Reverse threaded bolts can make you feel stupid.

[AZjeff]

I needed to shorten the handle on the garden hose reel, where the reel sits between the house and storage shed it sticks out and catches your leg when you walk by. No problem, except the metric shoulder bolt has a 4mm hex socket and it would not come loose. No rust here so that's not it. Sprayed it with penetrating fluid no help. Heated it up and melted the nylon out of the nylock nut won't budge. The 4mm hole is stripping. Whatever, I needed a shorter shoulder bolt anyway so cut the end off the handle so I can cut the head off the bolt. The nut is captured in a recess in the crankarm. Got that done and cranked the bolt hard in the vise and it will not come loose, spinning the shaft. Ground flats on opposite sides of the shaft and hit the crankarm with a deadblow hammer still nothing. By mistake I hit the crankarm the wrong way and it instantly came loose. Duh, in 100 years I never would have thought of reverse threads and the bolt didn't stick out of the end of the nut. The only things in my world with reverse threads are bicycle pedals and bottom brackets, should have had an AHA moment as the crankarm looks like a bike part. Went to ACE got a new shorter shoulder bolt and nut, took some measurements and printed a new handle and it's fixed. An hour to do a 5 minute job. Always an adventure.

Old

New.

 

[ET16]

Chryslers had reverse threads on lug nuts on the left, driver's side of the car at one time.

 

[HemiBenny]

I bet most of us here have had a reverse threaded bolt cause us grief at some point in our lives.

 

[GON]

I bet most of us here have had a reverse threaded bolt cause us grief at some point in our lives.

I had a recent example trying to remove a sway bar link on a 2014 Acura RDX. Worse, I replaced the driver side link knowing of the reverse thread. Three months later I went to replace the passenger side link, and had completely forgot about the reverse thread. Made a job that should have taken well under 45 minutes a couple of hours....

If I was only as youthful as @AutoMechanic. Stay young my friends....

 

[Ursatdx]

Chryslers had reverse threads on lug nuts on the left, driver's side of the car at one time.

My A3 had reverse threads on the right side lugs.

 

[HemiBenny]

I had a recent example trying to remove a sway bar link on a 2014 Acura RDX. Worse, I replaced the driver side link knowing of the reverse thread. Three months later I went to replace the passenger side link, and had completely forgot about the reverse thread. Made a job that should have taken well under 45 minutes a couple of hours....

If I was only as youthful as @AutoMechanic. Stay young my friends....

Well, to be honest, that would have probably caused me grief as well.
Are you saying the nut spins clockwise to loosen on those? I can’t remember ever doing a sway bar link that was reverse.

 

[GON]

Well, to be honest, that would have probably caused me grief as well.
Are you saying the nut spins clockwise to loosen on those? I can’t remember ever doing a sway bar link that was reverse.

There is a hex screw inside the sway link assembly (memory failing me in this moment), and the hex screw is reverse threaded (IIRC). I was trying to loosen an already tough to break and high risk of damaging hex screw, by turning it the wrong way. I am glad I finally came to my senses. I had three hours to service my Wife's vehicle for boarding a plane for OCONUS. It would have been really bad to make a vehicle essentially undriveable, that was drivable before I started to replace the sway bar link.

 

[dvblanch]

Older Ford heavy trucks had left hand thread lugs on left side but often had an L stamped on the end of the stud

 

[TnT_M]

Many times left hand threaded fasters are marked. Was there any signs on the fasteners? Usually its a dash or something like that.

 

[Mazomopar]

Bicycle pedals will get you too.

 

[fozzdesy2001]

only takes one time fighting with then breaking lug nut studs marked with a capital L means. I had the pleasure as a 17-year-old in the rain, helping change a rear tire on a box truck, to learn the L did not mean Lucifer or loser, just "left" / go the other way, and you can limp it home with 3 lug nuts. It was a miserable life lesson.

 

[Arc]

Just wait until you buy left handed drill bits and mix them in with all the regular ones.

 

[AZjeff]

I was thinking it was SOP for most of my life to give any stubborn nut or bolt a tug clockwise . Don't know when that stopped

 

[Bob5150]

I bet most of us here have had a reverse threaded bolt cause us grief at some point in our lives.

