Over tightened lug nut problem

[Dave Aukerman]

Saw this in action at the tire shop yesterday.  Guy left the gun on the same
nut for ~20 seconds trying to get it off.  It finally came . . . along with
half of the stud.  Makes good business for the repair shop down the road who
will have to replace the broken studs.

Dave

----- Original Message -----
From: <AudiBiTurbo at aol.com>
To: <brett at cloud9.net>; <jjs3rd at ix.netcom.com>; <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2002 7:58 AM
Subject: Re: Over tightened lug nut problem 90 sport 90 q


> I NEVER use a torque stick.  It's common for them to be 20% off (yes,
> probably good enough... but), and it IS possible to overtighten a lug with
a
> stick.... after it "gives," hit the trigger one more time to be sure.
Yup,
> that'll do it.
>
> Anyhow, a LOT of shops still use an impact gun (no torque stick or wrench)
to
> remove bolts that use a locking "key" (a big no-no), and they also use
them
> to tighten!  Personally, I've repaired a lot of damaged VWs and Audis.
It's
> a real PITA, only once have I had to replace the hub assembly, but it
costs
> the customer several hours of labor to do carefully.  Hand drilling out
> hardened material is NOT fun.  And heat is not a great option to help- if
you
> get it hot enough to expand the metal, you'll do damage to the wheel
bearing
> and seals.  But $100 in labor is still cheaper than wheel bearing
assembly.
>
> And to prove they were the last to work on the car?  Good luck!  How long
> does it really take to hand tighten the bolts and torque them down
*properly*
> with a torque wrench?
>
> Mark Rosenkrantz (shaking his head)
> AudiBiTurbo at aol.com
>