[dalcarls]

Took delivery of our ‘21 Citadel last night, and as I always do with new vehicles, I did a check of various things. Just like our ‘20, I found that the lug nuts weren’t torqued correctly, and the tire pressures were WAY high.

The owner’s manual specifies 130 ft/lbs of torque on the lug nuts, and ours were anywhere between 100 and 150. Correct torque across all of them is important to avoid warping rotors. If you don’t have one, a clickety-clack torque wrench isn’t all that expensive, and good to have on hand if you do any work on your vehicles.

As for the tires, they were between 40 and 41 psi. Door jamb calls for 33 psi front, 36 psi rear, checked when they’re cold. Use a decent dial gauge, don’t rely on TPMS.

FWIW, these were a heck of a lot closer than our ‘20. Lug nuts were all over 150 ft/lbs, and tire pressures were at 44 psi.


2021 Durango Citadel AWD, 3.6

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Yeah, back in '18 when we took delivery of our RT, the tire pressures were close to 50

Apparently that's SOP to help prevent flat spotting on tires while the vehicle is stored/transported (but it's supposed to be part of the dealer PDI process ...)

 

[va-terps4]

More stuff for my delivery checklist... Thanks!

 

[frictioncircle]

On new cars I buy I also have the dealer do an alignment..

 

[DuRonbo]

Check your Nutz!

 

[bigunit54]

On new cars I buy I also have the dealer do an alignment..

Good idea. I bought our 18 citadel in April of
2019 with 12,000 miles on it. Was driven by the dealer presidents wife. Anyway the alignment was way off spec on it. Didn’t pull but it was wearing the tires bad and when I had it aligned it was way off. The tech who aligned it said it could have been a pothole or something but also it coulda been like that from the factory.

 

[kjjb0204]

Checked my pressure yesterday after having some trouble in the snow. They were all 40-42 or around there. Lowered all 4 to 34. Don't have a torque wrench, wouldn't even know what to buy.

 

[dalcarls]

Checked my pressure yesterday after having some trouble in the snow. They were all 40-42 or around there. Lowered all 4 to 34. Don't have a torque wrench, wouldn't even know what to buy.

Take a look on the edge of the driver’s door for the decal with the tire pressures. Check them when cold, not after driving. Proper pressure’s important for wear and handling.

On the torque wrench, you need one that measures 130 lb/ft, along with a deep socket for the lug nuts. Home Deplt/Lowes/Menards/etc. have them.


2021 Durango Citadel AWD, 3.6

 

[henfield]

Lug nuts torqued at factory. No dealer touches them. Tire pressures surprising. But I have several gages only two are in agreement.

 

[cerd]

Checked my pressure yesterday after having some trouble in the snow. They were all 40-42 or around there. Lowered all 4 to 34. Don't have a torque wrench, wouldn't even know what to buy.

I have this one and a 3/8 for working under the hood. They work great for the most part. The catch is that you have to really crank on it so the thing has enough energy to properly click. I haven't seen any click type torque wrenches that are consistent even with slow turning.

1/2 in. Drive Click Type Torque Wrench

1/2 in. Drive Click Type Torque Wrench

www.harborfreight.com

Otherwise, I also use this little adapter which uses a digital pressure sensor along with LED indicators when you are close and an audible beep when you hit the selected torque.

1/2 in. Drive Digital Torque Adapter

1/2 in. Drive Digital Torque Adapter

www.harborfreight.com

Both are a great value for people still building their tool selection. The click type wrench has a lifetime warranty which is swapped out with a new one off the shelf. The digital adapter is only 90 days.

 

[Heat00]

Couldn’t agree more. ALWAYS torque lugs by hand and dot let them use the gun, they way over tighten sometimes a d bad things happen. I’ve had them break off studs completely before.


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[shotcaller]

My tire pressures were 43 lbs. in all four wheels. I set them to 33 and 36 according to the door plate. It rides and handles much better.

 

[cerd]

Couldn’t agree more. ALWAYS torque lugs by hand and dot let them use the gun, they way over tighten sometimes a d bad things happen. I’ve had them break off studs completely before.

For sure. Some shops don't use torque bars, and if they do, you have no way of knowing if they are calibrated.

 

[ALBPM]

Should the aluminum SRT wheels be torqued to 130 lbs??? Typically aluminum and alloy wheels only get torqued to 82-85 lbs..

 

[Urbish]

Should the aluminum SRT wheels be torqued to 130 lbs??? Typically aluminum and alloy wheels only get torqued to 82-85 lbs..

Best place to find an answer to a question like this is in the owner's manual. According to the 2021 Durango manual (for all trims), they are to be torqued to 130 ft-lb.

 

[ALBPM]

Best place to find an answer to a question like this is in the owner's manual. According to the 2021 Durango manual (for all trims), they are to be torqued to 130 ft-lb. View attachment 113748

Unfortunately, I am still waiting on the R/T with Tow n Go that I ordered to arrive so no manual yet.

 

[Heat00]

Best place to find an answer to a question like this is in the owner's manual. According to the 2021 Durango manual (for all trims), they are to be torqued to 130 ft-lb. View attachment 113748

Not so sure about that, my scat pack manual was wrong as it didn’t differentiate for the dynamic package which changed the wheels and it was 111, not 130. Not sure if that’s the case here but your picture says base model, the t&g and srt might be 111, I would double check it to be sure...

The charger manual was for the rt and didn’t account for the rt “scat pack” with dynamics.. I still have it but also got my hands on the 10,000 page shop manual and confirmed it lol


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[kjjb0204]

I'm on board with the tire pressure check but have no interest in the lug nuts. Have never had a problem with warped rotors on any vehicle I've owned.

 

[Heat00]

I'm on board with the tire pressure check but have no interest in the lug nuts. Have never had a problem with warped rotors on any vehicle I've owned.

I’ve had them break off 2 studs right in front of me with the gun, it can happen and it can warp rotors.


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[kjjb0204]

I’ve had them break off 2 studs right in front of me with the gun, it can happen and it can warp rotors.


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I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Like I said, have never had any mechanic break off studs, so of the hundreds of times they've put tires back on my cars, it's never happened. Doesn't mean it can't or won't, but the odds seem slim, and I'm not fooling around with lug nuts. Anyhow, it's under warranty for the life of the lease, so if the dealership does do anything like that, it's all under warranty.

This reminds me of the people on my Honda Accord forums. I got a new 2.0T Accord, and these enthusiasts are all saying I need an oil catch can because otherwise my engine will get contaminated. I'm thinking, uh no, I don't. Why would I worry about something like that that 99.9% of owners would never even think about?