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Have a 15 Hyundai Accent, I changed all the brakes and rotors on (as well as struts and shocks).

Mfg states 80 ft lbs for wheel torque. Original rims, and wheel hub are on the car. After driving the car to pickup my kid about 20 miles... I rechecked the lugnuts and one or two will turn ever so slightly before the torque wrench clicks. I've done this twice and both front wheels do the same thing.

I checked my torque wrench for accuracy by hanging a 20lb weight off of it 15 inches back with the torque value of 25lbs ((15/12) × 20) = 25. Clicked.. moved setting up a tad, and it wouldn't click. So I was pretty happy with the results. I always store at lowest setting too.

I never really paid attention since it was my commuter car I always worked on, so I was the one driving after the work. I'm more cautious and maybe overthinking it this time, since it's my wife who drives this car with my kid back and forth.

A couple things.. so, is it the new rotors, which are oem.. compressing a tad because they're new and soft? Also, I couldn't get the rear shocks off because they were seized to the metal sleeve, so I took it to a mechanic I've used in the past (on this car as well). He obviously removed the rear wheels. Checking the rear, the torque seems fine, and I replaced the rear rotors and pads as well at the same time as the front.

This time when retorquing, I bumped the torque wrench up a little closer to 81lbs.. not all the way.

What are your thoughts? Thanks!

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  • "one or two will turn ever so slightly before the torque wrench clicks" this is normal.
    – Moab
    Commented Jun 5, 2020 at 23:46
  • @Moab okay, thanks. So the rears tightened by the mechanic were probably done at a higher torque setting then.
    – eaglei22
    Commented Jun 7, 2020 at 17:31

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Things to look for: be sure surfaces between hub and rotor is clean. Be sure that the surfaces between rotor and wheel is clean. It is always recommended to recheck the lug nut torque after driving a short distance. If all the criteria above has been met, there is a possibility that the torque may need readjustment due to heating and cooling. Another possibility would be worn threads on studs and\or lug nuts. This happens when wheels have been taken off and on too many times, or if the lug nuts have been over torque at one time.

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  • Thanks for the great info! After checking the torque again, it seems to be stable now. I was probably overthinking it. But sheds light on some things I never considered or though about for something so routine, but crucial. Thanks!
    – eaglei22
    Commented Jun 9, 2020 at 13:44

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