been debated here before. I personally do not subscribe to the use of anti-seize on wheel studs, as it can easily cause over torqueing, which can lead to overstressing the studs. That can cause the thread(s) closest to the wheel to be stretched, preventing subsequent proper nut installation and even creating stress fractures that can result the loss of a stud.
Apparently I got started before that memo was posted. Luckily I enjoyed years of using the anti seize with good results.
I understand the reasoning behind it but…it is not recommended by tire installers in general. Obviously, if all you do is buy new tires and leave them on for their life time without rotating them, I could see how you might feel it’s worth it. I just can’t find it as a normal accepted practice. Most feel you could over torque the lug nots.
Well?
Just because someone does something wrong for a lot of years doesn’t make it right.
Does it?
Tester
In our heavy rust/salt climate, if you don’t apply anti-seize to the lugs and whatever the wheel seats against you stand a good chance of not getting the lug nuts off without breaking the stud.
Also, if you get the nuts off the studs, you might not get the wheels off. I have seen cases where a sledgehammer, penetrating fluid and putting the lug nuts on loosely and driving the car didn’t work and the only thing that did was driving the car to someone with a torch.
Besides, since most dealerships, inspection shops and tire dealers here routinely overtighten your wheels to the point to where it takes a 3 1/2 foot pipe over your breaker bar to break them free, I don’t think the antiseize is that big a deal.
I agree with @dagosa here. Personally…I have never had the need for anti-seize but I can understand the reason it exists. I own a torque wrench and I know how to use it.
you should not lubricate torqued connections of this type.
if you are in conditions where your lugs(studs) are rusting badly, you may have to break the rules in order to facilitate wheel removal.
pick yer poison
Applying anti-seize where the wheel touches the hub is a good idea.
I’m in the camp that says not to put it on the lug nuts or bolts due to overtorquing. If you’re worried about the lugs getting stuck, it takes five minutes to break them loose and retorque them one by one every now and then.
Is anyone keeping track of polarizing issues like this one? We need to know who our enemies are.
If I can’t twist them off by hand after the initial loosening, I use anti-seize when I put them back on. I also use the little wrench that comes with the car to tighten them down. No way you’re over torquing them with that little wrench. I can always get them loose with the same little wrench too. I have never had a lug nut rust on, a stud that needed to be replaced or a wheel come loose. ever. For me, my experience and care in doing the work trumps some bogus rule of thumb designed to cover every possible scenario…to each his own. I will now gravitate to the side with the anti-seize proponents milling about.
i never use it i live in one of saltiest states and never had a problem getting them off i have broke a few studs in my lifetime but they are usually cheap so its not really a problem with me. i would think with proper tire rotation they wouldnt have time to get too stuck either. i could see how it would help to get them off but like the others said it will throw off the torque and to me it just another unneeded step
We need an anti-seize on lug nuts, oil filter brand, and synthetic oil vs dino oil thread that runs in perpetuity. All comments and arguments regarding any of these topics would have to be discussed in that thread and nowhere else. Or maybe a whole separate forum. Then we could also open a forum for people who like to complain about anything new. This would open up space for a lot of really good conversations.
ever use it i live in one of saltiest states and never had a problem getting them off i have broke a few studs in my lifetime but they are usually cheap so its not really a problem with me.
I am sorry but I put broken studs in the problem category. It is not that replacing a stud is so difficult but If I have a flat tire on a trip, I want to be able to change the tire and if it is so hard to remove the lug nuts will break, I can’t do that on the side of the road.
“It is not that replacing a stud is so difficult…”
FSM for my 2010 Honda Insight requires that the front hub be removed from the vehicle and the stud pressed out. I’m not saying this is difficult, but it isn’t an easy DIY project.