76 replies to this topic

[dale.lavender]

I'm looking at changing my break disks and pads tomorrow by following haynes just wondered if i need a torque (not torgue should have previewed before i posted) wrench for tightening back up the wheel nut.
cheers
DL

Edited by 998dave, 17 January 2011 - 10:02 PM.

[In-a-mini]

yes to set the hub nut to the correct torque

[charie t]

I'm looking at changing my break disks and pads tomorrow by following haynes just wondered if i need a torque (not torgue should have previewed before i posted) wrench for tightening back up the wheel nut.
cheers
DL

You'll need one for the hub nuts too, and for the disc bolts too

[Carlos W]

If you want to do the job properly you should really have a torque wrench!

There will be torque settings for the bolt that holds the caliper on, the nut at the end of the drive shaft etc etc!

If you plan to do a lot of maintanance then it's probably a good thing to buy!

[bmcecosse]

No - you don't! The large nuts are done up as tightly as you can with a 4 ft pole on the T bar - and then ON to the next split pin hole. Way beyond the range of most torque wrenches. As for the disc-hub bolts - just be sensible when tightening them

[Cooperman]

Never used a torque wrench on the brakes or hub nuts, ever. Never had any problems either. It's just a case of common sense really.
Years ago I even changed head gaskets without a torque wrench on all sorts of cars and never had any problems.

[TopCatCustom]

Like with most of these things- it's a case of "you should use one and torque to the specified figures", but in the real world it doesn't matter if you have your head screwed on and have experience of how tight things need to be. I only use torque wrenches for "important" stuff like engine internals and the like, I've been doing nuts and bolts up since I can remember so I am confident in saying I can feel how much is right, and when to stop.

If you class yourself as competant I wouldn't worry, but if you are unsure then I would be safe than sorry. I think thats fair?!

[mini93]

well, all very well saying you dont torque them up, but yes, there are torque values there to follow...and I always follow them.
would be pretty bad practice if at work building a customers car we didnt use them

[Granmas_car]

i havent ever used one when i have changed my breaks and they work fine at 130mph

[TopCatCustom]

I think working professionally on a customers car is different to your own, I do what I feel comfortable with on my own but someone elses you are more likely to go by the book to cover yourself. I'm sure most garages didnt torque everything up many years ago before the blame culture became the norm!

I do agree with you- just I believe I am completely competant on my own cars by feel

[AzMaN]

would be pretty bad practice if at work building a customers car we didnt use them

thats where the differnce is though, if your working on other peoples cars then yes always use one, for your own peace of mind and to cover your ass if anything went wrong. If your working on your own car and feel confident in whats tight and whats not, then you can get away with not using one.

I always torque ball joints and subframe bolts ect and buliding my 1380 ive made sure everything is torqued correctly. but hub nut is just as tight as you can, and caliper bolts just tight.

of course these are just personal views.

[Cooperman]

The biggest problem is that the torque figures quoted fon the Mini do not specify whether the bolts, or whatever, are to be assembled wet or dry. Now that can make a huge difference to what the torque setting is. For example, I always fit my calliper bolts using Loctite. Using Loctite with a torque wrench may mean the torque is not as intended, so that makes a nonsense of using a torque wrench. On other bolts, fitted in areas which are likely to seize up, I always use copper-grease. That will also affect the torque settings. How many people actually clean out all the threads or use new bolts and nuts every time and de-grease all threads before fitting them. Should they be oiled or non oiled? Who knows? It's all a bit uncertain anyway.
Yes, on engine internals I always use my calibrated wrench but note, if you use ARP head, big end and main bolts, the torque settings given are for oil and and/or non-oiled, so you get them correct. On all others the figures are for completely dry assembly - I think!

[998dave]

I'm looking at changing my break disks and pads tomorrow by following haynes just wondered if i need a torque (not torgue should have previewed before i posted) wrench for tightening back up the wheel nut.
cheers
DL

Ignoring all the above, and from an engineer, yes you should, they're not as expensive as you may think, and are very, very useful.

No - you don't! The large nuts are done up as tightly as you can with a 4 ft pole on the T bar - and then ON to the next split pin hole. Way beyond the range of most torque wrenches. As for the disc-hub bolts - just be sensible when tightening them

I wouldn't say that anything on the mini is beyond the range of most torque wrenches, at the top of the limit on my 2' torque wrench, but it's there, then I use the breaker bar to turn to the next hole.

i havent ever used one when i have changed my breaks and they work fine at 130mph

Ever considered you may be lucky? They only have to go wrong once...

In summary, buy a torque wrench, it's just as important to not over tighten as it is to tighten up enough, if you go too far you stress the fasteners or can strip the thread or snap them, which makes an easy job a whole lot harder.
At the top of this tech forum is a handy post with the torques for most minis that I formatted into an easy to print sheet, a handy reference sheet so you know the ranges you may need.

Lastly good luck with the job, let us know how you get on!

Dave

[998dave]

P.S. Fixed your thread title.

[BoboGib]

No - you don't! The large nuts are done up as tightly as you can with a 4 ft pole on the T bar - and then ON to the next split pin hole. Way beyond the range of most torque wrenches. As for the disc-hub bolts - just be sensible when tightening them

Just buy a bigger one, we have some at work that go up to about 800 lbs/ft after that we just use torque multipliers.

Where possible, a torque wrench should always be used. It doesn't take any extra time that using a normal ratchet and then you know the job has been done correctly with no undue stress to any nuts/threads.