Ford lugnuts, swelling issue and an easy fix that you should do

HMP

HMP

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Ive never messed with my Fiesta much - just get the oil changed, put gas in it, enjoy 40+ mpg.

Well, after almost 170k miles, brakes were needed. Not a hard job, really, but there was a moment today when I thought, "Ok, Im calling a mechanic on Monday..."
Why? Because of lugnuts.

I told my friend, @gravehunterzero about my defeat due to not being able to get lugnuts off. They were stripping, sizes werent right (online it says 19mm, but that was NOT fitting, 20mm fit but the lugnuts were getting STUCK in the socket. Stuck so bad that Ive spend half an hour and one is still in there...Though now I have a good idea how to get it out.

Anyway, about that buddy of mine, he sent a video about two ways to fix the lugnuts - one was using a 'flip socket,' which is half mm sizes, so instead of 19, it's 19.5 etc
Eh, I want this done now, no time ot order off Amazon.
The other was to destroy the outer aluminum cover on the steel lugnuts.

Apparently, around 2010, Ford changed to a 2 piece lugnut - steel with an aluminum cover. And that cover can 'swell' and make it VERY hard to get off.
Basically, my lugnuts looked like spline lugnuts due to deforming and such.

So I thought I'd give it a try.
Tools needed:
-Hammer
-Punch or chisel (I used a punch because I dont have a small chisel)
-flathead screwdriver(s)
-pair of pliers


Some of these took, literally, less than a minute and it was done. Some were more difficult, though and took two or three minutes. But brakes are done and Ive replaced the fronts (I'll do the rears later, I was SOAKING wet from sweat) with spline drive lugnuts from White Knight from AutoZone.
I couldve just removed the covers and reused the stock units, but, again, one is still stuck in a socket.

Basic instructions:
-use punch to puncture the outer layer
-use flathead to start 'cutting' the outer layer and prying it away from steel center
-Eventually you'll hear the 'pop' of the piece separating, use pliers to pull it out
-done

Pics:
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I guess that was one of their better ideas. Some will get that one.
 
Holy smokes. Imagine a customers face if I did that to their ford 🤣 We just use tapered lug sockets and tap them on, and a poly driver to get them back out of the socket. (And a reg lug socket to reinstall since the tapered one reforms the cap)
 
That seems like a totally unnecessary manufacturing retardation. What's wrong with just plain lug nuts?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Me.
Pogue said:
Holy smokes. Imagine a customers face if I did that to their ford 🤣 We just use tapered lug sockets and tap them on, and a poly driver to get them back out of the socket. (And a reg lug socket to reinstall since the tapered one reforms the cap)
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Have you seen many come in with serious deforming of the aluminum cover?
I'll take and post pics later of one of mine.
 
I found out from my nephew that there is a "special" socket just for Ford lugnuts. We replaced his with regular chrome lugnuts.
 
Ford has been doing this since at least '89 probably much longer, maybe not aluminum but stupid shiny caps on lug nuts. Chevy and Dodge do it also.
On those old F150s they went from SAE to metric when you took the chrome off.
Many techs at work have half mm sockets, they get replaced with solids, annoyingly many of the solids are a diff size so lugwrench and knuckle head driver (fleet) will round the new ones.
 
HMP said:
Have you seen many come in with serious deforming of the aluminum cover?
I'll take and post pics later of one of mine.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah. They’re absolutely terrible. Chrysler and Ram vehicles have the same problem. It’s aggravating spending 2 minutes per wheel to get the lugs off instead of 10 seconds with an impact. It’s gotta be cheaper to stamp those covers than to chrome plate a standard lug cause everyone seems to be going that direction.
 
I had the same thing happen on the 2012 F150 and 2015 EcoBoost Mustang. Ford techs with impact guns messed the lug nuts up badly. I used a hammer to tap the correct socket on the lug nuts, removed them and then punched the lug nuts out of the sockets, one at a time. 24 on the F150 and 20 on the Mustang. Replaced them with Gorilla lug nuts. When I got the 2018 GT. (In February 2022), I swapped the factory lugs for the Gorillas on the EcoBoost. ( EcoBoost is now gone) Haven't had a lug nut problem since. I went ahead and put gorilla lug nuts on the C7 too just because.
 
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  • Wow
Reactions: Me.
Gator said:
I agree but it's nothing new. Had the same style nuts on a 1969 Chevelle.

.
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I mean of all the things to make more prone to damage, lug nuts would be last of my list is all.
 
Royal pan in the rear. I had them on a dodge charger and had a flat tire so the factory lug wrench wouldn’t fit on the side of the road. Talk about mad. Had to wait for someone to bring me a hammer and socket to remove last two. They got replaced after that but if you have a hammer you can tap the socket on usually and just have to have something to knock it back out of the socket. Dealer told me it was from people using impact wrenches on them 🤔 which this car had only been worked on at the dealer so I got them to replace them but i had to make a stink and its because I was highly irritated about it after being stranded.
 
