Official Ford service procedure states that if you have to remove an axle nut, you should discard it and replace it with a brand-new one. How important is it to do this? None of my Jeeps have ever had that as a requirement - you can re-use the axle nuts any number of times.

 

I'm sure they're just talkin' out their ***. /s

You've been reading the manual again haven't you. It may be OK to reuse but I'd sure want to know more about the fastener itself. How much money we talkin'? Three bucks? It may be different procedure than Jeep for a reason.

Some fasteners are manufactured out of round and part of the clamping force or "safety" is due to this reason, others might have a plug of hard plastic embedded. Those are one time use only fasteners. Not saying that's the case here just that you should try to determine why procedures are written the way they are, before deviating from them. .02c

 

Sometimes service procedures include things that are "best practice" but which aren't actually necessary for safety.

Significantly more than that, I suspect. Dealer-supplied fasteners are always much more expensive than the equivalent sourced from a hardware store. And it also means a special trip to the dealership.

No *****, Sherlock. Sorry if that sounds rude, but the whole reason I started the thread was to ask if anybody knew WHY the FSM says to discard and replace the axle nuts. If it's safety-critical, then obviously I'll do it. If it's more of a best-practice thing with no impact on safety, then I may well reuse the old nut.

I don't know if it's in any way significant, but none of the YT videos I've seen that involve removing the axle nuts on Escapes say anything about replacing the old nuts with new. Everybody just puts the old nuts back on.

 

Well, if you're so smart, why even bother to ask?

There's a contradiction in your assertion to begin with. You say "best practices" but then claim it doesn't matter or it's not necessary. How do you know that? Can you give an example?

I'm not saying the wheel will fall off tomorrow if it gets re-used, but what I am saying there is a reason for this, and I doubt you or I are smarter than the engineers who decided on this. I'm not challenging your aptitude, but the logic is pretty sketchy. "Nobody on YT videos replaces them."

Is it possible they are wrong?

What is the torque on these. I'm guessing these aren't the spindle nuts that are lightly loaded on 2WD trucks, but something that is reefed down to several hundred foot pounds? Are the threads cut in such a way that they are one time use, or another type of nylon friction device that is only good for once? Betcha it's something like that.

We probably all do, or have done things that aren't by the manual but generally that's not the way to bet, that's all.

 

Sorry, don't understand what point you're ttrying to make here. I asked because I don't know. I was hoping I'd get replies from people who *did* know, but so far, obviously not.

I've been a DIY wrencher long enough to know that shortcuts and money-saving techniques are common currency. Even professional mechanics will deviate from official factory service policy at times, and when asked will usually say "Well, I've been doing it that way for years and never had any comebacks/problems".

I'm sorry, but where on Earth did I suggest that I might be? I started this thread to ask a question, because I didn't know something and I wanted to know the answer. So far, I *still* don't have that answer.

I've never previously worked on a vehicle where it was stated in the FSM that the axle nut should be discarded and replaced with a new one any time it's removed. I wanted to know - I *still* would like to know - if that's a genuine safety-critical issue, or if it's just Ford encouraging best practice and (to be cynical) parts sales (it's a $14 nut BTW).

Quite apart from any other consideration, if it really *is* safety-critical, it will mean that I need to do two jobs at once - replacing the ABS tone ring *and* the inner CV joint boot. I was planning to do the ring now and the boot later, but if it means having to buy another new nut, I'll have to reorganise things and do both at the same time.

Yes. It *is* possible. I don't know. That's why I asked.

It's 220 ft lbs, which is *less* torque than I'm used to for SUV axle nuts that you can re-use all day long.

You'll be pleased to know that I made a special trip to the dealership, which is why I know it's a $14 nut. There's no indication, looking at the nut, as to why it might possibly be one-time use (and of course the parts guy at the dealership had no idea). No nylon, and the threads look perfectly normal. But, I've got it now.

I'd still like to find out if it's genuinely safety-critical, but I get the feeling that nobody really knows.

 

My $0.02! Replaced your wheel lugs nuts lately? Of course, the FSM doesn't suggest doing so but if they suggest replacing the axle which doesn't get removed as often, why not??

 

I'm pretty sure that once you take the spindle nut off you're unable to tighten it to torque again.. because once you tighten it it just stops tightening and I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the little nylon piece that's at the end of the threads on the spindle nut.. so over time it will start to loosen eventually.. but you will be able to tell if it's starting to loosen up before it just falls off and becomes a safety issue.. but I think that if you put thread lock , it will prevent it from coming loose... I replaced the rotor assemblies on my f150 and I got a brand new bolt for passenger and reused old one for drive side. It's been almost a year and it sounds like the driver side has loosened up .. so I'm going to jack it up today and check to see if my theory is correct.

 

It's important!!!!!!! Now with that said, the brake caliper bolts were originally 1 time use only as well but after several years Ford publicized it was safe to reinstall if blue locktite was used.

 

It’s 7 years on from my original post, and I've got reused axle nuts on my Escape because I needed to do a job immediately and had no way of getting hold of new nuts without waiting about a week. Still holding the correct torque and haven't budged a millimetre from where they were set.

I've never seen anything indicating brake caliper bolts being one-time use. I've had my calipers off and on multiple times over the years and I've never Loctited them.

 

I pulled the passenger side axle nut twice and reused it twice. Went at least 200k miles that way.

 

Just keep in mind that much of what is written in OEM shop manuals is written at the direction of the Legal Department.