I bought a set of lug nuts on eBay for my '03 to replace the old ones, which were pretty torn up after years of impact wrenches.


I installed them in August, and by January they are already pretty red/gold with rust. Obviously didn't do enough research. BAD MISTAKE!


Can I remove the rust and then treat them with something? Any ideas?


Thanks guys

 

Sure. Sand the rust off and re paint them.

 

Impact wrenches on lug nuts????

I'd be checking into getting the studs replaced also ... then find a tire shop that uses torque wrenches to tighten the nuts.

Budd

 

Impact wrench? air gun? aren't they all pretty much the same?


You're right though. Since I replaced them, I torque everything now.

 

Replace all of them with Gorillas.

 

Many moons ago (I'm 69) before they decided that lawsuits from broken studs because of impact wrenches was a no-no, my older brother lost the left front wheel on his '56 Rambler while cruising down the highway in England (he was serving in the Air Force) and his only salvation came from the 450 pounds of electronic test equipment he had in the trunk.

Two days earlier, a British tyre shoppe had put on two new front tyres (as they spell it!) with an impact wrench.

He said it was a bit strange to see his wheel going faster than he was.

But a word to the wise: watch out even today because I caught the tech at the local Peerless tires preparing to torque the 1/2" studs on my D-250 to 130 ft/lbs about 30 more than needed.

Budd

 

I have been using anti seize on lugs for years, when I was 16 1st job was at goodyear & nothing but heavy duty's were our customers an this old dude had shown me the trick. Best part is when you stuck out in BFE, side of the road, rain or shine they sure come off much easier. Even better on your boat trailer lugs But hand torquing is the only way to go. Even though alot of shop love charging stud & lug kit fee's from over powered impact wrenches @ 200+psi

 

I always prefer to buy OEM as they are higher quality zinc coated and last much longer.
Just make sure any used one's you buy aren't chewed up which can ruin your wheels.

Or as Hemilonestar reccomend Gorillas. I would reccomend a small amount of antisieze with aftermarket lugs because they can and will corrode.

I always hand torque. For my truck I did 100ft/lbs and then final torque 135ft/lbs I believe they are for 1500. Been a long time.

 

One of the best things I did was replace those godawful oem lug nuts with the thin sheet metal cover that spins, etc.

 

Your pic is chopped off. Could be my pc though...??

I never had a problem with my OEM's and my truck wheels were off quite a number of times. I always use a 6pt socket, not a typical 12pt, so that could have been your problem.