Major brain fart. I have a '94 Ram 2500 with 16" aluminum rim's with 305's. I'm going to overhaul the rear brakes, but now need the lug nut torque. I did the front and torqued the to 100lb for now. The lug nut's are 7/8"

 

My 98 2500 has 16" steel wheels.The factory manual calls for 135 lbs of torque.I don't know if it would be different for aluminum wheels but 135 would be a good place to start.

 

It's been so long I don't remember either but I do know it takes a turquoise torque stick, the only way to go.
http://www.handsontools.com/AccuTorq...l_p_12409.html

 

Thanks for the input. Did some digging and found the following:

80-110 ft lbs (108-150 Nm) on 5 stud wheels
120-150 ft lbs (163-203 NM) on 8 stud single wheels
130-160 ft lbs (176-217 NM) on 8 stud dual wheels

Why the 30 ft lbs differences? I wanted to know if aluminum rim's where torqued different than steel.

 

I always torque my aluminum less, I was told they expand more than steel when the brakes get hot. I torque mine to 100 ftlb and call it good, its also always good to clean the surface where the wheels rest and torque evenly, less warped rotars that way as we found that uneven torque will pull the rotars and warp them if they get glowing red hot! My friend lit a cig off my front rotars after I pulled our toy hauler down off a 5 mile 17% grade

 

Uneven torque warps rotors even if they never get hot.

What happens most often when a torque wrench isn't used is the nuts get overtightened, studs snap off down the road.

 

I always use and carry a torque wrench.. I reset the torque to 140 ft Lbs.

 

Bill, how does that turquoise torque stick work? Does it take 1/2" sockets? Or 3/4?

 

From their website.
Patented AccuTorq® "strobe marks" stop turning at precisely the correct torque EVERY time. There is no "guess" work and no recalibration. At the cost of each stick or a set a good torque wrench works great. The sticks would be great for the low pay wrench monkey's in the discount tire stores.

 

I saw that, but I just want to understand how they work, and their description doesn't say exactly what the mechanism is. I'm just curious.

 

The stick starts to twist torsionally at the specified value, thus the Impact wrench is simply putting the additional travel into the stick. They won't work with a standard breaker bar, ratchet. Think of it as a shock absorber running above the force required to start to compress. Probably not the best analogy, but the best I have right now.

 

So you use the stick with an Impact wrench?

 

Yes, or you can use a extended handle racthet. With an impact your suppose to watch them, when they flex you stop.

 

How do you determine when to stop with a ratchet? I guess I have never seen one actually twist, the nut just stops turning.

 

Torque sticks only work with an impact wrench.
They are just a 1/2" extension constructed so the impact force matches the twist in the stick. Once you get to the right torque the nut stops turning even if you keep hammering away with the impact.
I've had a set of five torque sticks for the most common torque values for over twenty years and have double checked with a torque wrench many times.
They have always been right on.