As soon as I have biten by a 4WD bug a while ago, I ‘ve been trying to do almost everything by myself in servicing & maintenance department for my Nissan Patrol GU 3.0 Diesel ST.
I’ve got 2 sets of wheels – one set is BFGoodrich/AT – All-Terrains mounted on factory’s alloy wheels and another set is BFGoodrich/MT – Mud-Terrains mounted on steel Pro-Comp wheels.
Every time before a trip I change the wheels by myself, it takes the time, but gives a perfect opportunity to have a good look under the truck and check for any signs of rust or other problems.
Recently, it appeared that my exercising with weights finally gave the result. A little bit unusual though – when I last time changed the wheels, I over tightened the nuts, so the thread were nearly stripped off and I had to replace all the rear axle studs (which cost me a 3 digit figure). Ouch!
I’ve been told by FerntreeGully Nissan that if I want to prevent this from happening in the future I have to use the torque wrench. It is also appeared that Patrol’s studs are very susceptible for the over & under tightening.
So, the whole idea of this post is this: Use the Torque, Luke!
Use the torque setting of 135 Nm or 100 ft-lbs for GU Patrol wheel nuts!