The longer lug bolts flex and weaken but don't come lose with the use of an impact wrench. Especially if they're over tightened in the first place. Since the debacle of the broken bolts I've had to have tires on and off and I've instructed the shop to use impact wrench to loosen the bolts only and to tighten them with a manual torque wrench ONLY. So far so good.

I'll stay away from any discussion of never sieze.

DS

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DS
2010 CL550 - Heaven help me but it's beautiful
87 300D a labor of love
11 GLK 350 So far, so good
08 E350 4matic, Love it.
99 E320 too rusted, sold
87 260E Donated to Newgate School
www.Newgateschool.org - check it out.
12 Ford Escape, sold, forgotten
87 300D, sold, what a mistake
06 Passat 2.0T, PITA, sold

Las Vegas NV

as previously posted by me ... remember the SEARCH function is your friend

Anti-sieze on a lug bolt is a very bad idea !!!

Here's why: Bolts or studs provide clamping force by being purposely stretched. Most torque specs bring a bolt well within its elastic limit. Then when loosened they will return to their original length and can be safely reused (Some bolts, including many head bolts, are purposely stretched past their elastic limit, and can not be reused). The torque wrench is the most convenient-but not the most accurate-method of properly stretching
automotive bolts. Engineers spend hours correlating the proper bolt stretch to the required turning effort.

About 90% of a torque specification is used to overcome friction; only 10% of the specified twisting effort provides clamping force. It is no surprise then that most lubricant tables recommend a 40-45% reduction of applied torque when using
anti-sieze on a bolt. So, a lugbolt coated with anti-sieze should be tightened to a maximum of 49 ft-lbs. Tightening this lugnut to 85 ft-lbs. means it is now over-torqued by 73%! Considering that most torque specs stretch a bolt to within 70% of its elastic limit, over-torquing by 73% will easily send the bolt or stud well beyond its elastic limit-and could be dangerously close to its failure point.

For this reason I would suggest to all forum members to never use anti-seize on your lug hardware.

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Please, call me to place orders or for more info
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This might just be the silliest thread I've had the pleasure of reading on here in quite a while. I fall on the side of the argument that would never use anti-seize... but it's crazy to think that this discussion would make 63 posts.

When tightening my lugs I just set my torque wrench from anywhere between 175-190lbs and stomp on it.....(by torque wrench I of course mean my foot standing on the MB supplied lug wrench) Works every time.

Just to be sure nobody misunderstands the previous post.

He jested about the 175 # of torque.

The correct amount is usually around 75#....check your owner's manual.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Yea..... My weight fluctuates between 175-190 depending on if I'm running or not...

It might have been silly to mention, but the lug studs did break. And I won't refute the logic of Luke's post regarding anti sieze either. However, I've been around anti sieze out here on the farm for many years, and in some applications it's been a life saver. And on top of that, I can't remember snapping off lug bolts like the long ones on the w210 did a while back. There is a reason MB discontinued selling those longer lug bolts and replaced them with a shorter version. They were breaking with some regularity, and probably when anti sieze was not in use as well.

Such are the silly issues we MB drivers have to put up with.

__________________
DS
2010 CL550 - Heaven help me but it's beautiful
87 300D a labor of love
11 GLK 350 So far, so good
08 E350 4matic, Love it.
99 E320 too rusted, sold
87 260E Donated to Newgate School
www.Newgateschool.org - check it out.
12 Ford Escape, sold, forgotten
87 300D, sold, what a mistake
06 Passat 2.0T, PITA, sold

Las Vegas NV

I don't think this is silly subject at all. In fact I'd suggest a common place for lug bolt related issues as I've seen people regularly looking for helsp with lug bolts, some of which could have been avoided if they were aware of the "silly points" related.

I worked for a garage part time and we handled the fubars from the local tire shops. A Firestone shop carried in an SLK with a lug bolt broken off and it was the wrong length so it hit the caliper and bent over, we had to replace the hub and that cost somebody a bundle. I saw a guy break off an EZ-Out in a stud. And my neighbor once almost wore out my Dremel cutting off a lug nut that had been misthreaded.

One some cars. people with a different spare tire use the long bolts for the regular wheels instead of the correct ones (usually located nearby in a bag with an old, hard to read note that says " for spare tire") for the stamped steel spare wind up having their car carried in on a flatbead to have the bolts extricated.

I had to do a tire change on the road once with lugs that were probably put in with a tool set at 175 ft lbs. Grease or no grease, they were impossible to remove using the dumb short arm lug wrench that comes with the MB tool kit. I had to go get a long 1/2 in breaker bar to be able to get the lugs out. The threads showed a silver glint where they were bent over I had to replace the lug bolts because they were mangled
DDH

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

I'm not trying to be rude here, although I can absolutely see how it could be interpreted that way, but....... People that have any more than very very very sporadic problems with the process of tightening and loosening lug nuts should probably not be doing so. Bad luck is bad luck, but if this is a regular issue for anyone, please put the lug wrench down and step away.

I have often wondered what I'd do on a late night with a flat tire and stubborn lug bolts. I'm too much of a mechanic to just call for help, god forbid, so I'd struggle with the things until - well I don't know what...

I've thought about an earlier post in which the suggestion is to loosen and re-torque lug bolts after a trip to the service center, just to be sure they're not too tight. But, I'm actually much too lazy for that one.

__________________
DS
2010 CL550 - Heaven help me but it's beautiful
87 300D a labor of love
11 GLK 350 So far, so good
08 E350 4matic, Love it.
99 E320 too rusted, sold
87 260E Donated to Newgate School
www.Newgateschool.org - check it out.
12 Ford Escape, sold, forgotten
87 300D, sold, what a mistake
06 Passat 2.0T, PITA, sold

Las Vegas NV

As it applies to the average John or Suzy Doe they should call triple-A
But what about the tire shops that hire some kid off the street? They can make a mess of things and still stay employed (shame!)

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

Mercedes-Benz Roadside Assistance

The factory lug wrench is too short to make life easier, I use an extendable lug wrench with a socket. It currently has the 17mm socket in there; in case I need to help out somebody (or use it as a breaker bar) I have other sockets I can use, and doesn't take up a lot of space unlike a torque wrench (which I'd like to have one of these days).

Something like the Gorilla Wrench

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