Re: lug nuts torque
OK, OK. I forget how many other fellow mechanics there are out here. At the risk of being called a waffler here, I'll come out of the closet now and admit to being part of the Permatex anti-sieze crowd...it's also something I've done to all my lugs over the past 20 years or so of wrenching, but didn't really want to say it out loud as it's not often written as a recommended procedure for liability reasons.<br /><br />People need to be aware though...as helpful as that silver magic it is in keeping them from siezing due to galvanic corrosion, especially on aluminum wheeled setups, it can be just as helpful in causing unmaintained lugnuts to work loose. So anti-sieze is fine, but makes it all the more critical to torque them properly (if undertorqued they'll come loose, and overtorque will snap studs real easy with antisieze), and then follow up by re-checking torque frequently. Not a lot of recreational trailer owners do this maintenance very well, so many mechanics and service manuals prefer to risk a siezed nut by recommending dry assembly, since a siezed nut is always safer than a loose lugnut. <br /><br />Just remember you have less margin for error when you use anti-sieze.