Sockets Getting Stuck on Swollen Lug Nuts?? Try This trick!!

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‎@WrenchingWithKenny ‎@SNAFU.performance ‎@traditionovertrend2704 ‎@ktmracingsisters1261 ‎@matersworkshop6123 ‎@MotorMouthRadio
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[@celestial4762]

I do have the .5 oversized socket set for stuff like this, but often it does still get stuck. In a situation like this if I was having to do all four wheels I kinda just sell the customer a new set of lug nuts because they need it. They themselves ain't gonna be able to change a tire on the side of the road with lugnuts like that.

[@littlered1880]

Every time I buy a vehicle with 2 piece lug nuts, when I see that they are starting to swell I go to Napa and buy solid chrome nuts and replace them

[@bobmcl2406]

I don't even wait that long! As soon as I buy the car, those useless 2-piece nuts get replaced, period.

[@Kandyman54]

Absolutely. Why put the old junk back on? You’re just inviting the problem to bite you again. Also put some anti-seize between the center of the aluminum wheel and the hub.

[@rustystubbs242]

trouble with those aftermarket nuts is the chromes rusted off after a winter and they look like crap. Everything’s junk now a days

[@ergosum5260]

Why not fix all the rust and buy a new vehicle?

[@gregiles908]

A stud with swollen nuts just needs extra care when screwing off, and sometimes the angle of the dangle is what really counts most. That's what I learnt today. Thanks Kenny.

[@johnnylightning1491]

I haven't dealt with swollen nuts recently, but I did a few decades ago. It was a dark, but not stormy night. I was just west of Ann Arbor Michigan and I got a flat tire. I could not see to change the tire so I built a fire for light. Then I found the swollen nuts. Only having the tire iron and a beat up old screwdriver with me I proceeded to use the screwdriver as a cold chisel to get the covers off of the lug nuts and change the tire. Since that day I have never and never will own a vehicle with 2 piece lug nuts, it's just not worth it. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.

[@michaelallen5505]

It was a dark and stormy night...Homage to Tom and Ray Magliozzi?

[@ergosum5260]

You should carry more tools, maybe a good flashlight or three.

[@johnnylightning1491]

@@michaelallen5505 Not sure who they are. Are they click and clack? If so I've listened to them on PBS but I don't know their name.

[@michaelallen5505]

@@johnnylightning1491 Yep, Car Talk. "It was a dark and stormy night", from an 1830 novel, is often considered the ultimate cliché for beginning a story. Tom and Ray joked about it and made it a recurring theme for beginning their rants and puzzlers over the years. If you ever saw the Pixar movie Cars, Tom and Ray voiced the characters selling Rust-eze medicated bumper ointment with a rear end formula for cars with rusty bumpers.

[@elcheapo5302]

For $12 you can get an 18.5mm (for the nut once the chrome cap falls off) x 19.5mm (for the swollen nut) flip socket. Mine says CTA brand on it, but there are a few others out there.

[@alphamegaman8847]

Thanks Kenny! Moral of this story.😁 Replace those POS design lug nuts as soon as you buy the vehicle! 👍 Mike in San Diego. 🌞🎸🚀🖖

[@jthonn]

Good idea

[@ricebike]

Yup, and if I find those lock lug nuts, I get regular ones ASAP and sell the set with the key on eBay 😅

[@markk3652]

I'm filing this one away i to my memory. Brilliant tip, can't count how many times I have had to struggle with this. Thanks for the video Ken!!

[@user-sw7fr7te7q]

I had that problem with my 2017 escape. I bought a set of lug nuts from Amazon and problem solved. Keep up the good videos

[@robertheinkel6225]

I did the exact same thing to my 2017 Escape.

[@inspectorguymn]

Wow would I love to see you do this show in Minnesota. You would spend the majority of your time with a torch in your hand getting nuts and bolts to break loose. Before we can wrench, we must defeat rust.

[@goodcitizen64]

The state needs to stop using salt on the roads! Imo, sand and very small gravel works just as well if not better without the frakkin rusting of everything!

