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Vent: Found out I was torquing lug nuts all wrong for 8 years

Was reading the manual for a 2024 F-150 last week and realized I've been doing a star pattern but never checking final torque. How many of you actually re-torque after 50 miles like the book says?
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2 Comments
rayc89
rayc891mo ago
The star pattern is good but you should still torque to spec first.
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kellyr18
kellyr181mo ago
Yeah, @rayc89 hit the main point but here's the thing nobody talks about - those factory lug nuts on newer trucks are usually coated in some kind of anti-corrosion stuff that changes the torque reading. I found out the hard way when my 2019 Ram started getting loose wheels after a few hundred miles. The coating wears off after the first torque and then the specs change. So even if you do the star pattern and hit the right number, if you're not retorquing after 50 miles, you're basically gambling. I had a wheel almost fall off on the highway once because I skipped that step. That's why the manual says to do it - the second torque is actually the real one.
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