Rotating my tires today, the lugs are getting a little tight, corroded, dirty, etc. I was thinking about wiping the threads mildly with a rag spayed with a small amount of Kroil.
safe?
safe?
Lube the lugs?
- Thread starter LeakySeals
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Anti seize or a little grease on the threads only. NO OIL!
Should be no problem the thing is you don't want to LUBE them you just want to protect and clean the threads. I know some people will use anti-seize on them as well. I will start doing this as well but nothing and I mean NOTHING can stop INCOMPETENT mechanics from damaging stuff.
NO!
I have had many vehicles with grease or anti seize on the studs come through the shop. Some have had the wheels loosen so I do not apply it myself and clean it off when I see it. What I had never thought of but saw on a vehicle from Michigan was the red spray stuff for battery terminals. It must have worked well because everything around it was rotted to death whatever was coated in red was perfect. Good thing is that stuff is not greasy.
gathermewool
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If a lug nut is properly torqued, it will not be hard to removed. For those who have others improperly torque their lug nuts (e.g., tires replaced,) adding anti-seize may allow for stud stretching with lug nuts that are just as hard to remove as lug nuts that were torqued correctly without any anti-seize.
Hooray, this thread again!
Run your lugs off dry then on again dry. Now take them off. Easy! Scraping the rust off the first time was what you needed.
As a concession to the "lube them" camp, the friction of the acorn face against the rim ought to keep things from falling off.
Run your lugs off dry then on again dry. Now take them off. Easy! Scraping the rust off the first time was what you needed.
As a concession to the "lube them" camp, the friction of the acorn face against the rim ought to keep things from falling off.
Thanks for the responses. I've had bad luck lately with seized and rotted hardware under that car. First it was a $30 gas tank heat shield that required the dealer to remove and install (hardware, tools I didn't have) Then last week the alignment shop gave up on me after an hour of torches, spays, and swearing.
Its the salt up here. Makes nuts seize, bolts so brittle they disintegrate. Why I ask, concerned about lugs becoming brittle from corrosion and snapping.
Mentioned Kroil because its fantastic for cleaning corroded parts, many tests show good for protecting metal against corrosion. But the fact that it "loosens frozen metal parts" is kind of scary, may be something bad on a lug. Not even a Kroil moistened rag? Bummer cause I'm out of anti-seize and determined to do this right now. That has me a little nervous too after the responses.
Its the salt up here. Makes nuts seize, bolts so brittle they disintegrate. Why I ask, concerned about lugs becoming brittle from corrosion and snapping.
Mentioned Kroil because its fantastic for cleaning corroded parts, many tests show good for protecting metal against corrosion. But the fact that it "loosens frozen metal parts" is kind of scary, may be something bad on a lug. Not even a Kroil moistened rag? Bummer cause I'm out of anti-seize and determined to do this right now. That has me a little nervous too after the responses.
I've had the same experience as 71chevyguy, as in seeing vehicles that have lug nuts/studs lubed with something or another and some of those lug nuts not being as tight as they should be. I know the winters up North can be brutal on vehicles, but lubing lug nuts and/or studs is not the answer. The very nature of oils and lubricants is to work their way in between two metal objects and you don't want that happening with lug nuts.
That battery terminal spray sounds promising. Has anyone up there looked into cryogenically treated studs and nuts ?
Keith
That battery terminal spray sounds promising. Has anyone up there looked into cryogenically treated studs and nuts ?
Keith
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I was taught that the torque spec accommodates the stretching of the stud, NOT the turning of the lug nut. Is this correct?
Seems counter intuitive, but maybe a bit of friction reduction on the threads shouldn't skew the torque value by much. IDK, someone throw me a line.
Seems counter intuitive, but maybe a bit of friction reduction on the threads shouldn't skew the torque value by much. IDK, someone throw me a line.
If I remember correctly, torquing a nut the right way used to be on "Clean, lightly lubed threads" to get the appropriate stretch on the bolt. I use a little light oil on mine, but I'm not in the rust belt.
I've cleaned the lug nuts and posts and coated them in a little WD-40 like you would oil a gun; but never oiling or greasing them to provide any sort of "slip" to the threads. Thats a huge huge no.
If they're difficult to put on or take off; clean them. If that doesn't fix it, it might be time to consider replacing it. It shouldn't be "difficult" because that difficulty is directly related to the nuts being worn out.
Greasing it is a huge no, no, no, no no no no.
If they're difficult to put on or take off; clean them. If that doesn't fix it, it might be time to consider replacing it. It shouldn't be "difficult" because that difficulty is directly related to the nuts being worn out.
Greasing it is a huge no, no, no, no no no no.
Lug nuts are supposed to be installed clean and dry. With A few exceptions on some larger trucks. If they cant be ran on by hand then most likely the threads have been pulled from overtightning and they and the nuts need to be replaced.
"By hand" is an ambitious spec in the rust belt, but a 4-way tire iron (cross style) should be able to spin them on by its own inertia.
I snapped three lug studs at the same snow tire changeover one year. One each on three corners. Had a spare spindle so I moved the used lug studs over.
To pull them tight with the lug nut/washer I used WD40 to make the lug turn easier and keep the splines from spinning first.
IMO WD40 since it's a terrible lubricant is just the tool for the job, if you're going to do it. An option if you have open faced lug nuts where the studs show through is to mist that part when you have everything on-- it won't really get into the threads that much and will at least keep rust from forming in that area, especially if covered with a hubcap.
I snapped three lug studs at the same snow tire changeover one year. One each on three corners. Had a spare spindle so I moved the used lug studs over.
IMO WD40 since it's a terrible lubricant is just the tool for the job, if you're going to do it. An option if you have open faced lug nuts where the studs show through is to mist that part when you have everything on-- it won't really get into the threads that much and will at least keep rust from forming in that area, especially if covered with a hubcap.
I keep the threads clean by wiping them with a shop rag thats been sprayed with something like DuPont's silicon.
Originally Posted By: JRed
I'd never put anti-seize on a wheel stud. Clean 'em with a wire brush as well as you can and that's that.
Bingo! This is good advice.
There is an article on Tire Rack that addresses this. They say you can put anti-seize on the threads as long as it doesn't touch the underlying hardware as it affects your torque readings. I submit to you that it is impossible, and not worth the risk of putting anything on the threads without getting on the hardware. Do what you like, but I ain't drivin' it.
I'd never put anti-seize on a wheel stud. Clean 'em with a wire brush as well as you can and that's that.
Bingo! This is good advice.
There is an article on Tire Rack that addresses this. They say you can put anti-seize on the threads as long as it doesn't touch the underlying hardware as it affects your torque readings. I submit to you that it is impossible, and not worth the risk of putting anything on the threads without getting on the hardware. Do what you like, but I ain't drivin' it.
Rotation done. No lube. Really need to rethink the directional tires, a 5 tire rotation would be so much easier. I have a full size spare. One correction. Its Aerokroil I had planned to use, not Kroil. Came free with the Kreen I just bought. Itching to use it on something. Smells like serious stuff, pink like tranny fluid.
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