[@dennisstahl6996]

Exactly! I don't even use salt in my food! I like my cars to last. It isn't hard to drive in the snow.

[@randellgribben9772]

remove and replace at least 2 times a year.. and clean the ruse off

[@picomanbungace4035]

@@dennisstahl6996As much as I hate road salt it isn’t a necessity because of the snow, that’s what plows are for. Salt is used to keep the roads from icing over. It doesn’t matter how good of a driver you are, unfortunately you can’t safely drive on ice coated roads.

[@pontiacsrule8761]

Funny you should say that. I work in Duluth. There are a lot of videos on brakes that say to open the bleeder screw to push in the caliper back in. Maybe in Phoenix but not around here. Those bleeder screws are always seized. I've done hundreds of brakes & never ruined a ABS module. i guess that's a subject for another video. .Different working on cars in the north.

[@jameskennedy673]

👍your intro. I have a Ram pickup truck with those style of lug nuts & I experienced the same problem, I drove the socket onto the lug nut, then used a punch to knock the lug nut out of the socket. I also learned that not all of the metric sockets the same. My son has a metric flip socket that’ll fit, the one that I have, you have to drive the socket onto the lug nut. Maybe the people who is watching your channel & experience this problem & uses your tip & it works for them will thank you.

[@chadcramer4024]

I hate dealing with swollen nuts ha ha ha. Great tip/trick sir.

[@jessewoody5772]

McGard Lugnuts. Triple chrome plated(or black chrome if you prefer), thru hardened, Made in USA. The best on the market

[@davidboyden9099]

Nice! I live in northern New York. I've seen a lot of reused lug nuts that should have gone to the bin. I also have a Ford. I'm anticiping this problem. Thank you!😊

[@truth_hurts_dealwitit]

My wifes 2016 cruze has nuts like that thank you for the advice will definitely be trying this out when i replace her lugnuts

[@WrenchingWithKenny]

I'm glad I could help. Thanks for leaving a comment and for watching the channel. Keep wrenching 🔧

[@bigdaddymak1439]

Kenny go to the doctor if your nuts are swollen 😂😂😂 just found your channel enjoying your suttle humor!!

[@williamfoos5854]

Chrysler K cars were notorious for this. Pound the socket on, remove lug nut, place socket on ground, beat socket with hammer. Rince and repeat. My 2012 Ram had these same style lug nuts with the same problem. Dealer wanted 16$ each. Went on the internets, got a set of 20 solid nuts for 40$.

[@richardkawucha1232]

The worse thing now is the high torque needed for wheels. The first time I tried using the vehicle lug nut wrench, I couldn't get them loose. Even with a 19mm socket and 1/2" breaker bar, I could maybe get half them off. My solution was, I keep the socket/breaker bar in my vehicle, but now I added one more item that let's me loosen those nuts. I went out and bought 24" length of galvanized pipe that fits over the breaker bar handle. This now gives me the needed leverage. In order that I don't get oil, rust dirt on this "cheater bar" I covered it with "heat shrink" tubing. The Styrofoam package tray, covering my spare tire has a couple of slots in it, and this cheater bar fits in there perfectly.

[@Guynhistruck]

This would've saved HOURS of aggravation on my damn Fusion. That two piece design is part of Ford's deal with the devil to create chaos where none should ever need to exist, and they managed to create a whole market for half-size sockets and impact-rated nut extractor sets in the process, just to fix a problem that shouldn't have happened in the first place.

[@timvest8141]

I have a 2008 Escape that I couldn't get any socket on. My brother had a nice 4 way that had 19mm and 3/4 and it was all I could do to bust them loose with that but I finally got them.

[@dnlmachine4287]

Cut or pry those covers off. The actual hex nut underneath is usually one size metric smaller. Stay gold.

