BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

lug wrench? torque wrench?

13K views 49 replies 18 participants last post by  TambourineMan 
#1 ·
Got some newbie questions. I'm going to buy winter tires and I'm planning to change them out myself. Never done this before, but from what I understand, since the tires come with the wheels balanced and mounted from Tire Rack, all I have to worry about is changing them out twice a year, right?

So to change them out, I got the Craftsman 2 1/4 ton floor jack (on sale for $30 from Sears). Contrary to what some other people were saying, it fit under my ZHP with no problems whatsoever. I'm not sure where to position it, though. I guess that's what the manual is for, but if some kind soul wishes to help me out, I'd be appreciative.

Okay, so the process is: stick jack under car, lift the car, maybe put some jackstands underneath (since they don't seem completely necessary, I decided against purchasing them until I start changing my own oil), use a 17mm socket lug wrench (I bought a metal four-prong Craftsman metric lug wrench with 17, 19, 21, and 22mm sockets for $10 from Sears) to take the lug bolts off. Do I need to take them off in a star pattern, or is that not necessary? BTW, I have the BMW wheel locks, but are they supposed to come with instructions on how to mount/dismount them? Or is it pretty intuitive how to do that? (I haven't looked at them yet.)

Then I take the Tire Rack wheel/tire, stick it on, (I read that some Leather Z wheel pin thing is supposed to make that easier? I'll probably wait to buy that until I decide I really need it, even though it would bring me to within one piece of a complete toolkit...), and use the lug wrench to tighten the bolts in a star pattern. Oh, I can use the BMW wheel locks on the winter tires, right?

Finally, I read that I'm supposed to lower the car and then use a torque wrench to make sure the bolts are torqued properly at 88 N-m?

Assuming all that is right, let me ask this: I've always heard that when you mount tires manually, you can just tighten the bolts using a wrench and then, when you've tightened them, just give one more twist and you're set. In fact, when I've seen the roadside service people change tires, they just jack it up, use an electric tool to undo the bolts, mount the tire, and then screw the bolts back in. No torque checking or anything...

Last question: do I need to get a separate lug wrench and torque wrench? Does a torque wrench double up? Should I return the cross-shaped lug wrench I got from Sears?

TVMIA. :)
 
See less See more
#27 ·
#29 ·
PhilH said:
I got my torque wrench at Home Depot.
What brand did you get? Was it $10, like the one online? :)

I went to Sears yesterday to buy a torque wrench. The only ones they had, supposedly, were $80+ 2 foot long behemoths by Craftsman. I didn't know torque wrenches were so huge (and heavy)...
 
#30 · (Edited)
swchang said:
What brand did you get? Was it $10, like the one online? :)
It's made by Husky and the range is 10-100 lbs. Although it didn't work too well at 18 lbs to tighten the oil filter cap (it never clicked), it works just fine for wheel lugs. I think it was about $70.

Also, I added another part to my tool collection today. It's an adapter for my small cordless screwdriver/drill so that I can spin the lugs off the wheels. :thumbup:
 
#31 ·
PhilH said:
It's made by Husky and the range is 10-100 lbs. Although it didn't work too well at 18 lbs to tighten the oil filter cap (it never clicked), it works just fine for wheel lugs. I think it was about $70.

Also, I added another part to my tool collection today. It's an adapter for my small cordless screwdriver/drill so that I can spin the lugs off the wheels. :thumbup:
Nice. :thumbup:

I added an air compressor and digital tire pressure gauge to my collection. Also got the OEM wheel pin thingy. Had a monstrous time trying to squeeze it into the tool set space. Yeah, it fits, but only if you really work hard to make it fit... ;) I also got some Goof Off to get the decals off my car and the goop (from the sticker they placed on it) off the wheel pin.

However, still looking for my torque wrench...
 
