Stop Overtightening!
Besides the obvious problem of the bolt being impossible to remove by the next guy, there are some more serious issues that arise when a bolt is overtightened. A rednecked bolt is undergoing more stress than it was designed to handle. This extra stress can cause the bolt or the nut to fatigue, weakening them and compromising the safety of your car. The most common victim of redneck tightening are your lug bolts. We sure do like to put a little extra grunt into tightening our wheel lugs. But if you don't properly tighten your lugs you are risking damage to both the bolts that hold your wheels on and your wheels themselves! This is especially true if your car has alloy wheels, as most do these days. Overtightening the lugs on an alloy wheel can cause the metal to distress and weaken the area around the bolt holes. It would take an extreme situation, but you could seriously lose it if your wheel self-destructed at highway speed.
Treat your car's bolts with tough love. If you need to redneck something, grab the lawnmower and redneck the back yard. Your significant other will no doubt thank you for it.
Update!
I've received a number of emails taking exception to my use of the word "redneck" to describe an offender of overtightening. Being from Georgia, I feel it's my right, and sometimes my duty, to be a redneck myself! That being said, I can also poke some fun from time to time. I never thought I'd see the day that self-proclaimed rednecks would be getting politically correct on us. However, I'm a man of change, so in honor of Jack, from here forward we will refer to "rednecking" as "hateful mechanicing."
Comments
I agree with the overtightening of bolts,etc. Especially lug bolts and spark plugs. However, as I an a redneck from way back, I take exception with the term being used as such. No doubt there sre some rednecks who overtighten as wall as there are some so-called mechanic experts that do the same. We could call it “hateful mechanicing”. So that individuals would have to bring the vehicle back to the shop just to get the thing loosened……
I have southern ancestry but the term doesn’t bother me and does hold a lot of truth-my dad squirted WD40 on every possible thing, even a VCR inside. However, all fun aside-lug nuts should be tightened with a torque wrench, to about 80-90 lb. This prevents overtightening it so you can get it off on the road, plus I haven’t warped rotors like I used to since I started doing this.
Just the other day I had my pickup in to the dealer to have the transmission drained, flushed and kitted. The red neck there overtightned the pan bolts, and voila, the gasket was ruined and I had tranny fluid all over my garage!
I Recently had my car’s wheels rotated at one of those Geoffrey-Lube quick oil change outlets. I had just settled down to read a magazine, when they announced the job was finished. WOW! talk about ’speedy’ Just this week, I went to a “MECHANIC” to have my brakes relined, The lug bolts had been overtightened and one nut and bolt stripped to the bone and cross threaded to boot’.The lugnut was seized halfway on to the stud and protruding outward damaging the hubcap
Years ago my neighbor took his family from New Jersey to California. (Gas was a lot cheaper then) He ,taking no chances, had all new tires installed and balanced.
Outside New Mexico, the wheels were rattling so much he pulled into a filling station . Just rolling in, the attendant pointed to his hub caps. Removing all four caps,they found thirteen (Count em’)sheared off lug bolts rolling around for half a continent.
Many, many years ago I bought a torque wrench. The kind that adjust like a micrometer. It is used for all lug nuts, trailer towing attachments, engine repairs, and even some stuff in the house. I would never ever allow a tire be replaced without checking the lug nuts on the wheels. This includes backing off the nuts/bolts and retightening. Proper use of anti-size on these bolts is another aid to proper tightening.
Where I used to work we used a hycraulic driven wrench to tighten structural bolts. There the oil pressure was the clue and used to properly tighten grade 8 bolts up to an inch and half in diameter. It took a bit of math, measurements of lever arms and knowledge of the piston area.
lately i have been havin problem with my brakes on my 1990 chevy 1500 when i barely press my brakes they lock up on me and cause me to slid and i need to know what causes it if anybody knows just send me what you know
Doesn’t putting anti-seize on the wheels cause you to get an incorrect torque reading?
Re: Anti-seize on wheel (assumed to be bolts or nuts).
Our new Prius warns against this on the alloy wheels. Always before I have used it on steel disk wheels. As much for keeping rust away as the proper torque values. I have a can of aluminum based antiseize that I use when called for.
Also in the Prius book is note to check the wheel nuts before a thousand miles. I did, and resistied adding my goo in face of this warning. I will check again today as the thermometer reads a balmy 70 F.
I have also used high temperature anti-seize on manifold and exhaust systm fasteners to help when replacing parts.
It would probably cost a buck to do it in a factory and would save a hundred fold when fixing cars.
As a genuine Hoosier redneck, I’ve always said, “Tight’s tight, tighter’s broke!”
My family has Southern roots and it doesn’t offend me a bit, its not used to specifically offend someone. I had an incident with a certain company, well these “boys” while replacing my tires, overtightened my lugs and a few months later it caused one of my tires to fall off while I was driving; I was able to pull off to the shoulder before so I was fine but it caused several hundred dollars in damage. It is very important to make sure your tires are in perfect working order.