well the reason i ask see is this

this van of mine, whihc i got at the beginning of the year apparently
did not have its axle nuts torqued properly and guess what

about two weeks ago i started to hear some fairly nasty noises
especially under power and especially uphill - now i've taken it to the
shop where i find out that this was the sound of my axle stubs, wheel
hubs, brake drums and bearings getting ruined - 800 almighty dollars
(who was it that used to call the dollar almighty?)

i'm no mechanic but trying to become one and this seems more than a
novice such as myself can bear (although the cost of repair is breaking
the bank like nobody's business) still even though i'm getting the work
done at a very good shop - i keep thinking about all those labor
dollars and parts - if i did it myself, replacing all that has been
recommended - i think the parts come in somewhere around 300 dollars
(US) plus shipping etc as well as the time off the road while i try to
figure out how to get the bearings in.

the shop i've taken my sweetie pie to is wolfsburg motorwerks here in
seattle, which comes highly recommended. so i'm not too worried about
that just the real life size of 800 dollars.

monte

On Apr 13, 2006, at 9:39 AM, Raceingcajun wrote:

Monte,

     You need a "Big Monkey". Sorry, I'm sure there is a formula about
length
of extension, leverage, etc. But I don't know it. So in the case of no
torque wrench, a long Cheater pipe and a lot of grunt!
     Seriously, I would go somewhere like Sears, and buy a "Bar Type"
pointer
torque wrench. You can get one for less that fifty Buck's. You may have
to
order one that reads to 350 lb's, but it would be much better that the
cheater pipe method. As a bonus, you can carry it in your van to torque
lugs.

Howard

Subject: torquing axle nuts

> say
>
> without the very expensive torque wrench just how does one tighten the
> axle nut to 350ft lbs

84 gl - gas burning guilt ridden climate wrecking friend - i love it so