Towing with spacers - torquing

Recently did some suspension work to my '02 taco v6 4dr. Added in 4 bilsteins and an 1/2" add a leaf then spidertrax 1.25" spacers. I'm loving the look and the lift. Drives a little stiff but not worried. I will be towing a small (3500lb) trailer in a few weeks and have a little concern with the spacers. I've followed the instructions to the T but I still had 1 or 2 nuts move at the torque specs (the rest have been solid) I will recheck them soon after some driving as well.

My question is if 1 or 2 just move a little bit (maybe cross threaded) but the others are solid, should I just take them off or not worry about it towing?

Greatly appreciate anyone with experience!

 

Treat the 6 nuts holding the spacer on just like the 6 lug-nuts holding the wheel on. Torque to 83 lb/ft, check again after 50 miles, don't worry about it.

I doubt you cross threaded anything, you'd notice right away if you did that

Spidertrax are legit and safe. I had 3/4 inch Boras on my truck for 80,000 miles and basically forgot they were on there

 

Tired of writing this:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/need-help-with-spacers.688341/#post-24298282

 

According to their website - https://preview.tinyurl.com/y54auxwn

Install the spacer using the supplied Thread Locker.
Torque to 90 ft/lb.
Drive 50 miles and recheck Torque at 80 Ft/Lb (not the initial 90 Ft/lb)
If the nuts were loose, repeat the install again.

My assumption is, you recheck @80 Ft/Lb and NOT 90 Ft/Lb because you don’t want to break the bond of the thread locker.

(FWIW, thread locker can act as a lubricant, so the 90 wet is likely “a lot” more than 80 dry)

 

Fuck it

As per the owner of Bora - 70 ft*lb's for 12mm studs, no loctite needed. He also recommended driving 5 miles and checking torque the first time they're installed to make sure everything was installed correctly.

Here's a link to the spec sheet:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bora-spacers-review-install.216233/#post-4963508

I had emailed him personally when he told me the same information (no loctite, etc.):

From a conversation with the owner of BORA

Me:

"Hello,

I purchased some BORA spacers for my 2008 6 lug Tacoma from someone on Tacomaworld.com. I bought some red loctite and I was wondering what some installation tips might be."

Lenny:

"Tony

We really don't recommend using loctite, no need

I know that a lot of guys do use it, but as long as you torque the open end lug nuts to the proper foot lbs, they won't back off or come loose."

Lenny

--
Lenny Stahl, Jr.

Owner

Motorsport Tech

10 Greg St. Suite 112


Reno, NV 89431

Office 775 351 1000

Cell 775 530 4845
www.motorsport-tech.com "

Me:

"Lenny,

Thank you. I have a torque wrench ready to go. Does this mean that I don't have to check the torque on the open ended lug nuts after 5 miles, 50, or 100 miles? Thank you for the info. I'll be putting them on this week. Take care."

Lenny:

"You should recheck the torque after the first 5 miles to make sure everything was mounted correctly."

 

@Dalandser

I think he has spidertrax?

 

So I guess you would want to just go off of many torque guides for M12 and all of them that spec M12 8.8 or 10.9 seem to be at 100-110 Nm or lower if they fit into the ballpark at all. Ft lb equivalent would be 73-80. I ran my 1.25 BORA spacers for 2+ years at 70 and never had one loosen up at all; checking each time I had the wheels off for rotations.

Here’s one of the better charts that’s representative of most I described I found.

https://www.swtc.edu/Ag_Power/diesel_engines/lecture/Metric torque values.pdf

The loctite safety blanket is more to put people’s minds at ease imo. Vibration is both the cause of bolts loosening. Some interesting reading here:

https://fastenerengineering.com/why-do-bolts-loosen/

https://www.stanleyengineeredfasten...ghts-and-case-studies/vibration-loosening.pdf

The examples discussed and which oem parts are coated with pre-applied loctite usually are prone to vibrations. I don’t see any oem lug nuts with loctite. No one loctites their aftermarket lug nuts either. Why would you loctite wheel spacer lug nuts which are doing the same job as the oem lug nuts?

