lug nuts hard to remove?

[dmercer3]

so had new tires installed today. the mechanic said they busted two sockets and went through a can of PB blaster breaking the nuts lose. Said there was a lot of rust on the bolts and he assumed the rotations had not been done.

Is this common?

I have 98k on the vehicle when i bought it, the maintenance records showed Ford did the 7.5k intervals religiously and new tires at 50k.

Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Expeditious]

Haven't had a problem with them rusting on, but have had a problem with them swelling and getting stuck in the socket while trying to remove them.

Had to replace all of them.

 

[GAINMOB]

Do the 7.5k intervals call for rotation? Should rotate every oil change...never heard of lug nuts swelling...make sure they are going on correctly and messing up thread...if crooked and forced on I can see this happening...did they use air tools to take them off?

 

[dmercer3]

Do the 7.5k intervals call for rotation? Should rotate every oil change...never heard of lug nuts swelling...make sure they are going on correctly and messing up thread...if crooked and forced on I can see this happening...did they use air tools to take them off?

Yes they were using a pneumatic wrench, maybe that and swelling was the issue then?

Even worse news is that I got shuttering in the steering wheel over 65mph on the way home... ford says it probably wasnt balanced correctly.

I just assumed the oil changes being done at ford they would follow that recommendation of rotating the tires. Getting caught assuming things again I guess

 

[GAINMOB]

my dealership has to be told to do the rotation...I do my own changes unless pressed for time but if I don't tell them to rotate wheels...they wont...even at Nissan for my wife's car...she'll take it in and have to tell them to do the rotation...I think they've only asked her once and she called me to ask if she should do it...matter of fact that was the very first time and never again...so now she knows to tell them when im gone

 

[Mr Bean]

So what happens on a rotation? Do you just swap the left's with the right's on the front and back? Never done it before.

 

[montecarlo31]

So what happens on a rotation? Do you just swap the left's with the right's on the front and back? Never done it before.

Depends on the vehicle and tire. Directional tires are front to back unless they are staggered then there is no rotating them. No directional tires that are staggered can be swapped left to right but not front to back. Non directional non staggered tires can be swapped right to left and front to back.

Edit: it should take slightly more torque than what was applied at install. They shouldn't be easy to remove but not hard either. Using a pneumatic impact should not cause an issue when removing a lug unless he bumped the gun in the forward position before attempting to loosen the lug. The correct term 6k is looking for is cross threaded. This happens but you would or should know it before the lug is even tightened completely and the installer would never be able to torque the lugs properly.

That being said if you had lug issues I would go ahead and pop them all out and install new OEM lugs, they are cheap and easy and since the metal has been compromised due to over torquing already it's a safe precaution. Anytime I've had lug nuts over torqued to a dangerous level I knock out the old ones and install new to error on the side of safety.

 

[dmercer3]

Depends on the vehicle and tire. Directional tires are front to back unless they are staggered then there is no rotating them. No directional tires that are staggered can be swapped left to right but not front to back. Non directional non staggered tires can be swapped right to left and front to back.

Edit: it should take slightly more torque than what was applied at install. They shouldn't be easy to remove but not hard either. Using a pneumatic impact should not cause an issue when removing a lug unless he bumped the gun in the forward position before attempting to loosen the lug. The correct term 6k is looking for is cross threaded. This happens but you would or should know it before the lug is even tightened completely and the installer would never be able to torque the lugs properly.

That being said if you had lug issues I would go ahead and pop them all out and install new OEM lugs, they are cheap and easy and since the metal has been compromised due to over torquing already it's a safe precaution. Anytime I've had lug nuts over torqued to a dangerous level I knock out the old ones and install new to error on the side of safety.

thanks, ive been searching around, i can find the specs for the lug bolts (5.31) but im having a hard time finding a place that sells them... any idea? (other than gm obviously)

 

[montecarlo31]

thanks, ive been searching around, i can find the specs for the lug bolts (5.31) but im having a hard time finding a place that sells them... any idea? (other than gm obviously)

I would buy them from the dealer. I don't screw around with hardware that my life counts on.

 

[dmercer3]

I would buy them from the dealer. I don't screw around with hardware that my life counts on.

point taken. thanks for the help.

 

[TORNIT07]

I rotate my own tires. I brush anti-seize on the studs twice a year & have never had a problem with "stuck" or rusty lug nuts/studs. I also brush a little bit on the hub where the rim makes contact. They used to stick due to rust & I had to use a fair amount of force to remove them at times. Now I just give a light bump with my hand & off they come.

 

[Mr Bean]

Right on guys. Still waiting patiently for the weather to change here but I think it's starting to break next week, thankfully.