New to this group.

Great forums. Just love to browse the archives.

I have a 95 SSEi and have been going throught breaks/rotors like crazy. Just replaced my rotors in May and already the thing wobbles like crazy when applying the brakes.

After reading the archives I believe I may be the culprit. I haven't been torquing the lug nuts, just "tightening" them with a lug nut wrench.

Also, with the wheel lifted off the ground I snug them, then lower the car and finish tightening them. Bad mechanic, bad mechanic.

Now I realize I need to torque them, evenly, to 100 ft-lbs. But my question is how dow I do this with the wheel off the ground? How do I keep the wheel from spinning when I torque them?

Thanks.

hold the wheel with ur arm, or engage the parking brake.......better yet use an impact wrench. i don't think there is really anything wrong with getting them tight and then checking the torque when on the ground

Parking brake would work for the rear wheels, (drum brakes), but not for the front brakes.

I read elsewhere in here that an impact wrench was a no-no and a Torque Wrench was the better way to go.

parking brake is obviously for the back. an impact wrench is just fine if you know the setting and double check it with a torque wrench.

torque them in a star pattern that way you dont bend the rim

You're not _that_ bad, but you do need to torque them properly. A halfway-decent click-type torque wrench will do.

Put a drop of oil on the lug nut threads before reinstalling them to get accurate torque readings. (No, this will not let the lug nuts back off and loosen later on. It only ensures that the threads won't bind up prematurely, which would give you a bogus torque reading that'* not really exerting the proper tension on the lug.)

You don't need the wheel completely off the ground; once you've snugged down the lug nuts, lower the car until the wheel is touching the ground well enough that it won't turn while you're torquing the lug nuts, but the jack is still supporting most of the weight.

Crank them in a star pattern to 80 ft./lbs., then repeat for 90 ft./lbs., then 100 ft./lbs., and you're done.

That'* how I do it now.....after warping rotors, and to protect my RSM rotors. Also make sure you clean the rotor face and back face of the rim before putting them back on.

lol... Grab the tire Iron outta the trunk.. put the car on the ground and put the tire iron on one of the lugs and jump on it untill it wont go no more! or...
[JOKING]

Do the star thing, You dont 'need' a torque wrench just make sure you do each wheel the same... (in a star pattern)

air impact is a bad idea, It will just rape the threads on your studs... (um... lol) and a broken stud is a bad thing (hard to fix on these cars, its easyer to get a new hub)

Tofu, your car is alot lighter. It doesn't have the notorious brake rotor warping problem the H bodies do. The torque is CRITICAL for our cars.

"sneaking up" on the torque is the best way to do it like acg said. 80, then 90, then 100. Be anal about it. We should all have torque wrenches for this reason alone.

Yes, H bodies are murder on rotors I have been fighting these stupid things since I bought my first one in '96. If you are continually having problems, don't overlook your rear drum brakes. Make sure they are in good shape and properly adjusted so they can do their fair share of the work. Watch for leaky slave cylinders on the rear as they will oil the shoes and your stopping power on the rear drops to almost nothing. When the back brakes are screwed up the front brakes work double duty and the extra heat will trash your rotors in no time.

Tumbleweed