lug nuts for Jeep

[Donald]

Some of the chrome lug nuts for my Jeep will no longer take the proper socket (19mm) to remove the lug nut. The guy at a tire store said it was because rust gets under the chrome. I say its sloppy work by prior mechanics removing the lug nuts and they beat up the lug nuts with impact wrench.

I see Rock Auto has SS lug nuts for my Jeep, would they be a good idea? Oddly for the SS ones only they have part numbers for front and rear lug nuts. Why??

 

[The_Jeff]

If the lug nuts have closed ends your lug studs might be longer in front or in back causing interference. If they're open, who cares?

I have also seen universal kits at walmart, advance, etc for cheap enough you could do better than RA with shipping.

 

[Kuato]

I've run in to the same thing, and I rotate my own tires. The cap part of the lug nut just comes off over time.

There are aftermarket solid nuts that can be used, just make sure the angle on the wheel side is the same as on the stock nuts, and also that the replacement is as wide as the original.

I usually just buy new ones, at $2 for a set of two it's not too bad.

 

[UNC017]

Do you want pretty or do you want functional? The reason I ask is that what's probably going on is that these lug nuts are made with a thin chromed steel shell pressed over the actual nut. I know this because several on my daughter's Jeep have shed their chromed exteriors. They still work fine, but are just a bare open-ended nut like old car lug nuts when that happens. If you don't care about that, you could just remove each nut and pry the thin cover off, throw it away, wire-brush away any rust on the underlying nut itself, and then put them back on. Do one nut at a time and you don't even have to jack up the car.

 

[Chris142]

Once the chrome covers come off then you can use an 18mm socket to remove the nut.