[Bayou Titan]

I am nearing the mileage point where I need to rotate my tires and need a few questions answered by my Titan Talk buddies.

I am very concerned about the lug nuts being properly torqued when the tires are rotated because I am wary of warped brake rotors. Should I tell the tire shop that I want the lug nuts to be torqued to a specific ft. lb. and trust that the guy does that. I feel suspicious that the guy will put an impact wrench on the lug nuts after I leave thinking that I will never know the difference. :crying: Should I trust him? Do tire shops charge extra for hand torquing of lug nuts? Should I not worry about it and check the torque value when I get home and make adjustments? Will it hurt to drive my Titan 25-30 miles home before I can check the torque? Do wheels torque the same when they are torqued on a rack verses when they are bearing the weight of the truck.

Can I easily rotate my tires at home without having to by an expensive floor jack? What is the easiest way to go about rotating my tires at home? What are you guys going to do when it is your time to rotate tires?

A lot of questions I know but I will greatly appreciate the responses.

 

[Brickwall]

Can't hurt to request proper torque

And besides, any self-respecting tire store, chain or independent, has a current copy of the "Tire Guide". This is common literature for any shop, including dealerships, that service tires in any capacity. It lists torque specs, inflation limitations, tire rotation patterns, how to spot tire wear and what that wear might be indicative of. If they can't figure out the torque specs for your Titan, that would be pretty sorry.

 

[got_titan]

if i recall its 98ft lbs and i would demand that they use a torque wrench most shops just zip the lug nuts on and you cant get the sob's off. i usually rotate mine myself as long as i have no vibration. no ONE will take care of your truck like you. out of the ten shops locally theres only one that does a final torque with a torque wrench and there high as hell. i would invest in a good jack and torque wrench and do it yourself. i have gone 20,000 miles on other cars without having to rebalance but thats not always the case. some say you need to have them balanced but i put over 60,000 miles on a set of firestone tires and maybe had them balanced 3 or 4 times and they showed excellent wear characteristics. jusy my .02 cents

 

[Albert1234]

I always retorque my lugs after they have been removed, even by the dealer.

You should torque them when the truck is on the ground. Otherwise, you get a leverage effect where the 1st nut is torqued to the correct value, then the 2nd nut (opposite to 1st nut, not beside it) causes the rim to act like a lever and pull on the first nut, in effect increasing its torque. This is difficult to explain in words.

Pay attention to the pattern used to tighten the nuts.

If you don't want to buy a floor jack, just use the emergency jack and the spare tire.

I usually rotate tires myself, unless I need them balanced. I plan on getting a 98 foot pound torque stick for my impact wrench. I may have to settle for a 100 foot pound torque stick if I can't find one.

 

[Silver SErfer]

Unfortunately, it really depends on the shop manager on duty at the time. I helped pay my way through college working at a "quick lube type place", and we got written up if we were caught not using a torque wrench. The thing that sucks is that my buddy worked for one also, and they only did it about half the time. IMHO, if you want somthing done right, do it yourself. If nothing else, check the torque when you get the truck home.

 

[Albert1234]

And besides, any self-respecting tire store, chain or independent, has a current copy of the "Tire Guide".

Presumably NTB (Sear's National Tire and Battery) has a copy of this guide. They worked on my Honda a few years ago and wrote down the torque value they used on the receipt. I forget what it was but it was 5-10 foot pounds higher than what Honda specified. I watched two NTB "mechanics" work on my car, one person on each side. They first used torque sticks and then switched to a manual torque wrench. When I got home, I retorqued all the lugs, and noted that two lugs on each wheel was correctly torqued, one lug was super tight, and the last lug was just finger tight. How they managed to do this to all 4 wheels (even though 2 were done by one person, and the other 2 were done by a different person) puzzles me to this day.

 

[bestatchess]

I have never seen them use anything other than an impact wrench at a tire shop, and I have never seen them look up any torque settings in a manual or change torque settings either. Perhaps this is the cause of the epidemic of brake rotor warping that seems to be going around?
e.g. http://www.f150online.com/forums/archive/topic/149887-1.html

I lost a bit of confidence in the dealer when they delivered my truck with 10 extra pounds of air in each tire.

"Can I easily rotate my tires at home without having to buy an expensive floor jack?"

No. It can be done if you want a bit of a workout, but if you spend a few $ it will be much easier and safer.

"What is the easiest way to go about rotating my tires at home?"

Buy a floor jack and four jack stands. For example:

http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10101&AID=10303745&TID=101&productId=4082&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&PID=1333761

You will also need a torque wrench, extension, and socket to fit the wheel lugs. I bought a 1/2 drive 20-150 lbs. torque wrench, 9" 1/2 inch drive extension at sears. I think for about $10 you can get a pair of wheel chocks which would be a little safer yet. You need to be very careful whenever you are jacking a vehicle up. I have a friend who put the long hollow square tube of one of the old ratchet bumper jacks clear through the palm of his hand in a jacking accident. Then it took him quite awhile to hitchhike to the hospital because people were afraid to pick him up with the jack sticking through his hand. Quite a few people are killed each year by vehicles falling off of jacks.

So with the jack, the jack stands, the torque wrench, extension, socket, and wheel chocks, you probably have a $200 investment, which compares favorably with a set of brake rotors.

With the truck parked on level ground, and wheel chocks in place, use a lug wrench or socket + breaker bar to loosen the lug nuts. (This will preserve the health of your torque wrench) Then jack up the truck and put the jack stands under it. You want the truck supported by the jack stands and not the jack. And of course you need to be careful where you position the jack and the jack stands so that the vehicle is lifted and supported safely and securely, without damaging anything.

Rotate the tires (The manual says not to put the spare in the rotation and to keep the tires on the same side of the vehicle and just swap front to back) and finger tighten all the lug nuts as tight as you can get them by hand. After you get the truck back on the ground, use the torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts, in a criss-cross star pattern, to 98 lbs. I think the usual recommendation is doing it in two or three passes with increased torque setting at each pass.

 

[Bayou Titan]

Oops! I just reread the title of the thread I started "Do I trust a dork to do the torque?" and suddenly realized that if I torque the lug nuts myself that makes me a dork! :huh: Should have said "Do I trust someone else.....

I'm staying up too late frying my brain reading Titan Talk threads-goodnight folks.

 

[Squid]

Good info and funny. Had to bring it back out of hiding.

 

[homer]

Good one, you two guys crack me up! I believe Bayou has a floor jack now so you can't taunt him with your shiny new one. :jester: