Wheel nut tension

Stuart,
118 to 147 Nm is usually the range I do mine to 135 Nm. If you have alloys they will be slightly different and would need checking more often, I don't have a number sorry

Stuart,
Using a rattle gun will over tighten the studs. The wheel brace that comes with the vehicle, which is a single bar with a socket on the end, will also tend to snap the wheel stud because of all the pressue being applied to one side of the nut. I have found the X brace to be the best. Four diffrent sockets to chose from and a even amount of leverage applied to the stud. Using this brace the studs can be tighten and lossen very easily.
If using one of the X braces, paint the socket that fits the wheel nuts on your vehicle, saves trying all four to find the one that fits.

Wayne

Prado 6 stud are 113Nm. Lubricate the threads and mating surface with a smear of grease (or antisieze) and reduce the chance of broken studs.

Stuart,
I used to be a surveyor here in Karratha and have driven all sorts of 4wds with my own car a td 100. I have always had the smallest, lightest person who might drive the vehicle do a stud up and undo it so I could gauge the right torque. I do this so that that person can get the wheel off if it all comes unstuck. I'm 6'7" and if I did them up tight for me no other bugger could get them off and worst case the wife would be stuck on the side of the road cursing my name and asking for help, even though she is more than capable of changing a 4by tyre. I've had a few studs break on the 6 stud troopy and 75 utes, never had a tyre and rim leave the vehicle and never broken a stud on the 5 stud 'cruisers. I just use the standard 4 socket wheel brace.
Hope this helps
Jayson

Please dont take this the wrong way but if you cant judge how tight to do your wheel nuts I suggest you let someone else change your tyres and do your mechanical work. Tight is tight. The average bloke wont overtighten with a cross brace with the length of the bar invoved so long as you never slip a pipe over a brace to tighten nuts you should be right.

The correct tension for wheel nuts as specified by Toyota is 137Nm (101 ft.lb). Cheers.

Good tyre places in NSW use only a cross brace to tighten the nuts. Rattle gun just to take up the slack. I think there may even be a regulation to this effect.
As someone else mentioned it is important to lubricate the thread and mating surface otherwise the real torque could be almost anything. Just do them up with the cross brace to whatever you can easily apply without excessive force. Remember you have to undo them again some time. Never "back off" again since this will leave little tension on such a short stud.
Phil

It is a very valid question IMHO as I had 3 studs sheer off on a 5 stud wheel and lost a wheel at 100km/h. Not a very nice feeling. The wheel was done up by hand (I watched him do it as his rattle gun would'nt fit on the alloy rims) at the trye place down the road from my house. It took 2 weeks (complete with fully loaded camping trip and 4wding) before they came off driving to work unladen on the highway. You can't be too careful. Certainly opened my eyes up to exactly what is holding all that weight we pile into our vehicles and all the pressure we put them under on corrugations and corning etc. When you think about it, it's those little metal rods that slip through the holes in our rims that are keeping everything together... Kinda scarey hey!
We spend so much money on tryes, shocks, springs, stabalizers blah blah blah, but what about our studs? Arrgh who cares, she'll be right....

Hi All

Having had a pre trip check done by a well respected 4wd service agent in Sydney I had heaps of trouble with wheel nuts on my subsequent trip.

In Cairns I had a tyre shop remove a wheel that I had benn unable to get off in the bush. He put a three foot bar on the wheel nut and jumped on it, repeatedly to loosen the nut. I now always use the torque wrench to do up wheel nuts, yes I carry it everywhere. The thing that suprised me most was how little tension is required. The speck in the genuiine Nissan manual for a GQ is 80ft/lbs.

Stuart, others have told you the speck for your vehicle I'd do the wheel nuts up to that. If your not sure ask the service dept at the local Toyota dealership. Thanks for raising what is a little thought about but very important issue. And don't worry about those who want to critisize.

Duncs

Use cross wheel brace and tighten each nut until you see blue lights. Wheel guaranteed not to come off.

Paul