What lug nut cap? 
McGard nut/lock replacements. OEM nuts/locks thrown into the trash.
McGard nut/lock replacements. OEM nuts/locks thrown into the trash.
Swollen lug nuts?
- Thread starter ATex7239
- Start date
I just ordered Dormans for a friend's XJ. Inexplicably, the 3/4" hex is spendy but if you're willing to go 13/16" a set of 20 is ~$12 delivered. My buddy is beyond broke so he was fine with the larger hex and it won't interfere with his wheels.
Yep, change them out for single piece dormans before they end up like mine did. Ford Escape. It was terrible getting them off.
I've always used McGards myself, and always 3/4" hex if that's what the vehicle came with (multiple 2nd Gen Rams and JK's and TJ's).
Also, just go one-piece lest you envy a saga such as mine detailed here:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/what-are-you-working-on-today.331303/page-199#post-6400095
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/what-are-you-working-on-today.331303/page-199#post-6400095
Very common issue for a variety brands - which is why I keep 19.5/21.5/22.5 in my top drawer.
Luckily have not needed! Yet.
Same thing happened on step-daughters 2015 jeep Cherokee. I bought new ones
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Update: checked all of them with the on board tire iron and most are perfect. Just two that were hard to get on. One definitely needs replacing pretty quick, hardly can get the socket on the nut. You can see someone was a little rowdy with the impact and stripped them a bit.
Iâll just pick up some one piece nuts and have DT replace them during the next rotation.
Confirmed: two swollen nuts for this guy!
Iâll just pick up some one piece nuts and have DT replace them during the next rotation.
Confirmed: two swollen nuts for this guy!
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AutoMechanic
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I see this issue quite frequently. Toyota, Ford, Mopar etc. I once had a Toyota Tundra with 22mm lug nuts that was swollen to a 24. One other one swollen up to a 23 so in those cases the half sizes were useless. The half sizes do work for the not so bad ones though. When we recommend lug nuts at work they wonât let us get any aftermarket one piece ones we have to replace them with what came off so they will just have that issue again. I feel bad about recommending them knowing they will have the issue again but most people buy them cause they want to be able to change their tire if it goes flat. For some of the Mopar lug stud combos that some people call lug bolts you need an 11/16 socket instead of 17mm for the ones that use 17mm. Because I havenât been able to find a 17.5mm one yet so at least there is a standard size that is basically 17.5mm haha.
https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-73...30-8238-e7473056de84&pd_rd_i=B09RPDKT2F&psc=1
But 11/16" works perfectly fine.
Seems the manufacturers went out of their way to create an unnecessary problem there. I didn't know about it until I read about it here.
I can still use a 13/16" (=20.64 mm) spark plug wrench on my original 21 mm lug nuts. Same was true of my Mazda when it was over 33 years old. (The motive is that that eliminates need to carry the original lug wrench.)
I can still use a 13/16" (=20.64 mm) spark plug wrench on my original 21 mm lug nuts. Same was true of my Mazda when it was over 33 years old. (The motive is that that eliminates need to carry the original lug wrench.)
They created a "problem" for the owners down the road. Not for them. All they managed to create is a better profit for themselves. You the consumer pays the price down the road, long after the warranty has expired.
Most of these cheap, sheet metal coated nuts will last a tire change or two, (if done by monkeys with pneumatic hammer guns). By then the warranty is over, and their hands are washed. If there ever was a part that was, "designed to live just past the warranty"..... This is it.
We do TONS of them up here in salt belt on all brands.
Yeah, you've got this going on. But sometimes the structural inner nut only sticks out 5/8" while the chrome cap might stick out 7/8". So if someone "plays NASCAR" and doesn't completely seat their long socket, it twists the top of the nut in relation to the bottom, and the whole thing sticks to the socket. Still a case of form over function. Get the one-piece lug nuts.
Iâm waking up this old thread because I Googled âswollen lug nutsâ and it popped up. I had to use 21, 21.5 and 22 mm sockets tonight to remove the lug nuts on my 09 Scion with alloy wheels. I started with an impact wrench but the first three nuts jammed in the sockets and I had to pry them loose. It ended up being faster to do the rest by hand.
Iâm a terrible hoarder for used fasteners and other metal parts, but I threw all 20 in the scrap pile.
Iâm a terrible hoarder for used fasteners and other metal parts, but I threw all 20 in the scrap pile.
I also force myself to scrap all 2-piece lugnuts once replaced. I don't want to be tempted, even as spares or just-in-case. I hate them so much!
