My Nuts Are Swollen

[zw470]

Rotated my tires this afternoon and ended up having to pound some of my lug nuts out of the socket. My first instinct is to replace them with McGard Spline-Drive but I'm potentially open to other suggestions.

Sponsored

 

[Megawatt]

Your nuts are old and used up.

 

[Steph1]

Too late now, but these oem nuts need a good dab of synthetic grease right at the aluminum/metal jonction prior every winter to avoid moisture and salt water to get stuck inside and cause that corrosion swell. Been doing that since the TJ days and never had a single problem.

 

[zw470]

Your nuts are old and used up.

They're not even two years old

 

[blnewt]

Gorilla sets work well, especially if you want locks. Can't help w/ the swelling though, that job needs to be outsourced

 

[rcadden]

You can get a 22.5mm socket on Amazon for just this situation.

 

[MOOG5050]

Better than shrinking nuts IMO.

 

[blnewt]

You can get a 22.5mm socket on Amazon for just this situation.

Cool, 7/8" is 22.22 so that might be something to check if you have one in your tool stash as well.

 

[zw470]

Check your socket. My nuts have set out in the weather for 4 years without issue. Put a nut in your pocket and shop for a new high end socket, check the fit. Too tight, too loose pass. I had a cheap chinese socket that would rotate just a little on my nuts and bind.

I already use Icon sockets. This happened for the first time today, and it was only on 4 or 5 lugs, so I don't it's tool issue.

You can get a 22.5mm socket on Amazon for just this situation.

If I worked on a lot of other people's vehicles that's definitely what I'd do, but since this is my own I'd rather solve the problem. Plus I'd have to carry an extra breaker-bar in the Jeep to be able to use the socket on the road/trail, whereas the Spline-Drive key works with the factory wrench.

 

[zouch]

while they're "OK" for the money, Icon sockets aren't the greatest and are reported to have soft sockets, especially for you're working on something torqued to 130 lb/ft that's been through the heat cycles and exposure to the elements lug nuts are.

add to that the cheesy design of the Mopar 2-piece lug nuts with their chintzy chrome-look covers, and you have a recipe for trouble like what you're seeing.

judging by the number of bolts you had a problem with, i'd suggest you might want to
- make sure the wheels get torqued on to proper spec every time they come off. tire shop monkeys are notorious for not getting this right, and if you start checking yourself, the number of times you find it wrong will convince you to check the torque every time someone else touches your lug nuts.
- get yourself a higher-quality dedicated lug nut socket. some of them even have material around the outside edge to reduce your wheels getting scratched up, if you care about that sort of thing.
- get yourself a few spare lug nuts; once they're tweaked, they are more likely to fall apart, and trying to use them after that will screw up your sockets (and thereby your other nuts).

I already use Icon sockets. This happened for the first time today, and it was only on 4 or 5 lugs, so I don't it's tool issue.

 

[Canjeeper]

They used to last 10 + years in the rust belt ,before the the rust would cause the stainless steel casing to swell from the lug nut rusting .

 

[lashlee]

Rotated my tires this afternoon and ended up having to pound some of my lug nuts out of the socket. My first instinct is to replace them with McGard Spline-Drive but I'm potentially open to other suggestions.

I use the spline drive lugs from McGard on both my car and my wife's JLUR. As long as you don't hammer them with a beefy impact they hold up for years.

 

[jjvincent]

Here's a reason why companies like Snap On make 0.5mm larger sockets. It's because of those terrible lug nuts that have the pressed on SS sleeve. Jeep is not the only one, Ford is a fan of those too.

 

[zw470]

That is debateable....
https://www.google.com/search?q=ico...AAeACAAV2IAfAGkgECMTGYAQCgAQE&sclient=gws-wiz

Hmmm, does this apply to the impact sockets, too, or just the regular chrome ones?

 

[Duece McCracken]

I'll also recommend either McGard or Gorilla. I tend to run gorilla since they are very economical and easy to get off amazon. McGard iirc tends to be a bit pricier.

Sponsored