Is it OK to use anti-seize on lug nuts? 08 F250 Owners manual says a drop of oil between washer and lugnut. If I use anti-seize are my wheels in danger of falling off? Thanks. Brian

 

I always put a bit of axle grease on the studs the first time I have wheels off a new vehicle. Just a little dab will do ya, you don't want it to run out and get on your brake discs.


Don't know if the experts will endorse that, but it's always worked for me and never caused a problem. A moly or copper bearing anti-sieze would probably be even better.

It can save galling or even breaking a stud. I've personally had both happen.

Bill

 

I've never had a problem.

 

They absolutely wont fall off. Anti-seize does not work that way. One thing to consider that if you use a torque wrench for the nuts (you should), it might affect the proper torque. By how much you ask? I would think not enough to worry about.

 

It helps to put some anti-seize on the rotor where the wheel bolts up.

I've had the wheel corrode fast to the rotor and was a real PITA to get off.

 

I lost a wheel off a VW years ago after putting a drop of oil on the lugs while rotating tires . I learned my lesson . I imagine the torque value is for dry threads .

 

The published torque value for lug nuts assumes clean dry threads. Approximately 60% of the torque applied to a fastener is used to overcome thread friction and friction between the bolt or nut face and the material its being tightened against, the rest going toward stretching the fastener which provides the clamping force. Any lubricant on the threads - and most anti-seize compounds contain metallic lubricants - will seriously reduce the trread friction. This could cause you to over tighten the studs which could shorten their life or in a case of high stress loading such as off road operation could cause a stud to fail. Personally, I clean the wheel studs with a small brass brush before installing the nuts - dry.

 

As the Super Duty wheels (mine anyway) are listed as 150 lbs ft torque, I doubt if ANYTHING is gonna make them fall off!!!!

 

I did that once to a trailer I bought and re-sold to my brother-in-law. He wanted to kill someone when the lugs and then the wheels kept coming off. I never admitted it was me (you won't tell, will you?); I said that it must have been that way from the previous owner. Listen to 'PupnDuck' and don't do it!

 

The problem with anti-sieze is it WILL work it's way out and onto the wheel under centrigal force. I've seen that stuff basically flow out of things that spin

The reason they say to use oil is, most likely, to get a good torque reading.

 

My 1999 also says to use that drop of oil between the washer and the lug nut. But the thread on the studs are clean and dry when I torque them to the recommended value (the lug nuts and seats don't have oil/grease either). However, I put oil/grease on the studs of older trucks/cars for 40 years and never torqued them back then; nor did I ever warp or ruin anything. Go figure!

 

I use it on my studs and on the backside of the wheel like someone else mentioned. First time you have to destroy a wheel or beat it off on the side of the road you will do the same. I've never had a wheel come loose from anti-seize. I use it on everything that requires lugnuts.

 

Agree with PupnDuck. We had a demonstration by a nut and bolt company, with a torque wrench and a torque meter. It was a little while ago, so my numbers aren't 100% correct, but dry threads at let's say 80 ft lbs produced 6k of clamping force. With oil, it increased to 11k. I just remember when oil was applied to the threads, the reading skyrocketed with the same torque applied. Made a believer out of me.

 

Exactly!

You don't have to worry about a lug nut coming loose from lubricating the threads. You do have to worry about exceeding the yield point of the stud. It might not snap right now but it will be seriously weakened. It may snap the next time you torque it down or if you put a lot of stress on the wheel off road you could snap the stud. If you have wheels nuts with a captive washer on the end they usually recommend a drop of engine oil between the nut and the captive washer to prevent galling of those fancy aluminum wheels but lug nuts should always be torqued dry unless otherwise specified by the manufacturer.

This is true not only for wheels but for pretty much all threaded fasteners. I've seen head gaskets fail on race engines because the person assembling the engine lubricated the threads on the head bolts and then tightened them to spec. The bolts were stretched beyond their yield point and actually produced LESS clamping force than they would have if installed properly. It is possible, through careful engineering to come up with appropriate torque values for lubricated threads but then you have to use the exact same lubricant that was used in testing. Oil isn't the same as anti-seize and there are a dozen different types of anti-seize - some with metal some with ceramic additives, etc. Dry is dry.

 

Yep, it will do that.

Can't put on too much.

Wipe off any excess that slings out.