[azcoyote]

Hey guys,

I need to get at least one of my tires balanced and I figured I may as well rotate them at the same time...

My problem is this. After seeing all the threads about crappy tire places installing tires using a 200 lb impact wrench and having actually seen a Jeep lose a tire at 70 MPH a few weeks ago..... I am a little reticent to allow a shop to mess with my wheels and tires....

Needless to say, I have to have the balance done professionally but having them put them back on worries me. What does everyone else do?

I figured I woul dask them if they install the wheels using a torque wrench and 4-way or if they just jam them on with a speed gun....

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

[Rocky529]

I would find a reputable shop in your area, and ask them what they use. It is your Jeep and your money, you are entitled to know. Either way, I would back them out and then torque them to 100 ft/lbs when I get home.

[The_'ster]

You could put the jeep on stands, take off the tires, and just bring them to the shop in another car.

[azcoyote]

Originally Posted by Rocky529

I would find a reputable shop in your area, and ask them what they use. It is your Jeep and your money, you are entitled to know. Either way, I would back them out and then torque them to 100 ft/lbs when I get home.

What worries me about that is this... If I back them off and retorque them then that fixes the secondary problem. The first problem is, how much damage is going to have already occured by over-torquing. Then some day I am cruising along and the overstressed studs let loose and WHAMMO - no wheel/tire at one corner.

Ah, I am probably over stressing... Just seems like something to worry about since so few tire shops seem to have qualified people anymore... Too many summer job teeny boppers...

I am thinking about doing the "remove and get serviced" thing but there is no way the wife is gonna dig me transporting in her car....

[Rocky529]

Originally Posted by azcoyote

What worries me about that is this... If I back them off and retorque them then that fixes the secondary problem. The first problem is, how much damage is going to have already occured by over-torquing. Then some day I am cruising along and the overstressed studs let loose and WHAMMO - no wheel/tire at one corner.

Ah, I am probably over stressing... Just seems like something to worry about since so few tire shops seem to have qualified people anymore... Too many summer job teeny boppers...

I am thinking about doing the "remove and get serviced" thing but there is no way the wife is gonna dig me transporting in her car....

You best bet is to avoid Meineke and all crap places like that. Go to local shops that are recommended by people you know that take care of their cars.

[wrnglrguy]

In a lot of areas, "auto shops" are probably a little less expensive, but where I live, the Jeep dealership is actually a little lower for things like this when compared to say Pepboys, Meineke, or like companies. I always take my TJ to Jeep when having something done that I am not, or can't, do myself. I just had my tires rotated and balanced yesterday by the Jeep dealer...$48.57 out the door. I figure if the certified Jeep mechanics can't do it right, then no one can. Just my .02

Aside from that, if you are concerned, then I would do as previous post mentioned. Take them off and drive the tires in another car down to a shop and have them balanced. Then mount/rotate them yourself.

[Jerry Bransford]

Just tell 'em you want them hand torqued to 90 ft-lbs. and that torx-stix (commonly used to speed up the tightening process that gives an approximate tightness) are NOT acceptable. Then I go watch 'em to make sure they really use a torque wrench and that they're using it properly.

By the way, not all tire jocks know how to properly use a torque wrench. I watched a local tire jock yahoo hammer my lug nuts down to probably 140-150 ft-lbs with an impact wrench... THEN he sets his torque wrench to 90 ft-lbs. and goes around each lugnut with it and verifies 'yep it clicks' somehow thinking he had actually set them to 90 ft-lbs as requested. Dummy!

[spittindurt]

an overtorqed stud will..... break while an undertorqed nut will..... come off
the specs are 85-115lb-ft of torq. In the last 10,000 miles I've had my wheels on and off (bolth stock aluminums and aftermarket steelies) about 5 times everytime gunned on in the air(star pattern) then torqed sitting on the ground in a star pattern at 115lb-ft havent streched a stud or broken one and havent had a lug nut get loose or fall off. I work in a tire shop and have yet to have a wheel I have worked on fall off or break a stud (while putting the nut on).

Best thing to do is after you torq them all in a star go over them again because the 1st or 2nd nut could be loose still, dbl check your work cuz you cant be too safe.

and retorq your custom wheels again in 25-50 miles after every time you have them off/on again.

[Polaris]

My tire shop will set their impacts at 100 on request.

[IraSumers]

not to bust your bubble, but there IS a proper way to correctly and accuratly(sp?) torque the lug nuts with an impact gun. They are called torque sticks, they go between the gun and the socket. There is an assortment of them for the diffrent torques (65, 80, 100 (jeep), 120, and 140). They are a little pricey, but worth it. Many shops use them now because they are as accurate as a torque wrench (well close enough) and MUCH faster. Almost no shops use a 4-way anymore, they are too slow if it is a large and buisy shop. For example, I can do 4 rotations with my IR Impact then can one of my coworkers do 1 and half of another. I tested them before and the actual torque of my 100lb is something like 108-110. And a 200lb impact gun will barely take off slightly rusty lug nuts. Most are arround 450-700. One guy I work with (the alighnment guy) has one that is arround 850-900 ft/lbs!

[Jerry Bransford]

You'll NEVER convince me torx-stix (or however it's spelled) are consistently accurate enough. This is one reason more shops are abandoning them and going back to torque wrenches. When lightweight rotors were the rage among car manufacturers, I was getting a lot of warped rotors from the torx-stix not getting the studs tightened evenly enough. When I started insisting they use a torque wrench instead, my warped rotor problem dropped maybe 75%. Even Sears has banned the use of torx-stix, they use nothing but torque wrenches now... at least according to my local Sears autoshop manager. Just because a shop can make more money using torx-stix is no reason for me to allow them to use them on any of MY vehicles.

[swannee]

If you have a Discount Tire near by they generally torq wrench lugs.. check with any reputable tire shop they should torque Wrench also.

[chadsmeltzer]

Originally Posted by swannee

If you have a Discount Tire near by they generally torq wrench lugs.. check with any reputable tire shop they should torque Wrench also.

This thread is 4 years old, and your other post was in a thread that was also 3 years old.

But I use Discount tire too, they always use torque wrenches.

[Unlimited04]

Discount Tire is the best place for tire balancing and proper torquing i've seen. they use torque sticks and torque wrenches, and make sure everything is on properly. they also offer road force balancing.