I had a 2014 F150 that had this happen with the lug nuts. Found when I carried it in for an oil change (still under warranty) and they were rotating the tires. Service manager said it was a known problem but Ford did not have a recall on it. $90 to replace if I remember correctly. After the 3rd brake light over the cab leaked for the 3rd time (another known problem that Ford wouldn’t recall) I traded it in on January 1, 2020 for a 2019 F150.
 
gravehunterzero said:
Because of you, I'm probably going to replace my fiesta lug nuts this weekend.
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Because of you I could get mine off.
Honestly, Id remove the covers and move on, if I had to do it all again (and didnt have one stuck in a socket)
You'll move down to an 18mm for your lugnuts, but they're fine. Just not shiny.
 
I had a Dodge Caravan years ago with those covers, but they were an earlier design that wasn't crimped on the same way, so they would fall off. Fortunately the lug nut itself was a standard size. After losing 2 or 3 of the covers I replaced them all.
 
Had that happen to my ‘16 F150 a couple yrs ago. Was sitting in the dealership waiting room when the lady came out and told me they would need to replace my lug nuts because they had “swollen”. She actually laughed at the skeptical look I gave her and said “ I promise it’s a real thing”. I did a quick internet search and confirmed it was in fact a real issue and gave them the go ahead to replace them all.
 
Derek8404 said:
Had that happen to my ‘16 F150 a couple yrs ago. Was sitting in the dealership waiting room when the lady came out and told me they would need to replace my lug nuts because they had “swollen”. She actually laughed at the skeptical look I gave her and said “ I promise it’s a real thing”. I did a quick internet search and confirmed it was in fact a real issue and gave them the go ahead to replace them all.
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At your expense, right?

That's what pisses me off - they do something dumb, realize it's dumb, and dont say anything about it to us
 
HMP said:
At your expense, right?

That's what pisses me off - they do something dumb, realize it's dumb, and dont say anything about it to us
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Absolutely. I asked and of course it’s not covered under warranty…
 
Derek8404 said:
Absolutely. I asked and of course it’s not covered under warranty…
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But they provided the Lug Nuts as Safety Equipment (wheels fall off if not used).
So why do owners need to pay for faulty equipment they supplied?
 
HMP said:
At your expense, right?

That's what pisses me off - they do something dumb, realize it's dumb, and dont say anything about it to us
Click to expand...
I too had to make this conversation with many customers when I used to work for Dodge as an advisor. From Dodge those lug nuts cost $15 each and that makes a tire rotation really really expensive. Its pretty hard to explain to a customer what its going to take to work on their car.. Their first response is usually, You guys have been working on my car ever since it was new, Its not my fault and its yours. I then calmly explain the lug nut construction and how many other manufactures use the same materials and it cant be helped. By this time , some are livid and are screaming lemon law in a room filled with other customers. Its at this time when I calmly say to them " Look, I didn't design your vehicle, I didn't build your vehicle and I sure as hell didn't buy your vehicle " Now, do you want me to rotate your tires or not ? Sometimes that would work, sometimes not. The "Not" times I would be called in the managers office and I would ask him " What should I have said ? " Thats when I would hear nothing but crickets. Manufactures do this to save money, it costs less this way to make a shiny lug nut. Its not our fault..
 
ronn47 said:
But they provided the Lug Nuts as Safety Equipment (wheels fall off if not used).
So why do owners need to pay for faulty equipment they supplied?
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Because you bought the car as is, I know it sucks.. You vehicle warranty covers repairs for 3 years or 36K miles.. Warranty covers defects in materials or workmanship that the manufacture created and that's it. The dealership, which is privately owned only has to honor what the manufacture will reimburse them for. The wheels were held on by the lug nuts when the you bought the vehicle and for that they are responsible for, you decided to take them off. Thats called wear and tear and the manufacture is not responsible for that. Sorry man,, buts thats the way it is. The original manufacture really doesn't make any money selling you the car, the profit is in the replacement parts your going to have to buy to keep driving the car.
 
Lager, please understand that Im speaking about the company (Ford etc) not the local dealership.
 
"Ford lugnuts, swelling issue and an easy fix that you should do"

I took all the work out of my frustration when I ran into this problem.

I replaced all the lug nuts on my son's Focus. I was pulling the wheels off to check the brake pad wear and I had two or three lug nuts on the back wheels I couldn't get off. I tore the bejeebers out of them trying and split a socket in the process.

I said "screw this" and took it to Firestone, handed them the new lug nuts for the ones I couldn't get off, and said "I need the rear brakes inspected to tell me if I need a brake job and I can't get some of the lug nuts off. Here are new ones: put them on when you put the wheels back on."

The inspected the brakes (no work necessary), put the wheels back on with the new lug nuts and said "have a nice day!" No charge.

Might be "no charge" because they were being nice, since I take all our vehicles to them for tires and suspension related repairs when needed, so I don't know if this is typical. But I'll take that as a win.


EDIT:

I also replace all those stupid "locking lug nuts" on any vehicle I get, too. They're annoyingly useless and only good for irritating me whenever I have to take a wheel off anyway. Only runs about $10 to replace them all with lug nuts matching the rest.
 
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