Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

[Duke W.]

Re: Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

Not sure about replying to this ancient thread, but here goes:

What holds the wheel on is load, not torque.

...also called "clamping force." All my cars have anti-seize on the wheel nuts/bolts. Put a little ribbon down the thread then run them up and down two or three times with a speed handle to spread out the material. Since I don't drive my cars very much a single application can last many years and wheel changes.

They always torque-up nice and smooth and loosen the same way... no screeching when tightening or loosening. That's the sound of galling and is bad news.

Whenever I need to change tires I remove the wheels and take them to the tire shop in another vehicle. No pneumatic impact wrench on my wheel fasteners, EVER... only a torque wrench set to the manufacturer's recommended tightening torque.

Duke

[Michael G.]

[Duke W.]

Re: Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

Agree, and I believe that the stick-slip friction is one thing that leads to galling.

Duke

[Scott P.]

Re: Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

Knock Off Wheel Torque.
Because I work on Corvettes I get to take off and put on KOs more than most folks. I use a 6# lead hammer and have a pretty good feel for when they are tight. A customer brought me a 1" drive 750# torque wrench he had bought from McDonell Douglas as he wanted to know what the torque was on his KOs. I put his KO wheel on the usual way by hammer using anti-seze and we marked it with a sharpie. Then we used the 750# torque wrench to take it off. It took that 750# torque wrench and a 5' piece of pipe on its handle to install the spinner back to the marked spot. The torque reading was 650#s to reach that marked spot.
Scott

[Steven K.]

Re: Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

Recommendations on anti seize lubricant for original KH wheels?

[Michael G.]

Re: Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

Scott, the torque specified by GM is 450 Ft-Lb. Are you sure your torque wrench wasn’t reading in Newton Meters (Nm)? 650 Nm = 479.4 ft-lbs.

If the engineers knew what they were doing, (they usually did) the torque spec was probably developed and tested with clean, non-lubricated threads and conical surfaces, as this was a worst-case frictional scenario for the torque/tension relationship. In essence, if a wheel stayed on when tightened to 450 Ft-Lbs with clean surfaces, the spinner was only going to deliver more load when lubricated, so 450 was a good spec, no matter what.

This, though, doesn’t take into account today’s circumstances: 60 years of corrosion, galling damage, and dirt on the threads and conical surfaces might add a lot of friction to the equation, making 450 not nearly enough torque to install the nut/spinner the same distance onto the hub.

The point I’m making is that on the wheels you tested, your 650 ft-lb of torque might be necessary to rotate the spinner to the same physical position as GM achieved at 450 ft-lb new, but not necessarily recommended for all wheels, especially clean, corrosion-free, as-manufactured wheels.

If we could get some input here from someone who bought a C2 new as to the condition of the hubs, lubricated or not, (I’m sure all of us old guys can remember such things in vivid detail) maybe it would help us develop a torque/angle spec, based on the 450 lb-lbs GM specified, that could be used by all, no matter the condition of their wheels and hubs.

Anyone out there remember what the hubs looked when new? We’re they dry (no oil)?

[Tim S.]

Re: Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

I've always lubed the threads. In recent years, this is what I use on KO's as well as studs / nuts.
https://www.amazon.com/ARP-100-9909-...0325609&sr=8-1

[E S.]

Re: Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

Hi- FWIW-I have had 3 different sets of Kelsey Hayes K/O's on 3 different cars since the early 70's, and never had a problem with any of them.
I have simply followed the instructions found in the 66 chassis service manual. However-
I hate to admit this- but I installed one set with the R/H adapters on the L/H side of the car, and the L/H adapters on the R/H side of the car.
I did not realize the mistake, and drove the car from central ks to Bloomington and back with no issues.
Go figure?
E.J.IMG_20220416_182322296.jpgoriginal_c4542938-0494-4ede-8147-db64a7197571_IMG_20211101_164101831.jpg

[Francis F.]

Re: Knock Off Thread Lubricant?

K O thread lubricant, Hi ,I also purchased the Portika KO tool and in addition use a Anti sieze compound,(after finding paint damage in wheel area).My Portika Tool came with a complete set of instructions,detailing the Proper torque procedures.They instruct installing the spinner by hand as tight as possible,at that point put a mark on the spinner and thewheel.now use the Tool to tighten the spinner an additional 1 and 1/8 inch past your initial mark.at this point you will have achieved the proper thread loading of spinner and Hub threads.has worked very well for me and my K O wheels.note the above is from my re call memory,i will refresh when i find the sheet from Dennis Portika.from my perspective....Francis.







after finding paint damage in wheel area