Wheel Nuts!

Er thanks guys, I never knew so much debate could be generated by asking what size a wheel nut was!

Quote by Redhand: One of em does! the one hiding the locking wheelnut.

He's right Dammit!

My car's toolkit (HA HA HA!) has a plastic tube thing in it for hoicking off the fake covers on the locking nuts.

The issued wheel nut key is a joke.

It BENT when I tried to use it to take off the wheelnuts on a front wheel.

Use a two-foot bar and a single hex socket.

CharlesY

CharlesY said:

1. Copper grease the studs.
2. Use a torque wrench when tightening and go round the five nuts at least TWICE doing up each second one .... 1 3 5 2 4 .. and again 1 3 5 2 4 ..
3. don't use any impact gun on the locking nut remover or you will knock it to bits. Throw the locking nuts away and get 4 plain ones.
5. use a two-foot Samson bar and a 27mm socket to undo wheel nuts. ALWAYS "crack them" loose with this before using the buzz-gun to spin them off.

But this is only my personal opinion.

CharlesY

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OK apart from point 1. Don't use copper grease, the torque settings are for dry nuts.

metallicachick86 said:

Right, recently had my DIsco mot'd, and the guy at the garage had to ring me up and ask if i had a wrench in my toolkit to take my wheel off.

All that's done and dusted, but, my wrench is getting knackered! I have the standard Land Rover Allloys with origional wheel nuts.

1) What size are the wheel nuts, in mm's plz

2) and where can i find a new wrench, or would it be better to get a hex socket and UJ driver?

cheers bex

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Hi Bex, Paddocks do them, about £5 from memory

Surely the garage had a 27mm socket and bar? Or am I missing something here? I would understad a garage servicing someone car and pointing out the brace was missing, or ringing up and saying the lock nut adaptor missing, but not a brace!

I do not use copper grease on the studs but do use a smear on the contact surfaces of alloy wheels, this stops them seizing to the hubs, Land Rover and Jaguar are a PITA with this problem.
regards

Dave

bognorbelter said:

OK apart from point 1. Don't use copper grease, the torque settings are for dry nuts.

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this is true

Oooops, I have always used copper grease on my wheel studs for the last 33 years of using alloy wheels, before that I had steel wheels so I used any old grease. Don't remember copper grease being around then.

Don't think i'll stop now

Who the f### resurrected this two year old thread & how come no-one else seems to have noticed?

chromiumuk said:

Who the f### resurrected this two year old thread & how come no-one else seems to have noticed?

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A new member who never noticed the date of the thread.... ive done it meself

think when using copper grease you should lower the torque, so in affect they will be tighter, also its an abrasive so if the wheels are on and off alot will wear the thred quicker

mark-d said:

think when using copper grease you should lower the torque, so in affect they will be tighter, also its an abrasive so if the wheels are on and off alot will wear the thred quicker

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So Copper grease is an abrasive is it?

Incredible how drivel like that becomes an urban myth.

How many thousand times will you be changing your wheels that you might wear out the threads? They might RUST AWAY to nothing if fitted dry, but they will NOT WEAR OUT.

Wheel nuts should never be tightened up when dry, especially after they get old and a bit dirty. If they are cleaned well using a wire brush, then copper-greased, there is NO doubt the wheels will be MORE secure, LESS liable to come loose or fall off, and it will be a whole lot less likely that you end up breaking wheel studs too.

These are only my opinions, and what do I know about it?

CharlesY

I was taught that you should not use copperslip or any grease on wheel nuts/studs. The torque settings are for "dry" studs.

Where you should use copperslip is on the alloy wheel boss where it is in contact with the hub.
27mm is with the shiny caps on...if like mine they have all fallen off then you will find that 27mm still fits but eventually rounds the nuts off and you need to replace them...or work out what the correct size is when there are no shiny bits

the nut size was with the shiny cover on... this may sound bloody daft.. but the shiny bits are not meant to come off, however if you've loosened any of the daft caps from the nuts they'll rattle like buggery and annoy you to death...... mine had one with a loose cap and i nearly wore me finger out scratching the old cranium trying to work it out.

so I googled it and found this....Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand Limited

I know we aren't talking about mitsui trucks in NZ....but may be we should be greasing our studs....has anyone looked in their Disco owners manual to see what it says?

[EDIT]
Just found this at the end of the doc....
For light-duty trucks and buses (Canter, Rosa, etc.), dry tightening (without engine oil/chassis grease applied to threads, etc.) is the manufacturer’s specification, and the tightening torque and tightening method differ according to the model and type. For details, see the Owner’s Handbook or relevant shop manual.

Those guys are referring to brand new vehicles with CLEAN FRESH THREADS.

CharlesY

CharlesY said:

Those guys are referring to brand new vehicles with CLEAN FRESH THREADS.

CharlesY

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Yes, and they are referring to heavy trucks saying threads should be greased or oiled and light trucks saying they shouldn't be....

I have looked in Rave and it says

On alloy wheels, lightly oil or grease
(using an approved anti- seize compound)
the wheel- mounting spigot to minimise
the tendency for adhesion between the
wheel and the spigot.

Nowhere does it say to oil or grease the wheel nut studs. While it doesn't say not to I work on the basis that if you were meant to it would tell you to, therefore I don't do it, and have never had a problem undoing my wheel nuts.

yep loosen of the other 4 wheel nuts and kick the tyer till it brakes under strain of whole car
or welid another nut you can use a big sokccet with on older steel frozen nut-mag lock nut

starionnsw said:

yep loosen of the other 4 wheel nuts and kick the tyer till it brakes under strain of whole car
or welid another nut you can use a big sokccet with on older steel frozen nut-mag lock nut

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Cripes, it took you a while to reply to this thread!

If you would be so kind as to translate your comments, then explain the technicalities involved, the rest of us would be much the wiser.

CharlesY

what is the correct torque then ?

Thread revival!