[Roger]

Chris,

Prevost has always had the position that nothing is to go between the lug nuts and the wheels. I have seen the type you show and the problem according to Prevost is you have no way to properly torque the lug nuts.

There are alternative methods that capture the outside of the lug nut after the lug nuts have been torqued as you mention, or some types use covers and mounting methods that use the nuts or bolts in the hub cap itself (not the decorative cap, but the six or ten bolt cap).

If you install the bracket and torque the lug nuts you will see the bracket deforms around the hole. It never fully conforms to the chamfer in the wheel so you have no way of knowing exactly how much actual force is imposed on the wheel to hold it secure. When these type of brackets first started showing up on coaches, Prevost, during a Prevost Prouds rally seminar in the early nineties was absolutely clear in stating don’t do it. I doubt if anything has changed their position on the topic.

[Archived]

Jon, these brackets do not go under the wheel lug nuts. They mount under the axle flange nuts just next to the bracket in the picture. This is what I am looking for an opinion on.

[Roger]

Chris,

I had them mounted under the axle nuts on a previous bus and had no issues.

[glen]

Thanks Tom. Do you have a source for where I might find the torque spec for these nuts.

Chris

[Bob]

Chris, my bad, I know of no objections to using the axle flange nuts. My mistake was in assuming you meant putting them uder the lug nuts which Prevost opposed.

[Archived]

Chris,

I’m not sure which model axle we have, but I looked at a couple of service manuals on the Dana website and neither states the torque requirements for the axle shafts. You may just want to call Dana (I assume it’s a Dana axle) or a local truck service center. Florida Detroit/Allison in Tampa may be a good choice.

BTW, those are great looking covers from what I saw on Real Wheels’ website.

[needtocamp]

Thanks Gil. I will try them.

The covers seem to be really nice. Non-magnetic stainless. A little pricey at about $750 for the set but I like the look. I will post a couple pictures.

[glen]

Thanks Jon. The picture was deceiving as the spacing on the bracket appears closer to the wheel lugs than the axle nuts.

When you replaced the drive axle seals in the articles section do remember what you torqued the axle nuts back on at?

[Bob]

Not offhand. I have it somewhere but have to dig up the info.

I’ll have to do the research.

[Andy]

Does it make since to take one off with a torque wrench and try to see where it breaks lose or are all torque wrenches adjusted to a known poundage and then give you an indication when it is reached.

[Christopher]

One would think the logic would follow that they would break free close to what they were tightened at, but typically nuts and bolts break free much higher than the torque they were tightened at due to the increased friction from corrosion and the mating of the materials over time. I would fear over torquing the nuts with this approach.

[Archived]

http://raskcycle.com/techtip/webdoc14.html this is a site that tell you wat to torque bolts to remember it is not the head size but the bolt diameter and look at top of bolt to see grade. Now that yours are nuts i think you have a 7/16 20 if it takes a 5/8 in wrench grade 5

[Archived]

Thanks David. This matches up pretty close with what I found from Dana. They based their specs on bolt size as well and not the nut.

Dana Axle Torque Specifications

I will have to check the bolt and nut grade as Dana does not specify what grade on their chart.