Holding the hub still while torquing axle nut

[Gareth Randall]

I have a 2003 Ford Escape that requires the axle nut to be torqued to 214 ft/lbs with the wheels in the air. This is a problem for me as I’m having to work completely alone, so I have nobody to hold their foot on the brake.

I’ve read a suggestion that you can use a long screwdriver in the brake rotor vents to hold the hub still. This sounds ideal, but is there a risk of snapping the screwdriver while applying that much torque?

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[Billy]

I use an electric impact wrench while the wheel is in the air. This seats the bearing properly without reaching full torque. At that point you can put full weight on it. I then put it on the ground and torque it.

Another technique I’ve used is put lug nuts on 2 studs. Then use a long prybar on those nuts to hold the hub still. Like the electric impact wrench, this won’t get you anywhere near 200 lb-ft.

[Gareth Randall]

Ah, that’s interesting. I’ve already used my electric impact (the 1/2″ Ingersoll Rand W7150, so a pretty beefy one) to tighten the nut until the hub started turning with it. So you reckon that’s now tight enough to drop safely onto the deck for final torquing?

[Billy]

I do, never an ill effect.

[Author]

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