Are these factory Ford lug nuts pure garbage?

[Blaze]

Had the wife's truck tire rotated today. 2014 Ford F150 Fx4.

Rechecked at the nuts for proper torque and had a heck of a problem getting the socket to fit properly on some.

The nuts have a cap on them and and seem funky and cheap. Never dealt with these type before.

Should I just replace with solid ones?

I was looking a Gorilla lugs nuts for a replacement. Thanks.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

There is a recall for the 2-piece lugnuts on my Fusion. Yours are likely the same. Recall is supposed to replace them with solid ones.

 

[RooflessVW]

Yeah, they're trash. Solid lugs are the way to go

 

[Chris142]

Remove the cover and is socket that fits the nut.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Chris, these are steel threads and an aluminum cap piece. There is no "under" piece. The aluminum part will crush/twist under the force of the socket, and destroy the thing in the process. Mine even did this with a deep socket impact but tightened by hand. Total garbage.

 

[Shellguy]

I replaced all of mine on my 2012,but that 2 piece design gets beat up with the impacts being used. I had the same problems but was fortunate an old 4-way I had laying around worked on the beat up lugs.

 

[Blaze]

Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
Chris, these are steel threads and an aluminum cap piece. There is no "under" piece. The aluminum part will crush/twist under the force of the socket, and destroy the thing in the process. Mine even did this with a deep socket impact but tightened by hand. Total garbage.


Some of mine were deformed. They actually get wider the further up the nut you go.

I decided to order the SOLID Gorilla lug nuts and be done with these junk ones.

What a pain to get a flat somewhere and try and remove these!

 

[SirTanon]

Pick up some solid spline lug nugs or similar, and you'll be glad you did. The stock ones are cheap.

 

[OVERKILL]

FCA uses the same bloody nuts, and yes, they are a hassle. The Gorilla ones are a good route to go.

 

[buck91]

Any less pricey options than Gorilla out there? My F150 has those style but they are under center caps so I don't really give two dimes if they look pretty; just functional.

 

[Food Scientist]

Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
Chris, these are steel threads and an aluminum cap piece. There is no "under" piece. The aluminum part will crush/twist under the force of the socket, and destroy the thing in the process. Mine even did this with a deep socket impact but tightened by hand. Total garbage.




My 03 had the same cap but instead of a tapered nut it was flat. I just removed the cap and instead of 21mm it became a 13/16". Even in salty Michigan they don't have any rust on them.

 

[bdcardinal]

Yes they are. I threw the factory ones away on my Mustang and my mom's Fusion and replaced them with sets from McGard, very reasonable on Amazon. I initially tried using Dorman ones on the Mustang and it took over 60 lugnuts to find a set of 16, I have wheel locks, where they all were actually 13/16.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
FCA uses the same bloody nuts, and yes, they are a hassle. The Gorilla ones are a good route to go.


I wasn't aware of that but maybe my 13 Ram doesn't have these as I've had good luck so far changing out my wheels twice a year.

I use a Johnson bar to break them loose then an electric impact to take them the rest of the way. Same goes for tightening them, the electric will only tighten them so much before I get out my torque wrench so maybe I'm not hurting them like a garage type impact would?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: irv
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
FCA uses the same bloody nuts, and yes, they are a hassle. The Gorilla ones are a good route to go.


I wasn't aware of that but maybe my 13 Ram doesn't have these as I've had good luck so far changing out my wheels twice a year.

I use a Johnson bar to break them loose then an electric impact to take them the rest of the way. Same goes for tightening them, the electric will only tighten them so much before I get out my torque wrench so maybe I'm not hurting them like a garage type impact would?


They tend to survive OK when treated in the manner in which you've described. When shops use the impact on them, as you questioned, yes, that's when you have issues.

 

[Crusher]

Blaze
I completely agree with SirTanon
Buy some solid spline lug nuts. I had the same issue with my 2011 Expedition. I replaced the lug nuts at about 100k miles at the Ford Dealership. I was told that the lug nuts had swollen. Then last Spring the same thing happened at 160k miles at Discount Tire. I asked if there was a fix and was told about the solid spline lug nuts. I bought them from Discount Tire and they work great!

 

[edwardh1]

what was Fords reason for changing to a 2 piece design?

 

[billt460]

They're made by Dorman, and have been around for a long time. I've had them on my 1991 Ford F-150 up until last year. They are perfectly safe, and I have never had one come loose.

That said they are cheap, and impact guns will loosen the sheet metal cover, and / or rip them off completely over time. Mine lasted a long time before that started happening. Then you have what amounts to a standard lug nut underneath it. I finally replaced mine, seeing as I was doing a tire rotation anyway. Make sure when you buy your shiny new solid steel chrome plated lug nuts, that you buy the correct kind. Several types will fit, but not correctly. Be sure to take an old lug nut with you, and be sure to match the size of the angled seat exactly. There are several similar types.

This is important with alloy wheels, otherwise you can be faced with a condition where you don't have enough contact area and they can come loose over time. The guy sold me the wrong ones, and I ended up going back. Another issue I had is they were packaged 6 to a pack. So I ended up having to buy 4 packs, (24), and had 4 extra.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted By: edwardh1
what was Fords reason for changing to a 2 piece design?


They're inexpensive when compared to high quality chrome solid steel nuts. Over millions of lug nuts it adds up.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I bought a set of White Knight bulge acorn lug nuts and they started to rust after the first winter in a snowy, slushy environment. Mcguards are better.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted By: SubieRubyRoo
There is a recall for the 2-piece lugnuts on my Fusion. Yours are likely the same. Recall is supposed to replace them with solid ones.


An actual recall or a "common issue" ? I just checked 2014 Fusions (what we have) and there's no recall. Nonetheless, I've replaced the lugnuts on ours with McGard lugnuts.