A few years ago, I spent well over an hour trying to remove one of the pedals from my son's bicycle.

I have a Skil saw that uses a reverse threaded bolt to hold the blade in, I have a little "reverse arrow" drawn on it in sharpie.

 

[Nukeman7]

Well, to be honest, that would have probably caused me grief as well.
Are you saying the nut spins clockwise to loosen on those? I can’t remember ever doing a sway bar link that was reverse.

There is a hex screw inside the sway link assembly (memory failing me in this moment), and the hex screw is reverse threaded (IIRC). I was trying to loosen an already tough to break and high risk of damaging hex screw, by turning it the wrong way. I am glad I finally came to my senses. I had three hours to service my Wife's vehicle for boarding a plane for OCONUS. It would have been really bad to make a vehicle essentially undriveable, that was drivable before I started to replace the sway bar link.

I don't think this is correct as I've replaced sway bar end links on numerous Hondas and a few Acuras. The OEM SWB links from Honda/Acura are right-hand threaded designed with deformable interference thread studs and nuts to prevent loosening. As such, they are nearly impossible to remove the nut from the studs without using destructive methods. The hex cavity in the end of the stud is too shallow and soft to adequately hold the stud from rotating and easily becomes stripped using an Allen hex wrench to maintain counter-torque. I prefer to install either Moog or CTR replacement SWB links because they have wrench flats at the base of the studs in lieu of the hex cavity in the end.

Previously discussed HERE.

 

[HemiBenny]

I don't think this is correct as I've replaced sway bar end links on numerous Hondas and a few Acuras. The OEM SWB links from Honda/Acura are right-hand threaded designed with deformable interference thread studs and nuts to prevent loosening. As such, they are nearly impossible to remove the nut from the studs without using destructive methods. The hex cavity in the end of the stud is too shallow and soft to adequately hold the stud from rotating and easily becomes stripped using an Allen hex wrench to maintain counter-torque. I prefer to install either Moog or CTR replacement SWB links because they have wrench flats at the base of the studs in lieu of the hex cavity in the end.

Previously discussed HERE.

I knew when he mentioned the hex cavity (Screw as he put it) that it was for holding the stud, but as you said, it's useless when removing the nut in most cases.
I didn't want to tell him he had to be mistaken, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember any sway bar links that were reverse threaded.
I'll use a Vice Grip to hold the backside, or I'll split the nut if it's bad enough. (If it's one that I can get the splitter on)

 

[Kira]

There's GOT to be a listing of left hand threads used over the decades.
There couldn't have been too many examples?

 

[Nukeman7]

I knew when he mentioned the hex cavity (Screw as he put it) that it was for holding the stud, but as you said, it's useless when removing the nut in most cases.
I didn't want to tell him he had to be mistaken, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember any sway bar links that were reverse threaded.
I'll use a Vice Grip to hold the backside, or I'll split the nut if it's bad enough. (If it's one that I can get the splitter on)

That must be SOP for Honda SWB link removal. I almost always resort to using needle nose Vise-Grips, a Makita Grinder and/or DeWalt Sawzall!

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I was thinking it was SOP for most of my life to give any stubborn nut or bolt a tug clockwise . Don't know when that stopped

A lucky way to discover those (on accident) is due to the way I used to "fight" stubborn nuts and bolts.
I would often put a lot of pressure going the tight way first. Lots of times just that tiny movement in the other direction would help break a stubborn mule free. The added/lucky part is , if it happens to be a left hander like you encountered , ta da. One gets lucky and realizes it. Yeah. Those left handed ones can run many of us NUTS too at times.

 

[wtd]

We are dealing with the left-hand thread screwup on my friend's 46 Willys Jeep. The Lugnuts on the driver's side are left hand thread and we didn't notice that until it was too late. We have one lug nut that is totally rounded off and stuck on because my friend tightened it when he thought he was loosening it. He will probably have to take it somewhere for them to cut the Lugnut off since we don't have anything to take it off with at this point.