#33 ·
swchang said:
Doeboy and Pinecone,

Is one of these the Harbor Freight torque wrench you use?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=239

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=2696

Also, is the only place for me to buy these tools online at the HF website? I'm in the DC area, so it doesn't look like I'm near one of their retail stores. Stores like Sears or Advanced Auto Parts probably wouldn't carry them? At least I'll get the socket today, I guess.
For Harbor Fiieght, yep online is about the only way locally.

I have a Harbor Frieght cheapy, and it seems to work well. The ones I use most of the time are Sears Craftsman. If you join the Craftman's Club (no charge) then one wekk per month you get an extra 10% off of everything in the tool section, including sale prices.

I have the 1/2" drive and 3/8" drive torque wrenches, one for big heavy torque jobs, and the smaller one for things like brakes and shocks.

Home Depot and Lowes also carry them.

For just torquing wheels, the cheap one si probably fine. But some other work, you want a better one.

SK is a highly recommended inexpensive torque wrench.

And yes, the are big and heavy. Big (long) so that you don't have to apply a lot of force. Think, if you need 120 foot pounds, with a 1 foot wrench, you need 120 pounds of force. With a 2 foot long wrench you only need 60 pounds of force.

They are heavy because of the mechanism.

And once you get one don't forget to reset it to 0 after youuse it. The deisgn of these click torque wrenches uses a spring to adjust/measure the torque, and if you leave it set, especially to a high value, the readings may not be accurate after a while. And remember, this is probably a lifetime purchase.
 
#34 ·
Excellent. Thanks for the suggestions, all. I decided to go cheap (because I am a cheap bastard and because, like Pinecone said, I'm only torquing my wheels) and got the $10 HF 1/2" one. Nice and inexpensive, especially compared to the $60 Husky at Home Depot and the $80 Craftsman at Sears. But with the $6 handling charge (that's some expensive handling) and shipping, the price almost doubled. Oh well, $20 is still < $60. :thumbup:

BTW, if anyone's looking for a good but inexpensive air compressor, I got a $13 one at Home Depot. Husky. Comes with a light, too. I guess my $20 Craftsman is going back to Sears (yes, I am that stingy). Oh well, I have to buy the 17 mm socket for my new HF torque wrench anyway. :)
 
#35 ·
swchang said:
Doeboy and Pinecone,

Is one of these the Harbor Freight torque wrench you use?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=239

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=2696

Also, is the only place for me to buy these tools online at the HF website? I'm in the DC area, so it doesn't look like I'm near one of their retail stores. Stores like Sears or Advanced Auto Parts probably wouldn't carry them? At least I'll get the socket today, I guess.
Oops... got in on this thread a bit late haha.... oh well..

Those are the Harbor Freight ones...

I have an SK one that cost me about $75 I believe...
 
#36 ·
Next tiem buy more from Harbor Frieght.

And you should have asked, they have a ice set of lug bolt sockets that are plastic cooated ont h outside to protect your wheels. The complete set of 3 - US and 3 - Metric is only $20.
 
#37 ·
Pinecone said:
Next tiem buy more from Harbor Frieght.

And you should have asked, they have a ice set of lug bolt sockets that are plastic cooated ont h outside to protect your wheels. The complete set of 3 - US and 3 - Metric is only $20.
Yeah, I saw that, but I don't know that I'd have had a use for the others. I figure I'll just buy the sockets as I need them. I don't think I do as much car tinkering as the rest of y'all... :p
 
#38 ·
swchang said:
Yeah, I saw that, but I don't know that I'd have had a use for the others. I figure I'll just buy the sockets as I need them. I don't think I do as much car tinkering as the rest of y'all... :p
They also sell a 3 piece metric kit. The plastic coating is nice.
 
#40 ·
PhilH said:
...the range is 10-100 lbs. Although it didn't work too well at 18 lbs to tighten the oil filter cap (it never clicked)
The bottom 10% (even up to %20) of the rated torque scale has a high percent error and should be avoided. ie your 10-100 wrench should only be used between ~19-100 if you have a good one, and 28-100ft-lbs if it's a cheapy.

