Things You'll Need:
- Wrench or tire iron
- Torque wrench
-
Step 1
Replace the wheel on the lug nut posts if it's not already present; just line the holes in the wheel up with the posts and slide it over them until it sits securely.
-
Step 2
Start with the bottom lug nut. Place it even against the post and use your hand to twist it clockwise--to the right--to tighten. Tighten it only until it's snug; don't worry about making it very tight right now.
-
Step 3
Hand-tighten the rest of the lug nuts. There's no particular order to doing this--just make sure they're all in place.
-
Step 4
Use a manual wrench or tire iron to hand tighten the lug nuts. Again, you're working them down so that they're hand-tight or snug--don't worry about torquing them down. This time you want to follow a pattern. If there are six lug nuts on the wheel, start with the bottom lug nut, then tighten the opposite, top lug nut. Then select another lug nut, tighten it, and tighten its opposite number. Finally, tighten the last two lug nuts. If there are five lug nuts on the wheel, start with the lowest lug nut, then tighten one of the two lug nuts that's farthest away from it, then tighten the only one of the farther two lug nuts from the just-tightened one that has not already been tightened, and so on. In essence you're tracking the pattern of a five-pointed star between the lug nuts.
-
Step 5
Lower your vehicle to the ground.
-
Step 6
Use a torque wrench to tighten the lug nuts to the appropriate torque. Torque wrenches are available at auto parts or hardware stores, and you can find the appropriate torque for the lug nuts on your vehicle in the maintenance section of the owner's manual, in the repair manual, or inquire at your auto parts store.
-
Step 7
Torque the lug nuts in the appropriate pattern: If there are five nuts you'll pick one nut to start with, torque it appropriately, then switch to one of the two nuts farthest away from it. Then torque the farthest lug nut from the last one tightened that has not already been tightened itself, and so on, until you've tightened all five. With a six lug nut wheel, just pick one lug nut, tighten it and then tighten its opposite on the other side of the wheel hub. Then pick another not-yet-tightened nut, tighten it and its opposite, then finally tighten the remaining two lug nuts.
-
Step 8
Drive your vehicle for 25 miles, then recheck the torque.
