Lug Bolt Lube

[cobram at juno.com]

What's the English word for disagree, Bullocks?  Wheel bolts on Audis
(and many other vehicles) will get stuck, REALLY stuck,, even when the
proper torque is applied to clean bolts with a calibrated and certified
torque wrench.  Especially in places where salt is used on the roads in
winter,  or if the car is parked on the street during rainy weather, or
parked on wet leaves during the Autumn, and through normal corrosion &
electrolysis.
The bolts WILL stick to the wheel, they will stick to the threads and the
wheel itself will stick to the hub sometimes even when anti-seize is used
on assembly.  Hammering the lug bolts with a brass dowel before removal
helps loosen them a bit, and it's not uncommon to have to take a large
mallet to the tire to get the wheel off a stuck hub.  Right after I
bought the 5KS many, many moons ago, I got a flat tire far from
civilization, long story short, only way to break the wheel free from the
front hub was by driving it into a curb, and that took 2 attempts before
it worked.  (Make sure you leave at least two finger tight lug bolts on
before attempting this.) 
I'll pay the roundtrip airfare for you and your budgerigar (is that an
English term for mechanic?)  to see him do that bubble gum and toothpick
trick on any of the 5 Audi's I own, the best candidate would be the 90q I
bought a few months ago, I had so much fun removing the wheels for
inspection that on reassemble I ran a chaser tap through the threads, and
cleaned the lug bolts with a wire wheel but did not apply any anti-seize
(ran out) before reinstalling to proper torque.  The car had been sitting
for about 6 months before I got it, being moved around very little.   
The car has been sitting outside during the day, and inside at night for
about 3 months of a New England winter.  Out of curiosity, I'll remove
the lug bolts with a torque wrench, anybody want to bet a URQ against 2
V8Q's that it'll take more torque than originally applied, or maybe even
the torque wrench registers to get them off?  
I supposed properly torqued tie rod ends, wheel caliper bolts,  et. al.
can also be removed with the bubble gum and toothpick if the tech does
the job properly, evidently I've yet to see it done or do it properly. 
Too many BTDT's with stuck wheels and bolts to even remember.
As for the bus, there's a big difference between grease and anti-seize. 

BCNU,
Cobram at Juno.Com
http://www.geocities.com/cobramsri/index.html

On Tue, 10 Apr 2001 17:54 +0100 quk at isham-research.freeserve.co.uk
writes:
> All torque specifications are for dry bolts.  There is one case
> on record of the manager of a bus garage being charged with
> manslaughter after greased wheel bolts backed out on a bus
> with fatal consequences, but the charge was eventually
> dropped.  All lug bolts removed in my workshop go into the
> degreaser.  How a bolt tightened to specification (110 NM -
> 80 lb ft) can present a removal problem is utterly beyond me.
> 
> My budgerigar could get a properly torqued lug bolt out using
> a socket stuck to the end of a toothpick with bubble gum.
> 
> --
>  Phil Payne, Isham Research
>  21 Bramwell Court, Sheffield S3 7PR
>  http://www.isham-research.freeserve.co.uk
>  Phone/SMS: +44 7785 302803   Fax: +44 7785 309674
> 



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