[@TonyA-tm9ol]

To prevent the swelling in the first place, I put a smear of silicone sealant around between the nut and the cover: that way, water doesn't get in and rust doesn't break out..😊

[@OrianaBiggs-xz1oq]

Quite ironic, i had watched this, this morning before work. Guest what a blasted ford was my first job of the day, brakes. I tried the trick and it worked. In S.A we have the same problem with Ford's And Volvo's, Same rubbish wheel nuts. We don't have icing problems here. It is just a sh.....y design. Thanks Kenny for the very helpful tip. Man I used to battle with them.

[@donald1056]

There are special sockets for them - the same socket as for rounded nuts and bolts

[@wendwllhickey6426]

Best to buy soild chrome lug nuts and not have to worry about it

[@70sport37]

I thought I knew what you were gonna do but nope you taught me something new for the day !

[@chiparooo]

Great tip! I’ve been there before. Thanks for sharing!

[@vinyl57]

Wow - never would have thought of this trick!😉😊💓

[@teapotwar]

Excited to give this a try next time one comes through. Thanks for the tip!

[@shemp308]

A old trick that absolutely works 99% of the time! Used it myself many times. Another old timers trick ever had a stripped lug that nothing fits good enough to get it off? Get a cheap socket (we all have them) lather the socket up inside with good old J-B weld put it on the nut and let it setup. Put the wrench or impact to it and 99% it will come right off. Saves hours of work and profanity! Then charge the set of cheap sockets and J-B weld to a customer who thinks your a genius. Saved you and your customer. Especially if it is a nightmare job to replace the stud or a expensive wheel.

[@shameless6963]

Usually if it happens once it's gonna keep swelling. Back in the 80's I worked in a tire shop up north. Whenever we came across this we just informed the customer that we were replacing all the lugnuts with 1 piece chrome ones. Great tip though

[@stephenharvey5932]

Excellent tip

[@rickdecastro4584]

My (Ford) dealership told me that the lugnuts had swollen, and quoted me $800 to fix it...... (2015 Ford Expedition EL, 4x4) I bought a set of new lugnuts from Amazon (Gorilla locking), the next time I was in the shop getting the brakes done, I asked them to rotate the tires (since they were off anyway) and to please use these new lugnuts.... They were happy to. Total cost? Around $55

[@RichardT2112]

Man … the jokes write themselves! 😂

[@googlesbitch]

Manufactures add a thin over mold of stainless steel to keep bolts looking rust free but stainless is softer and tends to distort when impact driven on. Assuming you have all the bolts removed, use an anvil and a peen hammer and with flat side lightly tap on flats of bolt face and rotate until all 6 sides have been lightly peened smooth.

[@robertbeasley2070]

Thx, been thinking about this problem way too long.

[@davidduma7615]

thanks, been having this problem with our Volvo.

[@williammiller2750]

Every now & then that will work up here in rusty New York. Most generally though, we take a chisel, cut the cap off & use an 18 mm socket. That works every time. The problem here is this. Most times, you can't even drive the socket on with a hammer.

[@fredflintstone1]

you can get sockets that are plus.5 i.e. 18.5 I have also seen double sided sockets 18mm one side and 18.5 the other etc.

[@jthonn]

I thought yours was a wooden peg.

[@clintshiplett8548]

Good advice to remember.

[@gordbaker896]

Galvanic action between the Stainless Cap cover and steel lug nut causes the swelling. Usually it is the Lug Nut corroded to the Alloy Wheel. Socket on and solid beating can break the bond.

[@chiefguns1980]

had that occur on the wifes 16 ford escape. went to a parts store, they wanted $10 apiece ($200 total) for new 1 pc lugnut . called local Ford dealer, they wanted $4 apiece ($80 total) got the spec from the Ford dealer, went onto Amazon, $40 for 20.

[@andujarjalepena4405]

excellent. Have run into many of these. Very frustrating. I'll try it for sure. Maybe even run them in tight and loose a couple times. Here in the Pittsburgh rust belt, they are awful.

[@melissachartres3219]

If the metric socket is too tight... just put a S.A.E. socket on- it'll fit to remove the nut.