 

I agree with not using loctite, It sticks like cement. If you take the spacers off and put them back on, you're going to have to clean it off to get a smooth torque. Dried chunks will be left behind and its a pain in the ass to get off the threads.

Nobody uses loctite when normally mounting a wheel, why would the spacers be any different? When's the last time you had 6 lug-nuts loosen up for no reason?

 

There are many versions of Loctite threadlocker. Some will require a torch to heat the fastener before it will come loose. Others are for wicking between parts.

Be very careful which grade you use.

No need to use on wheels as has been stated.

 

I will start by saying, I agree it’s probably NOT needed.
And it’s probably being used to “feel better” product.

However, in this case, the spacer is acting as a “WHEEL STUD”. (Or hub)
I’m going to say the wheel studs are in there much tighter than the lug nuts.
And that the nuts on the spacer are NOT intended to be removed as often as a lug nut.
That is the only reason I’d see for using thread locker?
Who want to fight thread locker in the rain, while fixing a flat on the side of the road?

Again, I don’t think it matters either way.
They’ll either loosen up or they won’t.
My bet is they won’t if installed properly on good quality parts.

 

The lug nuts don't know what's behind them.

Clamping force is not meant to be reduced over time once a fastener is torqued to a specified spec. If that were true you'd need to retighten every fastener on earth at a specified interval.

 

I’ll hope not, because I don’t recheck much of anything.
I recheck the lug nuts once after a few miles, then call it good.
I usually have more problems with stuff being tight from being on for years.
I was (and still am at times) know for over tightening things.

 

The studs in the spacer are pressed in (swedged) the exact same way the normal studs are pressed into the hub at the end of the axle. Thats the advantage of Bora/Spidertrax design, it is a true replica of the axle hub. It can be torqued and forgotten about same as a wheel getting installed

 

Thank you all for the thoughtful replies. Will recheck everything but I have a feeling 1 or 2 wont play nice with torque. I did use red loctite but am aware of the removal process if I have to start over. Seeing how the Bora lug nuts are different than the spidertrax I would almost prefer those! Thanks again everyone for your input.

 

BORA and Spidertrax are almost identical - no way you could tell them apart if you didn't know which was which. If you cross threaded studs, you could knock them out and replace them.

 

Don't kid yourself, 3500 pounds is NOT a small trailer (for a Tacoma). If you've got a few people plus gear in the truck, you're likely pretty close to the GVWR. The more the truck weighs, the less it can tow. 5K is the MAX, under any circumstance.

That's more than the popup camper I used to tow all the time. That thing was more like 3000 and I didn't really want to tow any more than that on a regular basis, especially where I drove (mountains).

I'm no fan of wheel spacers in general, but 1.25" spacers are pretty big (before anyone starts, I'm well aware there are bigger spacers). I personally wouldn't run them even under normal driving, let alone towing near the max effective tow weight. And especially considering you've got a couple likely stripped lugs/studs, I definitely wouldn't run them.

But I think by even asking this question, you already know what you'd be most comfortable doing...

 

That's some good advice. I did also put an add a leaf that supposed to increase payload i think? I'm going to check them out in a few days and make a final decision. If any of them moved Ill be taking them off for the trip and may run them when not towing.

 

Biggest thing is brakes and suspension (which you've addressed at least). If you think about spacers and wheels essentially being a two piece wheel and use those extended lug nuts I posted, you now have an identical counterpart to a single piece wheel that's backspaced the same measurement of the spacer / wheel combo. Unless you are incompetent enough to make the wheel and the spacer separate, any recommendations for spacers would also go for any wheel with the identical net backspacing. This begs the question how are people screwing up simple bolt on processes? Maybe end users make spacers dangerous just like people kill people, not guns...

 

Torque everything to 90 ft/lb, check it, and send it.

I've broken CVs and chromo axle shafts while running spacers they are not as fragile as everyone acts.