[xj] wheel nuts

Right:…chipped chrome on the wheel nuts. As mentioned, the blame falls
to careless mechanics using an airwrench instead of the proper torque wrench.
The nuts on the alloy wheels should be torqued at 55 to 65 lbs and NOT MORE.
This is easily done by hand. Once the nuts are chipped there is no recovery. La
st year I had the wheel nuts on my 82 xj6 (KENT wheels, not “roulette”)
rechromed. A new set of wheelnuts is $300 or so Canadian and the nuts will
still have the less than wonderful finish on the side. The rechroming, done
here in Victoria, cost me about $4 Canadian per nut. The finish is mirror-
smooth all round, which makes a great difference in appearance on the Kent whee
ls. I purchased a socket (SNAP-ON, 21 mm, I think) which has the cut-outs for
the nut edges to prevent chipping. This, and the use of a torque wrench,
as well as sevela coats of carnauba wax, have kept the wheel nuts concours
quality (9.995 in last August’s JCNA, Vancouver). I highly recommend this
to anyone wanting to improve the look of the wheels.

                                 Gregory Andrachuk
                                 Victoria, Canada
                                 82 xj6 (5X "first in class")
                                 84 Sovereign (daily driver)

Gregory A. writes:

The nuts on the alloy wheels should be torqued at 55 to 65 lbs and NOT
MORE.  This is easily done by hand.-------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took me a while to get used to such “soft” contact: barely more than
finger tight. (Haynes calls a 75 ftlb. max., assuming Kents as OE.) I
have to guess such overtorquing has much to do with the destruction of
the lead washer, a part of these lugs (and, likely, part of their
outrageous cost). Thankfully, I only have one which is defective, the
washer pieces held in position by wheel grease.

Is this misfortune common or rare? Who if any has had to address this
and what did you do?

As for the finish, would Brasso et al have any restorative potential?

s/s
James
'86 SIII (US) @80K in PHX
Keep the cause; the cause is just.


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