When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have a book with lots of engineering stuff I've used for years.
It's title is Handyman In Your Pocket. One of the most useful is how torque values.
Most torque valued are for dry carbon steel bolts. That all changes if plating or a lube are used.
Like WD40, torque should be *.70. Motor oil, heavy oil *.5 Any thing slippery will change the value.
I've been torquing too tight.
I found out this book, 766 pages, is now free and worth the time.
I put a different set of wheels on my car and the torque spec. is 140 lbs/ft dry. I put anti-seize on the studs and torqued to 100 lbs/ft, about 30% less. About the same as you have listed. Drove it about 2,000 miles and checked the spec. and nothing changed. Stop over torquing ! LOL Good info for those who do not know.
Machinist hand book is also a good source. My copy is from 1940, just in time for WWll Not much has changed.
It's too easy to confuse "torque " with "clamping force." Lubrication on fasteners makes negligible difference in clamping force until you get up into 3/4" fasteners and above.
SAE defines dry threads in their J1701 Torque Tensioning guidance and standards as "Dry, clean with thin film of oil (lubricated)".
Truly dry threads bind and gall, resulting in inadequate clamping forces. Threads need to be lightly lubricated to be dry, as per SAE.
Personally, I think SAE would have been wise to say lightly lubricated and not call that dry.
Well now this is getting confusing. Found this tid bit on line and the formula shows that friction is a factor. So I would think that even loc-tite is a lubricant. The car I put the wheels on was brand new and the studs and lug nuts were absolutely dry. The lug nuts have a teflon coating on the taper where they contact the aluminum wheel so that is lubricated. That is how GM did it. I thought I had the right train of thought, but now I do not know.
I’f we’re being honest … some of us didn’t use torque wrenches on Shovel cylinder base and head gaskets. We didn’t have fancy expensive custom wrenches then.. we had map gas heated bent ground down open 12 point wrenches that we stuck 20” pipes onto the end of.. we turned bolts until that vein popped out of our forehead and called it good. We may have or may not have also tapped those wrenches with hammers when nobody was lookin.
Last edited by Rains2much; Dec 12, 2025 at 07:14 AM.
I’f we’re being honest … some of us didn’t use torque wrenches on Shovel cylinder base and head gaskets. We didn’t have fancy expensive custom wrenches then.. we had map gas heated bent ground down open 12 point wrenches that we stuck 20” pipes onto the end of.. we turned bolts until that vein popped out of our forehead and called it good. We may have or may not have also tapped those wrenches with hammers when nobody was lookin.
you mean a different way exist I wasn’t told about
Torque
