12Nm means exactly that! A caution to all!!

[Mudwiz]

Front axel retaining plate nuts torque is 12Nm. It doesn't have to feel very tight by hand to break the stud, then it gets really tricky. I eventually got the stud out with loads of heat and a pair of pliars, but it felt touch and go. Now its held in with a bolt, needs a washer, but thats to come. That'll teach me to fix first and read the manual after I've broken something.

[ChrisH]

Don't mention Nm.... I snapped the alternator bolt of using a quality torque wrench - from Lidl Learnt my lesson.... If you do snap a bolt or stud and it's tricky to get a grip on, I've tacked on a bit of welding rod and used that to get the remains out. Did it on one of the M6 bolts on the sump of my XS and it was flush with the crankcase, but got it out using welding rod trick.

[faantjie]

Front axel retaining plate nuts torque is 12Nm. It doesn't have to feel very tight by hand to break the stud, then it gets really tricky. I eventually got the stud out with loads of heat and a pair of pliars, but it felt touch and go. Now its held in with a bolt, needs a washer, but thats to come. That'll teach me to fix first and read the manual after I've broken something.

Hey mudz....
I think with the amount of off roading you do ie exposing these bits to water, it could be that the stud has corroded in between the threads causing a very minute fracture/crack. When you tightened up the nut the crack would have been the weakest point causing the stud to break. The stud is made of hardened carbon steel and the forks and nuts from aluminium (don't quote me on the nuts, too lazy to go and check but thats what I remember form mine). The torque setting is more there to prevent the aluminium thread from threading as it is the softer of the two materials. When you combine these two materials in this application the torque setting is worked out by considering the amount and size of threads. Look at the front axel, the toque setting for that is 62Nm so you can see when using these materials the designers can increase torque settings to suit the application by adjusting size and qty threads on the object. There are also other factors to consider but for now this narrows it down.
Two things to do now:
If you are holding it in with a bolt, make sure you put a spring washer in between the bolt and washer asap cause the vibes will loosen that nut pronto....ask lootch
No real need for locktite here as the aluminium also acts as a sort of bond as it is softer than the bolt but do put some copper slip on the bolt to prevent it from seizing in.
After making sure all is tight, you can spray some Lithium grease on these sorts of spots to prevent/delay corrosion. Lithium grease acts as a sort of "sponge" when applied as corrosion will "attack" the grease first keeping it away from the important bits. You will see the grease turning a light brownish colour in time. It is a bit of a pain to get off but does not need doing very often. You will know when it is time to do so. It's not pretty but it works!!!

Probably too much info but I'm board and it's raining outside.