[@ericstahley8761]

I think we need Wrenching With Kenny tee shirts that say, "You don't have to go bananas" on them!

[@celtisafricana4984]

Excellent title on the thumbnail!

[@Bluechip288]

Quality turd polishing. Each year there are design changes to make parts more expensive producing cheap junk. I’m glad to work on my 66 Cutlass. Cheaper parts less work. If I get swollen nuts I see a doctor or a nurse 😊

[@z8669zzz]

Thanks for the tip, trying a different approach, experience is a great teacher!

[@John_Ridley]

They make a flip socket that's 18.5 and 19.5 mm on the two ends. Very cheap. The 18.5mm end is for when the metal cap splits and falls off. Worth picking one up.

[@jameswatson4110]

Thank you I have had this problem👍

[@Dartman6]

I'm trying this next time I run into this issue.

[@WrenchingWithKenny]

Let me know how it goes. Thanks for watching. Keep wrenching 🔧

[@jthonn]

I was going to say, find the wife, or watch the weather girl on TV. LOL, Kenny I have to say, those little tricks you come up with sure comes in handy. I normally ruin the lug or sometimes even the stud. Thanks for the video

[@royboy3597]

I too suffered from this on my Ford Focus on the side of the road with a flat. Back and forth to a auto parts store open at night. Next day got solid one piece lug nuts. I strongly advise to everyone to do it too!

[@TxGuitarPlayer]

Good trick. Thanks

[@IBenZik]

I used to replace those 2 piece lug nuts with new ones and put a small spritz of white lithium grease into the nut cap and never had another problem.

[@gillgetter3004]

When I get new tires I ask tire guy to replace them. I’ve had a heck of a time on the side of the highway trying to get off for spare. It’s cheap enough to just get them replaced each set of tires👍

[@thomasdaum1927]

Thanks Kenny great tip !……

[@PRO4XKEV]

DEEZ NUTZ.....

[@hickorystx]

Great idea!!! Thank you...🤩

[@lloydscharf6897]

Buy solid Lug nuts when replaceing the swolen ones

[@garyosborne8906]

Handy tip!

[@jorgefernandez-mv8hu]

Thanks for the tip.

[@raymondcascella4920]

Always a good tip thank you. Do a vidio on the launch scanner I got one and not to knowledgeable with scanners.

[@Onewithsausage]

Never seen that, thanks! Glad to see you are feeling better!

[@user-pi6ws8ws5m]

Thanks for the tip hopefully I remember at least half of them and I'll be happy . Thanks again Kenny

[@craigbriones6037]

They make solid metal lugnuts

[@matthewwearsch242]

I remember these garbage lug nuts on Ford's in the 80s we used to peel that chrome cover and there would be a smaller solid open lug nut underneath so either replace or run the open ones with antiseeze on the studs depending on your budget 😅

[@napoleonsmith7793]

Nice. Never heard of it.

[@mathuetax]

Gosh I remember dealing with this when I wrenched, such a pain.

[@ironthornkoncepts]

Thanx 4 the tip!!! Definitely dealt with those before.

[@garymcdavidsr9702]

Thank you

[@TheMamonti1]

every car I own the 1st thing I buy are new lug nuts...... every time I went to change a wheel out each darn lug.... tap on the socket and break it lose.... then tap it off to go to the next lug.... then once they are broke loose... jack up the car.... and tap on.... remove.... take punch to tap it out of the socket and repeat...... NO MORE.... get new NO COVER lug nuts..... you will save so much time and a heck of a lot of frustration!

[@WrenchingWithKenny]

That is a great idea! Thanks for sharing & keep wrenching 🔧

[@glennfields8121]

Thank you brother Kenny for the tip. You're always helpful.

[@WC3fanatic997]

You know, I've seen a lot of mechanics videos and channels over the years but you're probably the only one I recall who uses DeWalt, which I find strange for some reason. I mean, I have DeWalt, all my power tools are DeWalt, but most other mechanics I know use almost exclusively Milwaukee or Snap-On. Milwaukee especially by a large margin.

