So many lug nuts that I just hate.

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I hate the lug nuts that mostly seem to show up on Dodge/Jeeps, some GM, Ford, and Toyotas. The ones that have the crimped on stainless caps that are beat up or missing, that no lug socket will fit. I fought with several yesterday. 19mm lug nut with the cap missing, usually an 18mm socket will work. But if the cap is on there on the 22mm lug nuts, or the 19mm, all you can do is hammer a socket on there and hope. Then you have to fight them again going back on. The Chrysler ones swell up from rust, which are the worst. Just ordered sockets I hope might help that are 19.5mm and 22.5 mm. Such a simple thing, a lug nut can't even be designed for the long haul.
 
Oh. Duh! Sorry about that. I agree 100%. Those things ought to be illegal. Could be a big deal for someone needing to change a tire on the side of a road. We had a 79 Bonneville with lug nuts like that. Awful.
 
I broke my ankle and ended my tire busting career on dodge lugnuts. They jammed in my socket and I tripped over myself getting a punch with which to liberate them.

After doctor's bills, it'd have been cheaper for worker's comp to buy the guy a new Dodge Dakota.
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Oh yeah. After you finally get all the lug nuts off, the wheel is frozen to the hub! Got to love being a tire changer, when someone thinks $10 is to much to mount and balance a tire along with the corroded beads etc. Sorry, it is a much longer story.
 
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I can see that working at a Traditional Tire shop is one of the toughest jobs out there, next would be a Oilfield Worm....
 
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Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Picture? I've been lucky enough to never encounter.


I have them on the Charger. They are swollen. Makes changing the wheels a PITA. The ones on the Expedition are awesome. Go figure
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I had some on several ford focii.

One set was so bad I made all 8 on the rear wheels the de-chromed ones.

The tinfoil chrome would twist off if the socket wasn't 100% seated. It would make them almost exactly 1mm smaller.

only time i had an issue was when I forgot to change the socket out and rounded one.

Usually a shop would damage them with their speedy tire buster or brake guy zipping them off in a hurry.. Then next time I'd try to rotate or put on winter wheels they would self destruct.
 
Yeah, I feel your pain. I did my time at a WalMart TLE '08-'12.
Those lugnuts are always trouble. Ive had to replace a fair share of them from our stock.
I actually (hate to say) put a set of them on my CVLX that has the Mustang rims. Reason being because chrome ones the chrome flakes off the first time someone takes a gun to it, then it rusts and looks bad.
I keep a pack in the trunk; I usually end up giving one to whoever is doing the work as they smoke one of them nearly every time I have work done. You have to have the socket all the way on the lugnut or it'll just spin the cap.
I had a trick for tires that were stuck that would usually work.
I would crawl under the vehicle, use my arms to brace against it, and kick out with both feet. That worked like 98% of the time. On the edge cases it didnt, a liberal dose of PB blaster and about 30 minutes later trying again gets it off.
 
Has always seemed like a real safety issue to me. For one, you may not be able to properly tighten or torque the nuts if the cover is loose. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, how about being in a flat tire situation and not being able to loosen even one lug nut with the car's lug wrench?
 
The Tracker had them and they lasted about 5 years and one spring a few went so I just bought a new solid set. The Focus also had them and one fell apart this fall so I bought a new solid set for it as well... They are enough of a pain to deal with at home, so I didn't want to fight with them in the dark on the side of the road somewhere.
 
Find a MATCO tool dealer. They have a reversible lug nut socket. For my F-150 one end is 21mm, the other 21 1/2 mm. Works great!
 
I HATE those lug nuts. Such a terrible, cheap, half as way to make them.

I also agree that the Chrysler ones were the worst. I had to hammer those out of sockets all the time.
 
I am so glad that I replaced my stockers (albeit with a threaded -on, plastic cover, and not the crimped/swaged-on ones from this thread) with a set of McGard black chrome, closed end, acorn lug nuts.
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NO problems, no rust, still look great, and made in the USA as well.
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