As crucial as changing your truck’s tires is, it’s also important to have the wheel’s lug nuts retorqued after a tire change. The retorquing process is essential for safe, efficient driving and should not be overlooked.
Want to learn more about torquing and retorquing? Quality Mobile Truck & Trailer Repair breaks it down for you below.
Understanding Wheel Torquing
Torque is the extent of force applied to a lug nut when it’s being tightened to the wheel. Our professional technicians at Quality Mobile Truck & Trailer Repair ensure your lug nuts are properly torqued to the manufacturer’s specifications during initial tire installation. Having your wheels torqued by unprofessional technicians can lead to serious, expensive truck problems, such as brake damage, distortion of the stud or even losing a wheel.
After about 150 kilometres, the lug nuts endure common stresses from daily use and supporting the weight of the vehicle. Additional stresses, including frequent temperature warming and cooling cycles and impact from road bumps, can cause a shift in lug nut placement, which can result in them loosening or tightening.
When lug nuts are initially torqued, there may be dirt, sand or other debris between the threads of the lug nut, which creates a “false torques.” When this occurs, the force applied by the technician is overcome with friction but is unable to apply proper force and tightening to the lug nut. That is why Quality Mobile Truck & Trailer Repair will invite you to visit us the following day to have wheels retorqued.
Understanding Retorquing
Retorquing is an inspection of each lug nut after torquing to ensure they’re secure and not too loose or too tight on the wheel. If our mechanics find the lug nuts to be too tight, they will be loosened to reduce the change of the fastener threads being stripped or the wheel studs stretching out. If they find the lug nuts to be too loose on the wheel, then they will be tightened. Lug nuts that are too loose pose a very small risk of the wheel falling off while you’re driving the vehicle. If you’re considering doing the retorquing yourself, consider the following mistakes:
- Over-torquing: If a lug nut is overstretched past its yield, it can snap and completely fail. That is why retorquing requires precision calibrated equipment applied by professional mechanics.
- Wrong torque wrench storage: A technician will dial the wrench setting down to the lowest setting after usage. This allows for the stress on the tool to be relieved and work more efficiently.
For the most effective truck repair services in Winnipeg, visit us at Quality Mobile Truck & Trailer Repair. We ensure effective and efficient preventative maintenance including torquing, and additional truck, tractor and trailer repairs and diagnostics. Need our services? Book an appointment with us online to restore your truck in no time!