I have the same one as you it's great for wheels but it's barely able to handle the low torque requirements of the oil cap.
 
#41 ·
PhilH said:
Also, I added another part to my tool collection today. It's an adapter for my small cordless screwdriver/drill so that I can spin the lugs off the wheels. :thumbup:
I was thinking of getting this adapter too. Where did you get it and how much?

Actually, why don't we use the cordless screwdriver to tighten the lugs without a torque wrench? My cordless screwdriver has a torque control from scale 1-17. It's max torque is 100lb-ft. So 88 lb-ft is one of the settings between 1-17. I just need to calibrate which setting is what torque. Does it make sense?
 
#42 ·
yamato said:
I was thinking of getting this adapter too. Where did you get it and how much?

Actually, why don't we use the cordless screwdriver to tighten the lugs without a torque wrench? My cordless screwdriver has a torque control from scale 1-17. It's max torque is 100lb-ft. So 88 lb-ft is one of the settings between 1-17. I just need to calibrate which setting is what torque. Does it make sense?
I'm pretty sure I got the adapter at Home Depot. It was right next to the cordless screwdrivers in the hardware department. I don't remember how much it was, which must mean it was seriously cheap...probably about $5??

If you feel comfortable using a cordless screwdriver to torque the wheels on your $30k+ BMW, feel free. :eeps: I think I'll keep using my torque wrench. I just don't want to see a thread from you about warped brake rotors or about how, as you were driving down the street, one of your wheels fell off. :p
 
#43 · (Edited)
Well, I changed tires for the first time by myself. <bows> Actually, I helped my friend, amzbimmer from this board and E46fanatics, change his wheels out to 18"ers on Giovannis. Look pretty sweet. (Sorry, don't have any pics on me.)

Anyway, many of these tips were invaluable, so thanks to all of you. In retrospect, here are some things I would have liked:

1. A second wheel pin (what is the part number? I found 71-11-1-093-774, but that doesn't seem to register on Circle or Pacific's sites)

2. A longer socket for my torque wrench (we ended up not being able to torque his wheels, because his rims had such deep-set holes)

3. A stronger back

4. Perhaps a hydraulic jack, but only perhaps

5. Some pics to show y'all

EDIT: In case you're using the BMW "wheel pin" (really a sparkplug wrench pin), I found it helpful to stick one finger through one of the rim's lug holes and use the other hand to guide it onto the tip of your finger. Of course, this only works if you have someone there to help you.
 
#44 ·
#46 ·
Many thanks to the OP, swchang, and all the contributors to this thread. I finally bit the bullet and changed over my X3 winter rims from my summer set myself for the first time ever.

I bought:

- Cheap torque wrench (CAD$20, or US$17)
- Hydraulic jack (came with a little air compressor and wheel chocks) ($70 or US$60)

That's it. The jack came with a gadget that allows the jack handle to act as a breaker bar, VERY useful. The instructions worked perfectly and now my X3 is sitting on my Michelin X-Ice tires on E46 rims. Took me 1.5 hrs cause of the learning curve but I can probably do it less than 1 hr next time.

Thanks again to everyone in this thread.
 
#47 ·
Many thanks to the OP, swchang, and all the contributors to this thread. I finally bit the bullet and changed over my X3 winter rims from my summer set myself for the first time ever.
//snip//
I Took me 1.5 hrs cause of the learning curve but I can probably do it less than 1 hr next time.
Yep, this is a liberating thing to do... not much tool investment required but it's so easy with a couple of basic ones. And no more putting off semi-annual trip to the tire place with the long line when the first flake hits the ground. :thumbup:
 
#49 ·
Leatherz has the wheel pins or I also saw them on ebay. I put on the winter package two weeks ago without the wheel pin and I didn't have any probelm. There is a lip on the hub that the wheels can rest on. The pins might make it a bit easier, buy not by much.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top