[@nickvogel7934]

Even us southern folks have to deal with this; I think its the humidity blowing them up.

[@seanmoore1809]

SWOLLEN NUTS HURTS 😂😂😂😂

[@hayzersolar]

i needed this video about 6 months ago. thanks

[@ronaldbradley9949]

They make a 19.5mm socket for that purpose.

[@dontderockmerizz3211]

Fords are notorious for that. My sons Fusion had that problem. Fought it for an hour. Decided to toss them all & bought new ones off Amazon.

[@advancedleveldiagnostics]

Great tip, Thanks for sharing!

[@Lunded68]

Cool little trick for when you are in the shop. What about if you get a flat whennyou are hunting or up on a mountain? Change out the chincy crap with solid steel chrom lug nuts and be done!

[@Medic911pr]

This one is good information. Thanks Kenny.

[@edsyphan3425]

GENIUS! I go through this all the damned time.

[@julianfisher6134]

Try using a flip socket 19.5mm/18.5mm The smaller size when the chrome piece comes away.

[@infinity3jif]

I've dealt with swollen nuts before on a 2010 Chrysler 300 and the bad part about it was it was at night on the side of the road. The tire blew out. I had to cut the dumb chrome shell away from the actual lug nut because it shifted causing the socket not to fit. I hope to never run into a swollen nuts situation again in any way shape or form.

[@goodcitizen64]

I replace those two piece sob as soon as possible when I get a new vehicle that has them and put the solid one piece chrome lug nuts!

[@williamdyckman9704]

Kenny, thanks, good tip !

[@patrickostrom2762]

Enjoy your little tricks of trade! 😮

[@michaelszczys8316]

They swell because they are regular steel nuts with stainless steel covers. The steel corrodes between the two and makes the stainless bulge out. You get them off using whatever method like Kenny is showing and then you either get some new ones or you split the stainless cover off of them and use a smaller socket ( like 11/ 16" ) You dont want to put them back on if you can help it. Most of my cars are old and if they have them its the first thing i do. Dont want to be playing with this on the side of the road.

[@vicm8975]

They swell because the socket will mash into the shell with the torque and thin the shell on the edges where the socket touches. The mashed stainless shell is softer than the nut and it increases in size as it gets mashed thinner. EPA has all but eliminated chrome plating in the USA hence the use of a stainless shell covering.

[@michaelszczys8316]

@@vicm8975 maybe yours, but all I encounter were bulged out from corrosion.

[@FloridaCoastalGuy]

Tap on with hammer, a 21mm 6-point Socket to remove, knock out swollen lug nut from socket in vise and replace all with solid lug nuts.

[@WrenchingWithKenny]

Thanks for watching & sharing your tech tip. Keep wrenching 🔧

[@philspear73]

Enjoyed your intro, very funny! Great tip too!

[@akdenyer]

Thankyou Kenny

[@silent1967]

I use Vick's Vapo Rub on my swollen nuts. 🤣🤣🤣

[@rharris7635]

Neat trick. Thanks!

[@BrianDavis-no6gy]

Thanks Kenny 😊👍🇺🇲

[@mikedaugharty5544]

Great info there Kenny thank you very much for the tip

[@domfer2540]

Buy 19.5 socket.

[@ergosum5260]

Smart! Isn't this how a hex is broached into a bolt head? I would never have connected the two.

[@moseshancock3336]

I made a socket out of a pipe and it worked must the time lol

[@anthonyvon4531]

They also make 1/2 mm sizes just for this purpose. Be it swollen or the cap comes off. South Main Auto has them but there's always more than one way to do a lot of things. In that case though it saves a lot of time from beating a socket on all of them.

[@GregoryBirulkin]

It's a Ford alien conspiracy🎉

[@henryyurkovic893]

Back in the 70s, GMhad them, but those outer shell would strip, and that got difficult if you were on the side of the road

[@onembk]

Nice one, thank you