Should I oil my nuts?

[Gianni Ripoli]

When torquing the wheel nuts, dry or apply some oil or anti size to the studs?
Thanks,

Gianni

[Glenn Ring]

Anti seize to the shaft is OK, but if you get some on the seating surface you will not get a good torque and could snap the lug bolt.

[Kevin Murray]

As Borat might say; "only if they are squeeking when you are making the sexy1"

[Barry Brisco]

The subject line of this topic is very tempting...but I'm not going to give in.

Regarding the use of a lubricant or anti-seize on lug bolts, I use a water dispersant. My goal is to prevent any rust from starting (yes, I've been known to drive my 356 in the rain). I rotate my tires every 5K, but it can take up to a year to get that kind of mileage on the car.

Best regards,

Barry

When torquing the wheel nuts, dry or apply some oil or anti size to the studs?
Thanks,

Gianni

[Al Zim]

All Cars that leave our shop have lug nuts or lug bolts lubricated with anti-sieze. That is what it was designed to do. On the alloy huts to alloy wheels I like to put a dab on the conical part of the Nut or Bolt so that the torque is against the threads instead of the friction between the wheel and the nut (or bolt). This is not necessary on steel wheels but it would not cause problems if used.
We just finished servicing a vehicle that had to have all the lug nuts replaced because the tire shop hit them hard with and impact wrench and caused a groove to be formed in the conical portion of the nut. We checked the threads on the studs with new nuts and did not find any distortion. NEVER in the near 45 years that I have been associated with Porache cars have I seen wheel stuf broken. You will ruin everything before you break a stud.
For many years in the 60, and 70's we used a 4 way wrench to attach the wheel nuts. Recently I decided to measure how much torque I used at that time to compare it to what the factory recommends. The average was between 35 and 40 ft.lbs. No wheel nuts including those on our race car ever came loose. Now I use 70 ft. lbs with a torque wrench but worry that it may be distorting the threads on allowy wheel nuts.
Finally I think a light oil is not sufficient to to lubricate for the torque incurred. al zim

[Ashley Page]

I, too, have all my life use anti seize on wheel studs and nuts including the tapered seat. I have at times uses the moly dry film lube that comes in aerosol cans. There was a similar thread on Pelican about this and many of the "experts" over there caution against lube on the lug nuts. I didn't dive in to that one as there were just too many of the experts. I have always torqued the nuts on my 911 and 356 to 50 ft lbs. On pelican the experts were calling for as much as 90. I may go up to 65 or 70 although I have never had one come loose including both the aluminum nuts and the steel nuts.

As well as brakes, we sell virtually all the lugs nuts and most of the lug studs used in NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World racing series (over 700,000 lug nuts each year). Those nuts are treated all over with a type of dry film for their one time on and off life span. The studs are also treated with a type of moly dry film and they see much longer use than the nuts. Of the hundreds of thousands used each season there is maybe one or two broken studs each year and every time the cause can be traced to human error.

[Erik Madsen]

This is a funny yet informative thread. I actually judge the previous mechanic harshly if I DON"T see antiseize.. I think this indicates a couple things: The mechanic has a clue, the mechanic cares enough about your car that he tok a little extra time to do a thorough job when he worked for you or you worked on your old car.

Exhaust Bolts (yeah it doesn't last that long but it helps), Lug nut (clean them with WD40 to remove old crusty antiseize), striker bolts, head bolts, etc...

As for breaking Porsche wheel studs??? never seen it. I had a malfunctioning torque wrench one time and was over torquing my racecar nuts by about 20 lbs, that would be 115 ft.lbs, and I never broke a stud, not to say it can't be done.

Oiling your nuts, only in Grand Cayman.....LOL



Erik

[Wil Mittelbach]

For over 60yrs I've used a four-way lug wrench to torque wheel lug nuts and/or bolts on cars by "feel". Always oiled or greased the studs/bolts and the nut/bolt bevel undersides to ensure minimal friction resistance to the actual nut/bolt torque being applied.
As of late, changed to a graphite anti-siezing lubricant on my 356 and family car lug nuts/bolts.
The "rat-a tat-tat" of an impact wrench does not have the same sensitivity while marking the nut/bolt heads with its hammering.
Over torquing can distort and/or bend a wheel rim's nut/bolt seating surface and rim flatness.
Former torquing "by feel" relative to stud/bolt diameters and thread pitch, and also used on engine innards, may now be passe' relative to higher performance modern engines with more critical tolerances.

When torquing the wheel nuts, dry or apply some oil or anti size to the studs?
Thanks,

Gianni

[Bruce Baker]

Adding to this thread;

I have a mechanic who uses Never-Seize so often that the rest of us ask that he just touch something we want lubricated! He seems to wear the stuff most of the time.

His rationale has been that HE may be the next guy who needs to remove or separate anything he has put together. He harks back to his Dad's garage where he got his start in the '50s, building Flathead Ford motors.

He also was a Porsche dealership wrench in the '70s and swears that some of the cars today can come apart easily because he worked on them then and used metallic assembly paste liberally.

I apprenticed part-time in the '60s in a shop that specialized in Porsches and 4-cam cars in particular and assembly paste jars or tubes were all over to grab and apply from. I'll add to the consensus that all lugs and studs get a dab and a torque wrench is used to "factory specs" (or, like Al's experience, what works best.)

The only lug bolt stretch I have experienced was on a later VW with aluminum wheels. I blamed the lube and the torque I applied, then found it to have been a previous air-hammering, as replacement bolts were fine with the same method, on and off.

The old joke is: "German Torque is Gutentite."
Not too much nor not enough.

[Sterling Vaden]

The torque spec for 911/912 wheel nuts was 90 lb-ft then changed to 94 lb-ft. This works for both steel and alloy wheels and nuts. I have not had any problems with the alloy nuts on Fuchs wheels at this torque spec (and I carry the torque wrench and soft socket in the car).

I use the anti sieze on the threads regularly. The nuts should spin on by hand.

8)

[James Watters]

Just oiled mine!!!!
Jim