stuck lug nuts

[Eric W S]

Remember to put a dab of never seize on the lugs when you put the nuts back on and you'll not have a much trouble next time.
Jim

x2. I had a similar incident when I blew a tire coming home from a New Years party. Expensive tow. Breaker bar didn't work.

Anti-seize is great. I also got into the habit of loosing the lug nuts at home before wheeling as well. Gave me a bit of confidence on the trail if I had to change a spare.

EwS

[thixon]

Congrats! I was curious how it would work out for you.

[pepe]

heat and bees wax

Torch and bees wax. don't melt the nut though.

Its done all the time on merchant ships, which experience this problem all day. just heat the nut up and hold the wax to it-it will wick in. strange, but works.

i don't know who sells blocks of bees wax.

Erik

[greenmeanie]

My preferred way to get big nuts hot is to use a mig or arc welder. Strike an arc a couple of times and the nut/bolt gets very hot very quick. It is much faster and more effective than playing around with anything other than a gas axe. Hit the stud in the center with some WD40 or whatever smells nice for some rapid cooling and it all comes apart.

Of course if it gets that hot you'll be buying new nuts but it breaks the grip of almost any rust. Are you sure it is only rust or did some tyre place get lazy with an impact gun putting the wheels on?

Cheers
Gregor

[green 'n stinky]

I think it was a combination of rust and overtightening. Strangely, it almost seemed as if the nuts were seized to the wheel where they meet, rather than to the stud (although there was some rust in there too). The "crack" was scary; each time I assumed it was my tool breaking and wondered where the shrapnel got me. Also, each crack was accompanied by a little puff of smoke or dust. Fortunately, nothing broke except for one socket extension, and that piece flew off in a different direction.

As it's been a struggle to remove almost anything threaded on this Rover, I decided early on to use anti-seize on pretty much every fastener, including the lug nuts.

As an aside, it's amazing what some new wheels/tires will do for the look of an old truck!