David A. Webb wrote in message . ..
On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 22:43:18 -0400, "Peter Reilley"
wrote:

So which is better; grease or no grease?

Pete.


I have used the aluminum based anti-sieze, AND regular old axle
grease. Had no problems with either.

My reason for using the lube was because without it, the lug nuts
would stick and I had a terrible time getting them off. (until I
bought an air impact wrench)

A lot of people argue that the grease will allow the nut to back off
easier. But like you said, the lubrication will allow the proper
torque in the first place. The stretch of the stud will keep the
tension on the nut, and keep it from getting loose if it is torqued
correctly.

This is important. Stud stretch is responsible for holding lug nuts
tight, just as con rod bolt nuts often have no locking device, just
the bolt stretch to keep friction on the nut face and thread.
Overtightening the nuts will strain (overstretch) the stud, making it
inelastic and maybe cracking it, and causing either stud failure the
next time the driver corners hard, or the nut will loosen.
Lubrication, on the other hand, can reduce nut friction so much that
straining the stud becomes really easy.

And finally, lug nuts typically only come loose on the right side of
the car. The rotation of the wheel will tend to tighten the nuts on
the left side, and loosen on the right. Older MOPAR vehicles had left
hand threaded lugs on the left side of the car for that reason. IF
the nuts are only coming loose on one side, my guess is they simply
weren't torqued properly for one reason or another.

No, they came loose on the LEFT side, which is why Mopars had
the left-hand thread on the left side. Heavy trucks still use LH
threads on the left side. You have to understand the rotational forces
here; the pressure on the nut's cone moves clockwise on a
counterclockwise rotating wheel, and this tends to create a
counterclockwise rotation on the nut. You can picture it by making a
loop with your right thumb and forefinger, and sticking your left
thumb into the loop. Clockwise contact movement will rotate the left
thumb counterclockwise.

Dan (nine years a wheel-sales specialist '71-'80)