OldIHC

Hi everyone. This is my first post here. I am working on 1946 K2 and did complete brake overhaul. When I torque lug nuts to 40 ft lbs the wheels will not turn. I have restored several old cars in the past and have not have this problem. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Are the wheels clearing the suspension? Are all of the wheels responding the same?

Yes all the wheels are clearing the suspension. Last night I lowered torque a bit and they did not freeze up. Did IHC have a specific torque on the lug nuts?

40 is too low. I would think double that torque would be close to spec.
I have to ask. When you say lug nuts, are you referring to the 5 or 6 nuts that hold the wheels on the hubs? Have you changed wheels?

Sounds like the shoes may be too wide and are binding on the drum. Maybe mark the inside of the drum with yellow crayon and then put the drum on and torque and then remove to see if it is hitting. I believe that there are two widths of shoes depending on truck model. is it possible you have the wrong shoes? I also agree that 40lbs is not enough torque. I would say 80-90.

Put a small stack of washers on each stud and tighten to your torque. Verify that the same issue occurs. Is it happening to the front and rear? Or could you be referring to the front spindle nut torque? Doesn't make any sense, the rim is just sandwiched between the drum and lug nuts. Doubt if the rim is capable of distorting the drum. Certain the tire is not rubbing on the steering components?

That’s a good question to ask, simple as it sounds. I can’t see for the life of me how lug nut torque would have anything to do with binding wheels. For all it matters, you could break the darn things from over torqueing and the wheels should still spin. Now, axle nuts (or spindle nuts, whatever)… that would bind one up for sure. If we are talking about the one big nut that holds the hub/bearing assembly on the spindle, it requires very little torque at all. What you are looking for in that case is a wheel which spins freely but does not have any slop in the bearings. It’s the cotter pin that keeps the castle nut in place. The castle nut can be pinned every 1/12 turn or so which allows for decent adjustment.

I thought I already posted this but not sure it was not showing so I will post again. They make a 12x2 shoe set and a 12x1-3/4 shoe set. Do you have the old shoes to compare the width? I know my 1941 K1 has 1-3/4 width shoes. It may not be you issue but easy enough to check.

Thanks for the info I will check shoe to see how wide they are.

Thanks for the reply. It is happening with both front and rear. No it's not front spindle nut that is use to set bearing torque. I have double checked tires are clearing everywhere. I just found out about width of shoes may be different.