Hmm,
   What grade of bolts were they using?
   CR
DLancer7676@cs.com wrote:
> 
> While we are on torque wrench discussion, I attended a "Fastner" workshop at
> the Conclave in Indy this past summer.  It was truly fascinating.  One bit of
> information I learned, and saw demonstrated with load measuring devices, is
> how much strength a bolt loses after it is torqued only once!  When you
> torque a nut or bolt to specs the first time, you reach a certain level of
> pre-load, say 17,000 ft/lb.  If you loosen that same nut or bolt, then
> retorque it a 2nd time to proper torque, it will pre-load only to about
> 12,000-13,000 ft./lb.  And it drops with each successive loosening and
> retightening.  A real case for not reusing bolts in critical safety usages.
> 
> It made me think, and shudder, at the number of times a wheel stud and bolt
> are loosened and torqued over its lifetime.  Not very often do we change out
> our wheel studs, but they have to be running at only a fraction of their
> original strength.
> 
> --David C.
 
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