Thread: using Neverseize on lug nuts?

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Howdy Gang,
I was wondering about using Neverseize on lug nuts.
It seems like a good idea to me , but a school bus driver said it was against the law to lube them.
What do you guys think?
hank

Its a good idea but you have to retorqe often. The guy that does all our tires says not to (it's supposed to keep stuff loose).A matter of opion.I use it on my vehicles.

One should NEVER use anti-seize on lug nuts. Anti-seize naturally reduces the friction between threads and can lead to vibration induced torque relaxation. Not a good thing. I believe most any wheel manufacturer will say the same thing. I know that Centerline states that in their assembly instructions.

Kitz

i live in mich and on cold winter nigths you can hear the rust eating your car up so i have used it. it works good but a little goes a long way .and have used it on mags to

on mags i used it on the shoulder of the mag type nuts and use not much on the stud . and the stud getting pull to tq .keeps the wheel on. if the threads or shoulder give a false read then tq is off and i do not like dry chrome shoulder nuts running into aluminum and i do put it on the hub lip on the rears the hubs rust up to the mags and they will not come off with no nut and i did on say to use it on taper seats off the nut

Lug nuts have a manufacturer's recommended torque that is given for a DRY thread. There is a reason for this. The following chart represents the torque required to produce a given bolt (or stud) elongation:

Effect of Lubrication on Torque
Torque Rating in Foot/Pounds
Lubricant on a ½-13 thread/inch bolt
NO LUBE, steel 121
Plated & cleaned 90 (26%)
SAE 20 oil 87 (28%)
SAE 40 oil 83 (31%)
Plated & SAE 30 79 (35%)
White grease 79 (35%)
Dry Moly film 66 (45%)
Graphite $ oil 62 (49%)

Something like 80% of the torque goes to overcome friction. So, if you lubed the threads and torqued the nuts to "dry" specs, you would be overtightening the fastener to some extreme....probably past the elastic limit.

Bolt School site:
http://www.boltscience.com/pages/info.htm

that great but were dose it say about crome lug nuts in a aluminum rim??????????? and what about RUST

The Tire Rack says- NOTE: We suggest removing the wheel and applying a thin coating of "antiseize" around the axle hubs to help prevent rust and permit easier removal when it’s time to rotate your tires.( Do not apply "antiseize" to the lug hardware or studs.)

i do put it on the hub lip and will keep putting it on the side of the nuts in mags and i will go to hell??

I don't believe what people say about lubed bolts coming loose. You do lube your connecting rod bolts and main bearing botls before you tighten them, right? They don't come loose. The reason for not using neverseize is because it does reduce friction, but that has the effect of putting more tension on the stud for a given torque value, the stud is actually tighter. If you do use any kind of lube on a fastener with dry torques listed, it is generally recommended you reduce the torque anywhere between 15 and 25% or you risk breaking the fastener due to overtightening. I do use neverseize on my wheel studs.

you can do anything you want to on your personal car, but if you working for the public you better be finding out what the law is or what the wheel manf. says. if the manf. say dont do it, you would be a fool to do it any other way.

in my Auto tech class, I have to use a small amount of antiseize on each lug, sometimes on the front of the rotor ( not on the braking surface )/ drum if the wheel was rusted on. Granite, this is NY and not every state has to deal with seized up lug nuts . We also have to torque them to spec in the star pattern, check twice. I know most every shop around here does it too.

Here's my take on this, and it is just that - my opinion; I've never had a bad experience using these procedures. On the other hand, I have lost a couple of wheels after following the manufacturers guidelines - that is how I came to my own conclusions on this business.

1. Keep all rust and corrosion brushed off of any surfaces that will mate.

2. Use a thin coating of anti-sieze on all places where dissimilar metals will come together, for example, on the face of the aluminum wheel where it contacts the brake drum or rotor hub, and the holes in the wheel that the straight sided lug nuts pass through, and between the washers under the nuts and the wheel.

3. Clean the threads on the studs and nuts, and the tapered lug nut seats, by hand with a wire brush.

4. Apply a small amount of light oil or spray lube to the threads and tapered seats, and wipe it off thoroughly with a rag, but don't remove it with solvent - the idea is to leave a protective coating, but not a lubricating one.

Part of the key here is to be very conservative in the use of lubricants and coatings - put the anti-sieze on with a brush or your finger, and wipe all but the thinnest of coating off. More is not better, in this case.

small amount the key word like .a very small bit . like with a tooth pick . and not on the taper seat if it is that type of nut. but on custom mag on the shoulder this is not eschew this keeps the mag nut from gulling and in no way working on the torque it is on the side of the nut not on the inside or on the stud or on the washer and yes if the law is do not do it. do not. but i do not think it is that bad . use some common sense. like guys asking for copper to make brake lines BAD and watch the parts guy sell it to him

I comiserate the issue of rust and breaking studs etc as the result. But consider your wheel coming off while driving your prize possession down the highway.

The issue with wheel studs is the oscillating radial load combined with vibration. The use of anti-seize in particular is its relative thickness and lubricity which MAY lead to torque relaxation in this combined loading case. Acorn style nuts would be worse for this in my opinion than shouldered style mag nuts.

I agree with Rrumbler. A small amount of oil will inhibit rust and has much more friction than anti-seize. 20 years ago in school I perfromed experiments in a legal case where a wheel came off and people died. It was not anti-seize specific but it does happen!

Personally if I felt compelled to do so I would just use a light coat of oil and I would check the wheel torque often. What is more likely for me though is that I would not check it and my wheel would fall off. Then someone else might have to make the call whether or not I go to hell, prematurely that is ...........



Regards, Kitz