Torque Thrust D's Lug Nuts

[72convertibleMike]

Hey All

I've got a 1972 Convertible that I put new 15" Torque Thrust D's on back in 2007.

Issue I'm having is that the Gorilla Lug nuts I used (tapered fit) keep loosening

after driving just a few miles. I did have an incident wherein the left rear wheel

nearly fell off one day after a 40 mile drive.

I do tighten them nearly every time I take the car out, but have to confess I don't

drive it nearly as much as I'd like to because of the constant fear of a wheel 

coming off again.

So, I've recently decided to finally figure out what the story is. I've read that our

cars have short studs and perhaps the thread grip isn't as deep on the lug nut

as needs to be. I've read some people use Extended thread nuts to counter this,

but thinking the Lug holes on the wheels may not allow it anyway.

Ugh....I really have no earthly clue as to how to proceed. I did write American

Racing a while back, but have yet to hear back. My fear is they'll tell me the 

Gorilla's I used are fine and of course I'll be right back where I started.

So, long post short, can anyone offer up any suggestions on how I can tackle

this problem so I can drive my car with peace of mind? 

Hoping someone on here has had the same issue and can tell me how they successfully

fixed it.

Thanks All

Mike

 

[Boss1Ray]

Mike,

Contact Summit Racing or place where you bought wheels. They should be able to help address your problem.

Sure sounds like you might be using incorrect lug nuts for those wheels.

Ray

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

X2 and call American Racing Customer Service, there is a specific lug nut that is correct-I've never had a single lug loosen on my AR wheels.

 

[midlife]

I fixed nearly an identical problem by welding the wheels to the studs.

 

[Fabrice]

I would eat more often steaks

 

[72convertibleMike]

Hey Midlife

Great idea.......but I'll just buy a few extra tubes of JB Weld and see if that helps

Or.....I think I might just wind up calling American Racing if they don't right back soon.

Thanks Guys

Mike

 

[Fabrice]

http://www.normarkindustries.com/CausesEffects.htm

Assuming these are suitable for the wheels/studs.

How do you tighten them? With what? How much torque? Are the threads in the lug nuts or on the car damaged?

Also how many turns can you do before they lock?

Avoid impact tools for these.

 

[72convertibleMike]

http://www.normarkindustries.com/CausesEffects.htm

Assuming these are suitable for the wheels/studs.

How do you tighten them? With what? How much torque? Are the threads in the lug nuts or on the car damaged?

Also how many turns can you do before they lock?

Avoid impact tools for these.

Hello Fabrice

Many thanks for the questions and for the link. 

I tighten them with a Torque Wrench at 85Lbs. Pretty sure the threads are decent, but now going

over the link you provided it's possible that I may have one or two I said to Hell with and just 

tightened them down as tight as humanely possible.

The issue, tho, was present well before then, however, I will go back and re asses each wheel this

week-end.

I'll be calling American Racing tomorrow as others have suggested to get their spin (pun intended)

on the best Lug nuts for these particular wheels. I'll post all if I get good feed-back from them.

I'm one of the lucky few that actually has a Summit Racing located in my town, so if nothing

back from AR I may mosey on down to Summit this week-end and pick their brains.

Thanks Guys

Mike

 

[Don C]

Rule of thumb, lug nut engagement should be 1.5 times the stud diameter, or 3/4". With 1/2-20 studs this equates to 15 turns of the lug nut from start to tight.

 

[turtle5353]

I am running the exact same rims on my 71. I have never had an issue with my lug nuts. I bought the lugs nuts, centers and rims all as a kit. Not sure the brand??

 

[nailpounder]

i got american racing torque thrust m and had ti get longer studs all the way around just not enough stud length fronts easy to find ,but the rear not so. i had to spot weld the studs to the axel so they will not turn

 

[Fabrice]

@72convertibleMike

[ Pretty sure the threads are decent]

If you loose one, so its free, but engaged say 10 turns, 60 to 80%. If you grab it and push pull hard with your hands a few times, do you feel any play? If yes, you must change them.

Got me thinking about other causes if you would get new ones and same would occur.

I would try to look at 2 potential things: vibrations and heat.

Few years back, I've changed the tires of my T-bird, here at local shop. And went to my work, 3 days past and on the fourth day, one tire failed on the highway 20 miles after I left home. The tire and wheel was super hot. So checked the others and they were all very hot. So hot that one ventil melted causing the failure. Turns out the grade for weight/speed of the tires were too low for the car specs. Never thought tires could get hot that much. The local shop never experienced that before either. Got new suitable tires from them and all is fine again since that day. What if you have tires that are not suitable and your lug nuts thermal expand at different rate? They could get loose. Check after a ride if the wheel metal/tire is hot. If it is and the tires of the right grade, make sure the parking break isn't engage even a little.

Vibrations being another potential cause, no low noise when you drive, varying depending on speed or if you break?

 

[71 gbvert]

I'm running 15" toque thrust d's on my 71 with drums all around with no issues. These are the lug nuts that I got with the wheels.

IMG_3319.JPG

 

[72convertibleMike]

Hey Guys

So I've narrowed it down to my Wheel Studs being way to short. I bought some Dorman open

faced lug nuts and attempted to use those on the existing Studs and found I could only get 10

full turns till they stopped. I could see in the lug nut that I had only engaged half of it.

So, question to all: What studs can I replace the Rear with (Stock Drums)? 

I pulled a Stud and it has an overall length of 1.5 inches with 1 inch of that being threaded.

I think I need at least 1 1/4 inch to 1 3/8  of threaded to make these wheels work.

I see on line tons of Studs, but no earthly clue as to Knurl size for the '72.

Any suggestions would be very welcome right about now

Thanks

Mike

 

[nailpounder]

i got american racing torque thrust m and had ti get longer studs all the way around just not enough stud length fronts easy to find ,but the rear not so. i had to spot weld the studs to the axel so they will not turn

i had the same problem . took a stud to the mom and pop auto store with an old school book ,looked up the closest stud and had to use them .i don't remember the size. the kneral is just small enough to spin in the axle when over torqued. it will cause a big problem if it dose  , so you will need to have the new stds spot welded to the axel . i know it stinks but it's what i ended up doing .i hope this helps i have torque thrust m on my car

 

[Don C]

According to the Dorman website the knurls are 0.641, but the longer ones they offer are only 0.625:

https://www.dormanproducts.com/gsearch.aspx?year=1971&make=Ford&model=Mustang&origin=YMM&parttype=Wheel%2520Lug%2520Stud

 

[72convertibleMike]

According to the Dorman website the knurls are 0.641, but the longer ones they offer are only 0.625:

https://www.dormanproducts.com/gsearch.aspx?year=1971&make=Ford&model=Mustang&origin=YMM&parttype=Wheel%2520Lug%2520Stud

Thanks Don

I did chat with Dorman and they confirmed the .625 Knurl for me. Guy advised I might go with the 

Dorman 610-368. It is a .627 Knurl, but he said the tolerance should be sufficient to allow it to fit.

I have looked at these Moser Engineering Studs. Seems their part number 8368 might do the trick.

I have a Summit Racing store in my town, so I may go down and purchase them and go from there.

I appreciate yours and everyone else's input.

Take Care

Mike