What do you guys torque your rims to? I think I remember reading somewhere 85 ft. lbs. for factory alloy rims on the Neon. Does anyone here know for sure?

 

-100 ft lbs for both aluminum and steel wheels according to the owner's manual.

L8R,
Matt

 

Where did you find that in the owners manual? I looked and looked to no avail.

 

-I have it on PDF and it's on page 154-155. I also have the service manual download from whoever was nice enough to post it on here and it says the same thing.

7. Finish tightening the nuts. Push down on the wrench
while tightening the wheel nuts. Alternate nuts until each
nut has been tightened twice. Correct wheel nut torque is
100 ft. lbs. (135 N·m). If you are not sure about the
tightness, have them checked with a torque wrench by
your dealer or at a service station.

L8R,
Matt

 

You can always call a tire shop too. They should, I hope, be able to tell you the correct torque.

 

-And here it is from the Neon Service Manual

INSTALLATION
INSTALLATION - TIRE AND WHEEL ASSEMBLY
(ALUMINUM WHEEL)
CAUTION: Installing the wheel mounting nuts without
having good metal-to-metal contact between the
back of the wheel and the hub mounted brake disc
or drum could cause the wheel to bind and eventually
cause loosening of the wheel mounting nuts.
(1) Install the tire and wheel assembly on the hub
studs against the hub mounted brake disc or drum
using the hub pilot as a guide.
CAUTION: When installing the tire and wheel
assembly, never use oil or grease on studs or nuts.
(2) Install and lightly tighten the wheel mounting
nuts in the proper sequence (Fig. 15).
(3) Lower the vehicle.
(4) Progressively tighten the 5 wheel mounting
nuts in the proper sequence until tightened to half of
the specified torque (Fig. 15). Finally, tighten the
wheel nuts in the proper sequence to a torque of 135
N·m (100 ft. lbs.).
(5) If the wheel has a large center cap to cover the
wheel mounting nuts, install the cap.
INSTALLATION - TIRE AND WHEEL ASSEMBLY
(STEEL WHEEL)
CAUTION: Installing the wheel mounting nuts without
having good metal-to-mental contact between
the back of the wheel and the hub mounted brake
disc or drum could cause the wheel to bind and
eventually cause loosening of the wheel mounting
nuts.
CAUTION: When installing the tire and wheel
assembly, never use oil or grease on studs or nuts.
(1) Install the tire and wheel assembly on the
wheel studs, up against the hub mounted brake disc
or drum, using the hub pilot as a guide.
(2) Align the valve notch in the wheel cover with
the valve stem on the wheel and install the wheel
cover on the hub mounted studs.
(3) Install and lightly tighten the wheel mounting
nuts in the proper sequence (Fig. 16).
(4) Lower the vehicle.
(5) Progressively tighten the 5 wheel mounting
nuts in the proper sequence until tightened to half of
the specified torque (Fig. 16). Finally, tighten the
wheel mounting nuts in the proper sequence to 135
N·m (100 ft. lbs.) torque.

L8R,
Matt

 

Thanks AnthemBassMan. I've been looking for a used service manual for the Neon but haven't found a reasonably priced one yet. Darthroush, I don't really trust tire shops when it comes to actually "torqueing" the wheels properly. Most will use an impact wrench and just zip 'em tight never actually checking torque. They may know what the proper torque is supposed to be but seldom go by it. Always check the torque when you get it home because over torqueing can cause bent rims and or warped rotors. But then again if I'm not getting them tight enough.......well you know. Thanks again!

 

-Hey, no problem man. I had a tire shop nail me earlier this spring. Took my other car in to get the tires rotated. A month ago I had to replace the brake pads and had a hard time getting one of the lug nuts off. Sure enough she snapped right against the rotor. The idiots used an impact wrench I know for sure because I could hear it. They must have cross threaded it and kept driving it on the stud.

-Here's the link someone provided earlier for the service manual download. The link is below the Neon pic. And don't forget to use the password to unlock it. It's right below the PDF link.

http://carservicemanuals.blogspot.co...4-service.html

L8R,
Matt