Wrenches for Clayton jam nuts?

[Fast-n-Furious]

You need a bigger torque wrench.Maxing them out is a no no.I nerded out on torque wrenching awhile ago.

Oh man, maybe I’ll get it to 200 and call it a day.

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[wibornz]

I think that an aftermarket company that uses SAE fasteners for a vehicle that is outfitted with all metric fasteners are trash. Like now I have to carry extra tools because they don't provide the correct fasteners. Like how difficult is it to use the metric fasteners vs the SAE fasteners. Personally, I would swap out the fasteners to metric so that if you do have a problem on the trail, you will have the tools with you or if a fellow Jeeper comes by they would more likely have the correct tool with them to help you.

That kind of stuff irritates the fuck out of me. JCR tire carrier has SAE fasteners to hold the tire on. So, my bud has to carry a 3/4 inch socket because the lug nuts on the Jeep are metric and use a 22mm. So now if he drops a lug nut in the mud, sand or snow, he can't use one off the spare tire carrier. So now he carries and extra lug nut for the Jeep and the tire carrier.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I think all the aftermarket tierod ends are SAE, but I could be wrong. Also, the aftermarket control arm are likely mostly SAE.

I know my Teraflex tire carrier has metric tire mount studs as well as metric accessory mount holes.

 

[dlong1119]

Awesome! Thanks a bunch for the reply and pics! I’m about to buy the Clayton front track bar to center the axle.

- Did you tighten the jam nut after mounting the track bar?

- What torque did you use? Their instruction doesn’t specify.

I tightened the nut after the installation. Pretty sure I went to around 200# on it and it didn't seem to flex at all. The Clayton wrenches were great and far better/easier to use than the giant Motobilt ones.

 

[dlong1119]

I was just about to post about using a "line wrench" style that picks up a couple more corners on the nut.

Here's some commercially made ones. Williams is more widely used in machine shops and whatnot. They are part of the Snap-On family.

Williams SCF60 Crowfoot Wrench Flare Nut, 1-7/8-Inch - Open End Wrenches - Amazon.com

That one you linked says it's a 3/8" drive, wouldn't want to put 200-250# on it. The Clayton wrench is a perfect fit and wraps around the nut nicely for good contact, I feel better about it than I would that one.

 

[roaniecowpony]

That one you linked says it's a 3/8" drive, wouldn't want to put 200-250# on it. The Clayton wrench is a perfect fit and wraps around the nut nicely for good contact, I feel better about it than I would that one.

I saw that too. Misprint It's 1/2"
1/2" Drive Crowfoot Wrench, Flare Nut, 12 Point | SNAP-ON

 

[WannFly]

b/w there is a PDF I found on Clayton's website that now has the specs for Jam nuts

JL_SUSPENSION_QUICK_GUIDE_16.pdf

I have no idea how to achieve those Torque spec though

 

[MVOffroad]

I'm installing this lift kit this weekend and asked the same question of ChatGPT and this is what resulted: (DISCLAIMER: DONT TAKE THESE TORQUE NUMBERS AS ACCURATE - DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH)

Me: how do I torque the track bar properly? I'm seeing 398 torque and 723. How do you know the torque if you use a big wrench on the jam nuts?

ChatGPT said:
Here’s the clean, correct way to torque track bars and their jam nuts on a JL—because those two torque values you mentioned (398 ft-lb and 723 ft-lb) are NOT torque specs. They are simply match marks or indexing numbers printed on the bar to show the orientation of the threaded joint. They have nothing to do with torque.
Let’s break this down clearly.
under the axles).

Jam Nuts DO NOT Have a Torque Spec
This is where most people get confused.
Adjustable track bars (including Clayton, MetalCloak, Teraflex, Synergy, etc.) almost never provide a torque spec for the jam nuts, because:
Jam nuts are not designed to be torqued to a number.
They are designed to be tightened “as tight as you can get them using two large wrenches.”
Why?
Because:

• The joint is threaded.
• The jam nut’s job is to clamp and lock the threaded adjuster.
• Torque depends on wrench length, operator strength, lubrication, and friction.
• There is no way to reliably spec a number.

That’s why you won’t find a jam-nut torque value in any Clayton manual.

 

[Terrymo]

I'm installing this lift kit this weekend and asked the same question of ChatGPT and this is what resulted: (DISCLAIMER: DONT TAKE THESE TORQUE NUMBERS AS ACCURATE - DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH)

Me: how do I torque the track bar properly? I'm seeing 398 torque and 723. How do you know the torque if you use a big wrench on the jam nuts?

ChatGPT said:
Here’s the clean, correct way to torque track bars and their jam nuts on a JL—because those two torque values you mentioned (398 ft-lb and 723 ft-lb) are NOT torque specs. They are simply match marks or indexing numbers printed on the bar to show the orientation of the threaded joint. They have nothing to do with torque.
Let’s break this down clearly.
under the axles).

Jam Nuts DO NOT Have a Torque Spec
This is where most people get confused.
Adjustable track bars (including Clayton, MetalCloak, Teraflex, Synergy, etc.) almost never provide a torque spec for the jam nuts, because:
Jam nuts are not designed to be torqued to a number.
They are designed to be tightened “as tight as you can get them using two large wrenches.”
Why?
Because:

• The joint is threaded.
• The jam nut’s job is to clamp and lock the threaded adjuster.
• Torque depends on wrench length, operator strength, lubrication, and friction.
• There is no way to reliably spec a number.

That’s why you won’t find a jam-nut torque value in any Clayton manual.

Rock Krawler lists torque specs for their jam nuts. I’m not a mechanic but I certainly wouldn’t trust AI alone for this kind of advice. Just posting this as a reference not intended to be advice in your case.

 

[CO2Wrangler]

You could use just about anything you can get over the jam nut, but if you want to torque to spec, crows feet are the best way I know of.

Those are large sizes, but you can find them on Amazon.

I got a whole set of these when I put my Clayton on. Havent used them since, but they weren't expensive and did the job!

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