Rusty chromed lug nuts

[nickcrowhurst]

The chromed lug nuts on our trailer are badly corroded. Has anyone found a source of stainless wheel nuts, or is re-chroming the way to go? Nick.

[74Argosy24MH]

If they are badly corroded rechroming won't be the way to go. The metal has to be perfect for a good chrome job. It would cost more to clean them up than buying new.

John

[Rog0525]

I know from a web search that aluminum lug nuts are available but I don't know enough about them to recommend.
I noted on one website that aluminum lugs should be tightened by hand rather than with an impact wrench, which would make me a little cautious about their holding power.

Rog

[Janets Husband]

I don't know how it is in England, but here in Washington state I would just go down to the tire store and buy new ones.
About $6.00 per wheel. They are pretty generic, try looking along those lines.

My $0.02

[tinman7]

Just took mine off ,used a wire brush,spray painted with rustoleum silver paint, look good to me

[Bob Thompson]

My '97 Excella 25 came with the lug nuts which have the thin stainless cap which fits over the lug nut. The caps have become a pain. They come off the lugnut and stick in the socket when you tighten or loosen the nut. If you don't use the caps, the 13/16 socket will round over the edges of the lugnut. Then, the only way to get the lug nut off is to drive a 3/4 onto it, remove the lugnut, then drive the lugnut out of the socket. I learned this all while repacking the wheel bearings on my new to me trailer.

Yesterday, I went to Discount Tire and they had solid chrome finished lug nuts for $1 each. $24 later, those PIA OEM lug nuts are in the trash barrel. The new chrome lugnuts look good and they use the same 3/4" socket my Tundra's Enkei's use which means I could change a flat with my tow vehicle's onboard tools.

[RivetED]

Originally posted by Bob Thompson
Yesterday, I went to Discount Tire and they had solid chrome finished lug nuts for $1 each.

That's what I did for my boat trailer, not necessary yet for the A/S. Stainless 'acorn' lug nuts would be the way to go if they were available.

[Loren]

Bob,

I have the same issues you do with the lug nuts. My trailer has aluminum wheels.

I was under the impression that you had to use special nuts with the aluminum wheels, and that chrome-plated nuts wouldn't hold. I thought that this was the reason for the troublesome caps on my lug nuts.

Do you know whether or not a chrome-plated nut is approved for use with the aluminum wheels? I'd like to switch too, but don't know about the holding power of chrome-plated nuts.

Thanks,
Loren

[JohnG]

If you have aluminum mags on any of your vehicles you most likely have chrome plated lug nuts too. That's what is on all of mine and I wouldn't think twice about re-installing them on the aluminum mags, or on my AS. As far as the aluminum nuts, I would not really consider using those because they are a soft metal and probably do not have the holding power of the chrome nuts.

[Bob Thompson]

John is right! At Discount Tire they only carry one type of chrome lug nut and they work on steel wheels as well as all of the aluminum aftermarket wheels they carry. Their chrome lugnuts are of the highest quality I've found.

[biggerbadbrad]

Nick, I would first try to clean them up with DU PONT chrome polish. I have been amazed at how well this product works at reviving chromed surfaces. But if the rust has pitted the chrome surfaces too badly, then I would replace them as others have already suggested.

I noted on one website that aluminum lugs should be tightened by hand rather than with an impact wrench, which would make me a little cautious about their holding power.

I would be surprised if aluminum lug nuts were made solely of aluminum rather than made of some sort of alloy or composite material. Nonetheless, I too would be hesitant about using them regardless of how they are tightened. Also, be careful when allowing anyone to tighten even steel lug nuts on your vehicle or trailer with an impact driver. Most tire shops are in too much of a hurry and hire underpayed employees who don't have adequate training and so they simply overtighten the lug nuts with an impact driver. This is fine until you are in a remote area with a flat tire and you don't stand a chance of loosening those lug nuts with the tire iron supplied by the car manufacturer.

The proper prodecure is to tighten lug nuts to their specified torque, drive the vehicle, and then recheck by retightening to this specified torque. The first thing I do when I have my vehicle returned from a tire shop is to loosen off the lug nuts and manually torque them myself. This also allows you to make sure the threads havn't been stripped, another common occurrence resulting from impact drivers being incorrectly used.

bbb

[nickcrowhurst]

bbb, many thanks. I will pursue this in November when I am next at my trailer. The web link for lugnuts at Discount tire is http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...riesWheels.jsp
However, there are no details of specific sizes, so a call to the company would be necessary, on 800 589 6789. If anyone knows the specification of the bolts to order, I would be grateful. (I'm 4000 miles from the trailer, so I can't examine the nuts). Thanks again. Nick.

[Pick]

Nick, if you want to PM me, I can run over and take some digital pictures and email them to you. Most of the Advanced Auto, Autozone and Pep Boys carry that stuff around here.

[nickcrowhurst]

Mike, thanks a lot. As they're available locally, I'll come over to see you in November, so no need for the photos. See you then, and thanks again. Nick.

[jimmickle]

The answer that I have found for the tire store over torqueing the wheel nuts/bolts is to get a proper "torque stick" and take it with you to the tire store and insist that they use it on their impact wrench when they put the wheels on. They are available at any good auto parts store, most likely by special order. Harbour Freight carries a full set for around $100. My individual ones cost $35 each, but they were made in the US, not China.

For those of you who have never seen at "torque stick", they look like a one piece socket and extension about 8 inches long. The extension part is sized in length and diameter so it flexes and controls the torque. They really work great. I know that GM requires that dealers use them when using an impact wrench for installing wheels. I saw one in use on a Ford service commercial recently, so I suspect that they require them also.