Well pretty much all 20 of my nuts are wheely tight. Could it be down to garages using their power tool thingy? Got me thinking as the clio now has a couple of tight ones after a recent trip back from a garage.

Or am I just talking balls?

most garages are lazy and just do them up with an impact wrench (so would i:O) but they are supposed to be tightened to a specified torque level... having said that, they will naturally feel tighter over time because the constant heating/cooling cycles and brake dust etc kind of locks them in place

I believe wheel nuts also get tighter on alloys (presumably for the reasons Tom gave), so worth putting some copper slip on the hub next time they're off, and making sure they're only torqued to the recommended setting (the Mondeo is only 75Nm :eek:)

Chris

Put the wheelbrace on them with the end at horizontal or just above. Stand on the end and then bounce your weight on it. Seldom fails.

Then follow the master mechanic's advice above :P

Partly it's to do with steel nuts and alloy wheels "binding" together.

Put the wheelbrace on them with the end at horizontal or just above. Stand on the end and then bounce your weight on it. Seldom fails.

that's ok if you are stranded in the middle of nowhere and need to change a wheel. but jumping on the wheel brace is the best way to strip the threads in the hubs.

if they are ficking tight, use a copper drift and a lump hammer, and give the wheel bolt a good hard whack. then use a breaker bar and the approprate size socket to undo it

Well I've never stripped a thread. I'm puzzling to see how that could happen with a wheelbrace but not with a breaker bar, but enlighten me ...

i should imagine it's to something to do with the way the 'pressure' is applied to the bolt. bouncing on the wheel brace will put shock loads on the bolt, also the weight applied is trying to bend the bolt downwards. whereas a breaker bar (normally longer) would apply my leverage, but in a more controlled way,

A little OT but ... Just try undoing a rear hub nut on an old beetle ... over 300 Nm of torque required to do it up ... my torque wrench only goes to 250. Took a 3 foot long breaker bar with 6 ft of scafold extension, 2 people (combined mass of 25 stone) and a blow torch to get it undone. On top of the mamoth torque it was also held in place with a split pin the size of my finger.

I bought a adjustable length wrench sometime ago because I was struggling to undo the nuts. Remeber my old R19 16v I bent the renault wrench trying to get a nut off.

Right I'll remember the copper grease next time.

Cheers

Was surprised at tyre place to find torque on wheel nuts is 120ft/lb --quite tight.

Torque applied should be specified wet or dry

just get a good breaker bar i nearly broke my arm undoing some on mine i could feel the energy go through my arms :(