Wheel Weight installation

[pfrederi 17,672]

• One of my least favorite pastimes is wrestling wheel weighs on and off.  The carriage bolts flop around or get pushed out the back of the wheel.  Never being very smart my solution was to get more wheel horses so weights would stay on a tractor forever.  That idea has worked well until today.  Had to pull the wheels and weights off my snow plow  Charger.  The steel weights weigh 66.5 lbs each and are a bear to wrestle.  Put the carriage bolt through the hole and then ran a jam nut on it all the way back to the wheel.  It dosen't hold it completely rigid as it hits the carriage bolt shoulder but it holds it almost straight out .  Was able to slid the weight on the bolt with no drama and the nut is thin enough it doesn't contact the weight.

[Achto 27,505]

Excellent idea!! We do that with our farm tractors that we use for pulling so that we can change wheel weights quickly. Never thought of doing it on a GT.

[squonk 41,036]

I had the same issue when I installed the 100 lb Farmall weights on my Power King. What I did was get some threaded rod and made longer studs out of them. Tightened them down like you did. Then set the weight on a floor jack and raised the weight on the rods. Snugged 1 nut on the weight to hold it. Removed I rod and installed the proper carriage bolt. I removed the nut reaching inside weight hole. Tighten carriage bolt and repeated for the other one. Had the rods at 3 & 9 o'clock. Hardest part of the whole job was loading the weights in the truck. I used a chain fall to unload and set them on the jack saddle.

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

I use to have a Volvo XC70 that used lug bolts (one of the reasons that I changed all of my tractors to studs and lug nuts) that was a pain to rotate tires on. Some smart supplier sold a long headless stud that could be screwed into the hub and then hang the wheel on to install the lug bolts. Those with welding capabilities consider tacking nuts on the backside of the tractor wheels to make installation even easier.

[Sarge 3,463]

I run several sets of weights like that with a stud setup - it does help a lot when installing the weights. On most of my models, with the addition of the correct length 7/16" studs I can install the weight first, then hang the wheel and installed weight onto the tractor all in one shot - using a pry bar to lift the tire/wheel/weight onto the hub studs. A proper socket, 3/8" drive impact ball swivel, and the Bosch 18v impact driver finishes the job quickly. The weights on the rims are bad enough, but when they are also liquid filled those things become a real bear to mount onto the tractor - it pays to take your time and get it jacked up to the right height and use a bar to wrestle those things onto the studs.  For whatever reason, the D seems to be the toughest one to deal with and its tires aren't filled yet - been holding off for that very reason.

 

Sarge

[squonk 41,036]

With filled tires I use either a wheel dollie or a motorcycle jack. Roll the tire into the cradle. Jack up tractor with a regular jack. Roll dollie or MC jack into place adj height and slide onto studs

[ericj 1,578]

what do people torque the lug bolts to on your tractors ? On my cars I always torque to 100 ft lbs. I tried that once on a tractor and the rims didn't like that much torque.  lately I've been torquing to 75 or 80 ft lbs. So I was just wandering what you other guys do ???  

 

 

 

 

eric j

[ebinmaine 67,281]

8 hours ago, ericj said:

what do people torque the lug bolts to on your tractors ? On my cars I always torque to 100 ft lbs. I tried that once on a tractor and the rims didn't like that much torque.  lately I've been torquing to 75 or 80 ft lbs. So I was just wandering what you other guys do ???  

 

 

 

 

eric j

Eric, here's a chart, partial shot.

Note that 7/16 fine in a Grade 5 has a rating around 41 lbs.

I used to put mine up to about 60 or 70. The last year or so I've been putting them to about 45 or 50.

No issues yet.

if you're hauling a heavy load on a constant basis it is very important to retorque occasionally.

 

[Racinbob 11,045]

Here's a +/-40 year old shot of my 76. Those weights on the back were cut from solid stock and weighted 88# each. I drilled and tapped for threaded rod on the backside and left the rod protruding 3-4". I then drilled and tapped for homemade handles. It wasn't too bad to lay a shop rag on the wheel to protect it and guide the rod into the holes. Unfortunately both front and rear weights were long gone when I got the tractor back. 

 

[19richie66 17,500]

Hey @ericj, we were told by Toro for our workman/mower wheels 85 foot pounds. Basically the same wheels used on our tractors.

Edited March 27, 2019 by 19richie66

[ebinmaine 67,281]

6 minutes ago, 19richie66 said:

Hey @ericj, we were told by Toro for our workman/mower wheels 85 foot pounds. Basically the same wheels used on our tractors.

I was under the impression that they needed to be around 70 foot pounds for quite a while and then somebody....can't remember unfortunately. They told me that it was too much for a grade 5 bolt of that size.

 

Perhaps somebody could pipe in with the actual spec from back in the Wheel Horse days...

 

[squonk 41,036]

I have 7/16" fine bolts and  Camaro wheel lugs on all of my tractors. I torque them to 50 Ft. Lbs. We aint runnin the Indy 500 or making high speed sharp turns and high wheel speeds. I don't think the value is a big deal as long as the lugs are seated on the rims and evenly.

 

[ebinmaine 67,281]

28 minutes ago, squonk said:

the lugs are seated on the rims and evenly

Oh yeah. Good point by Mike there.

I've struggled a couple times to get mine to sit just right.

 

[19richie66 17,500]

I prefer Mustang wheel nuts over the camaro. Just seems better, you know..... letting the horses run together

[squonk 41,036]

21 minutes ago, 19richie66 said:

I prefer Mustang wheel nuts over the camaro. Just seems better, you know..... letting the horses run together

I could start a big argument with this statement!  

[posifour11 723]

On 3/27/2019 at 2:54 PM, squonk said:

I could start a big argument with this statement!  

😁 Me too.