Why dont tire shops use torque wrenches?

[Eyekutr]

Hi everyone
I recently had a warped rotor issue on my 07 camry. 80% pads left but warped rotors. We dont drive it too hard, this seemed odd. Anyways, had the rotors resurfaced at toyota and noticed they did not torque the lugs on. I know this is a contributor to warpage so I went and bought a torque wrench. I came home and used the little wrench in the trunk to slightly loosen the lugs so i could re-tighten with torque wrench. Much to my surprise the effort which I had to use to loosen the lugs was considerably different. Then I torqued them all to 80. (manual calls for 76 i think). So then I went to my 06 GS which recently had a front brake service, and to my surprise a few of the lugs I could barely remove. I had to literally put all my weight on the tip of the wrench and in some instances had to step on this with alot of force....does this seem odd? why would they not torque them properly? I guess the lesson learned is whenever you get the wheels removed, make sure to have them torque them or do it yourself.

[njerald]

Originally Posted by Eyekutr

Hi everyone
I recently had a warped rotor issue on my 07 camry. 80% pads left but warped rotors. We dont drive it too hard, this seemed odd. Anyways, had the rotors resurfaced at toyota and noticed they did not torque the lugs on. I know this is a contributor to warpage so I went and bought a torque wrench. I came home and used the little wrench in the trunk to slightly loosen the lugs so i could re-tighten with torque wrench. Much to my surprise the effort which I had to use to loosen the lugs was considerably different. Then I torqued them all to 80. (manual calls for 76 i think). So then I went to my 06 GS which recently had a front brake service, and to my surprise a few of the lugs I could barely remove. I had to literally put all my weight on the tip of the wrench and in some instances had to step on this with alot of force....does this seem odd? why would they not torque them properly? I guess the lesson learned is whenever you get the wheels removed, make sure to have them torque them or do it yourself.

I won't go to a shop that won't use a torque wrench/stick and I tell them the torque spec to use.

[Qslim]

You're doing yourself a great service and saving money on rotors by torque-checking your lug nuts. The short answer to your question is laziness, I suppose. On the other hand, I found that a lot of young techs aren't even taught this basic principle. Even the dozen or so automotive classes I took at a local community college (most of which were really a joke) didn't even touch on the need to evenly apply torque over a set of lug nuts to prevent rotor warpage.
But keep on doing what you're doing, I know I do. I get looks like I'm holding a dead puppy when I ask a shop to make sure they use a torque wrench on my wheels on the rare occasion I have other people work on my cars, and I inevitably end up re-doing it on my own when I get home.

[white07cam]

.....but air tools are so much easier

[ohhey]

Originally Posted by Eyekutr

Hi everyone
I recently had a warped rotor issue on my 07 camry. 80% pads left but warped rotors. We dont drive it too hard, this seemed odd. Anyways, had the rotors resurfaced at toyota and noticed they did not torque the lugs on. I know this is a contributor to warpage so I went and bought a torque wrench. I came home and used the little wrench in the trunk to slightly loosen the lugs so i could re-tighten with torque wrench. Much to my surprise the effort which I had to use to loosen the lugs was considerably different. Then I torqued them all to 80. (manual calls for 76 i think). So then I went to my 06 GS which recently had a front brake service, and to my surprise a few of the lugs I could barely remove. I had to literally put all my weight on the tip of the wrench and in some instances had to step on this with alot of force....does this seem odd? why would they not torque them properly? I guess the lesson learned is whenever you get the wheels removed, make sure to have them torque them or do it yourself.

You just can't get good tire service. Even at a place that only does tires they can't even get the air pressure right !! Every single time the air pressure in each tire is different (no two alike) and at least one is way different then the others. After almost 30 years of driving a car I've just given up. It's just not going to happen. That's one reason I don't let them rotate my tires, the risk of something bad happening is just too high in fact a near certainty. The torque will be wrong, they will get the rotate wrong, the air will be all wrong, the wheels will have paint scratched off them, they will put miss matched caps back on (if they even put all of them back). Not just one of these things but likely all of them. The last time I had my oil changed at the dealer I told them more then once "do not touch my tires". they did it anyway and the air was all wrong, one was dangerously higher then the others like by 15lbs. And they had lost (or stolen) one of the special valve caps that came with my TPM system and put a normal one in it's place. Gerrrr... !!!!! I can't stand it !!! I wish I could buy valve caps with razor wire on them !! I'm going to buy after market locking lugs so they can't have a matching key and keep the key in my pocket when my car is serviced. Can you get ones where all of them require the key ? LOL !

[touringcamry]

Originally Posted by white07cam

.....but air tools are so much easier

There are things called torque sticks, but I doubt many people use them.

[Gellenole]

I just got my own torque wrench, but I use to drop by a friends place each time I get a rotation and torque to 85 ft/lbs -- star pattern -- very important to use the star pattern when torquing.

[TRD VVTi]

I agree, laziness is the main reason.

Torque sticks are effective also.

[V6 LVR]

It is up to you, if you care enough, to make sure its done right. Find a shop where you can see the work done. It won't hurt to inform the tech that your wheel torque limit is 78 lbs since they might not be aware of it. I do this politely and respectfully. Often I end up with a different tech since the last rotation. Then I would make sure that the torque stick is the correct one since they are usually color coded and have the # engraved into the stick. Only then should the star pattern torquing take place. And I always tip my tech which they appreciate.

[ChiTDI]

Why dont tire shops use torque wrenches?

Time and money. They do use torque sticks, though. Frame shop where I get tires r&b said I'm the only customer that gets the torque wrench. I asked why, "We're nervous about 76 ft. lbs. and our customers never having the torque checked down the road."
Interesting. Possible liability exposure!

[centennialman]

Buy your own torque wrench and then you'll never have to worry about it. Harbor Freight is one place to start.

[Eyekutr]

I bought a harbor freight one and it seems to be of good quality. I dont know how accurate it is but it is at least consistent. I removed the lugs after using it and it took very similar effeort in loosening them. I did use 80 lbs to be safe. I figure this is still way less than what the lugs were on with previously...

[sniper34]

I used to have a repair shop. Small two bay neighborhood type shop. Only myself and one other tech. At times we were very busy, it just being two guy's. But we NEVER put wheels on without the proper torque stick and the proper tightening sequence. Whether it was a tire rotation or a brake job, or even a flat, they were always torqued. We knew that over tightening could strip threads. Not only running the lugs in but when they are removed, the lugs tend to seize to the studs when they are over tightened too much. We didn't need the grief from bitching customers when they had wheel trouble in the future. It always comes back to the last tech's work. The torque stick also assured that resurfaced or new rotors sat flat on the hubs.