Well if you can get a charge on it that prevents the "galvanic action,then rust will pretty well be taken care of,corrosion is just like slow combustion in an oxidizing enviroment,corrosion actually generates an electric current,just like a chemical power cell.
Yosemite, the only thing that was proven was that lugs left loose would work their way off. Lugs properly torqued were never a problem. Still aren’t.
This was a classic case of overkill that proved to cause more problems than it solved.
There used to be a company that marketed an electronic device that was supposed to put a charge on the frame of your car that would prevent rust from forming, similar to larger “cathodic protection” units that are used effectively on ocean-going ships and pipelines. I have no idea if it really worked at all, or if it was precisely as effective as those magnetic “fuel savers”. I suppose since you don’t hear about it any more, that’s answer enough.
I guess I knew about the L lugs and was told that was the reason. Took the guy three pages to get to the point though. I always insisted that people provide their main point in the first paragraph, then use the rest of the pages to fill in the discussion and details.
The front lugs on my son’s car were loose once and I just can’t be sure what side they were on or both fronts. I thought they were on the right though for sure, which would mean that they should have been tightening themselves. It has been a mystery for the past 15 years since no one did any tire service at all prior to it. I’m wondering if someone intentionally loosened them now.
Speaking of lugs . . .
I work next to a guy who drowns any and all lugs he encounters with anti-seize
Once he bottle necks the threads and/or busts a lug when attempting to torque a lug nut, he’ll stop doing it
I haven’t said anything to him, because I’m not the boss, and I don’t want to start any arguments.
But what REALLY irks me is that every time I work on a truck that he serviced previously, and I remove the lugnuts, that stupid antiseize is all over my arms and hands. He puts on so much of it, that when I’m removing a lugnut with my impact, it literally sprays everywhere and the rim is also splattered with the stuff
Disgusting!
Perhaps it’d be a good idea to buy him a cup of coffee after work some time and explain it to him.
You might not be his boss, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reach out as a friend. You might even become a mentor.
It might also be wise to discuss how antiseize compound affects torque values. It’s generally considered appropriate to reduce torque values by 25% with antiseize. Some say 20%. You might suggest he look it up.
The only time I’ve used anti seize on lug is on the trailer. Its light enough and the bolts get rusted enough that the wheel will just spin trying to get them loose. The air wrench works but if you are on the road it would be impossible to change a tire. They are always hand torqued though and never are loose.
mountainbike
Years ago, one single time I put antiseize on a lugbolt . . . I was still at the Benz dealer
Sure enough, when I tried to torque the first one, my torque wrench didn’t click
I wisely did NOT keep going, trying to get that click
Instead, I racked the car again and removed all of the rims
Sure enough, that lugbolt that didn’t click . . . the threads were bottlenecked big time. And even some of the ones I was “able” to torque, the threads were also bottlenecked.
I spent several minutes cleaning off the antiseize of the lugbolts that I hadn’t ruined yet. And naturally I replaced the bottlenecked lugbolts
Once the car was down on the ground again, I was able to properly torque all of the lugbolts
I never, ever put antiseize on lugs again
I learned my lesson
The wheels on the rear of my old pickup used to stick in the center hole that centers them on the hubs and the contact surfaces themselves would sometimes rust together… when the truck got old. I used to put antiseize on these two spots to help deal with the problem. It worked well.
I also used to use stainless bolts and nuts in exhaust applications. SS tends to gall, and the antiseize solved that problem too. Actually, I use antiseize in all the bolts and nuts under the car where torque isn’t critical. Clamps, brackets, stuff like that.
I haven’t said anything to him, because I’m not the boss, and I don’t want to start any arguments.
Well I am the boss here and I’ve gone through the same thing. I had a guy here for a couple of years, used anti-seize on all kinds of things–spark plugs, wheel lugs, and we had several discussions about the supposed benefits and uses. Finally I just told him, while you’re working here do not ever put anti-seize on spark plugs or lug nuts. I don’t know if it was conscious or not but he just wouldn’t listen. I finally threw away all the anti-seize in the shop.
I don’t use anti-seize on lugs although I do lightly add a little to the face of the wheel hub now and then if certain cars are prone to wheels freezing to the hubs.
It’s a small dab and certainly not enough to coat everybody and everything for the next decade…
Actually, my experience is that a little dab IS enough to coat everybody and everything for the next decade! That stuff spreads like the plague. That and graphite lubricant.
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Still better than sweating, cursing, and rupturing half of the discs in the spine trying to remove a frozen wheel.
Several people I worked with have pulled this but it’s not something I would ever consider doing. One guy told me one afternoon to “watch this” and backed a Thunderbird out of the stall. He made a spin around the car lot and drove it back into the same stall.
He then asked me what I thought of it which led to my nonchalantly glancing up and saying think of what?
He then pointed out that all 10 lugs were removed from both front wheels.
Another guy did this with a VW after backing it out of the service stall and then back onto the rack. Not a single lug bolt on either front wheel.
Agreed.
Why would anybody knowingly move a car with no lug nuts?
I can’t answer that question unless it was to make a meaningless point . It’s not something I would ever consider doing. If I tried it the wheels would fall off and then I’d be on the hook for a bunch of damage.
Dang,where did my post go?(the cyberspace gremlins strike again)
I doubt if they made the “point” they intended. The impression I’d be left with would have more to do with the nut behind the steering wheel than the missing nuts on the lugs.