Are there any possible side effects of overtightening wheelnuts?
I got two new tyres recently and after they were put on one of them sounded like it was rubbing. I had a godd look at it (while it was stopped obviously) and noticed it was slightly looser than the others. I was able to give 3 of the nuts a couple of extra turns and the noise disappeared. Roll on two weeks and I drop the car off for a service. Picked it up today and the mechanic said there was a rubbing noise off the back left wheel (same one as before). He tightened the nuts himself and he told me to bring it back it if got worse. Driving home and the nosie was driving me mad. I got out out my tyre iron and found I could tighten two of the nuts by a couple of turns. The noise is now gone again.
I am now confused. either
A) both the mechanic and tyre fitter are incomptent and cant tighten wheel properly
B) I have the strength of a god and have now overtightened the wheel nuts.
Given B could I do damage to the wheel by overtightening? Could I be masking a more serious problem by overtigthening them?
Unless you have an “X” shaped tire iron, it’s hard to imagine you could overtighten the nuts. With most tire irons, it’s questionable if an average person could get the nuts tight enough, let alone too tight.
A nut that could be tightened a couple of turns (or even one turn) was definitely too loose. If a nut were properly tightened, it would be very difficult to further tighten it a quarter turn, and I would expect the lug stud to break off somewhere around a half turn beyond correct tightness.
In answer to your actual question, yes, overtightening lug nuts can cause problems. It can make them virtually impossible to remove with normal tools (especially typical lousy tire irons), which can turn a flat tire into a need for a tow. On some cars, it can cause warpage of brake discs or drums, or even of wheel hub flanges. And in extreme cases, it can cause the lug stud to break off.
There may be something odd about that wheel that somehow deceived both the people who worked on it. Or they may both have simply goofed. Sad to say, there is a correct way to do even something as basic as attach a wheel, and not everyone earning a living working on cars knows what they ought to know.
I’d be inclined to carefully inspect the wheel, especially its hub opening (if that’s a snug fit onto the hub) and the holes where the nuts fit. Then I’d tighten the nuts, in proper sequence and in three stages, using a torque wrench for the final tightening.
Okay, you could have overtightened the nuts, although that doesn’t mean you did overtighten them.
The common result of nuts too loose – losing a wheel while driving – is worse than the common result(s) of nuts too tight.
It might be wise to have the nuts on all 4 wheels tightened with a torque wrench. Be aware that there is no way to measure the tightening torque on something already tightened. A torque wrench measures the tightening torque during the process of tightening. IT IS NECESSARY TO FIRST LOOSEN EACH NUT BEFORE TORQUING IT.
Gary, I’m just a little thing (120 pounds) but I tore not one but two lug bolts clean off of a car I had by using the hand lug wrench supplied. Thankfully, I had some extra hubs laying around (what, you don’t think I bothered to drill them out?). Would the fact that they were lug bolts, and not nuts, make a difference? I honestly cannot decide.
After that sad, cold January day (which may have been another factor) I always carried a torque wrench in my spare well, just in case my toolbox was at home.
When my friends gave me a bicycle for my birthday, the first thing I did was to tighten all the screws (since it is sold with the screws just put on - at least here in Germany). I found that after my first ride, the seat was loose. I tightened the screws again but by the next day, the seat was loose again.
On close inspection, I found that the threading on the bold was almost non-existent in one part of it - thus rendering it useless in that part. I finally did manage to use the remaining “good” part of the bolt.
bryanmaguire, maybe you should check if the threading is alright.
When my friends gave me a bicycle for my birthday, the first thing I did was to tighten all the screws (since it is sold with the screws just put on - at least here in Germany). I found that after my first ride, the seat was loose. I tightened the screws again but by the next day, the seat was loose again.
On close inspection, I found that the threading on the bolt was almost non-existent in one part of it - thus rendering it useless in that part. I finally did manage to use the remaining “good” part of the bolt.
bryanmaguire, maybe you should check if the threading is alright.
It’s remotely possible that dirt or corrosion is causing certain nuts to seem tight when they aren’t. It wouldn’t hurt to clean any that seem like they might be a problem, and to apply some anti-sieze compound.
Xema has a point. It is also possible that some of the nuts were overtightened by a power wrench to the point of being nearly stripped. They’ll seem tight until you drive around a while, and the weight of the car pops them off the bunged thread. If that’s what it is, you may have to replace all the studs and nuts. If it’s not cheaper to replace the hub, that is.
Be very very careful here. If a car is run with the lug nuts loose, it can cause slight wear in the bolt holes on the wheel. A wheel with oversized holes often will not stay tight, no matter what, because the play in the fit will work the nuts loose again. I learned this the hard way, having a wheel fall off a car only a short time after retighting it. If there appears to be any damage at all to the wheel or bolts, replace them.
It is possible to over tighten the bolts also. This can deform the hub/brake drum and weaken the bolts.