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Swollen Lug Nuts? Did a tech or dealer just scam me?

Thorvald

Thorvald

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Ok this is a new one to me, I’m well into my 50’s and been working on cars/bikes all my life and never ran into this issue… ever and I drove a lot of rust buckets in my 20’s.

I had the truck into the dealer yesterday to get new tires mounted, balanced, alignment and the tech reporting that some of the lug nuts were “swollen” and needed to be replaced. Service advisor asked if I wanted to replace them all ($450!), I laughed and said no just let me know how many need to be replaced.

First mistake, she took this as permission to replace any that needed it… grrrr. Two and a half hours later truck is done and bill for the nuts alone is $250! Of course I lost it (politely), turns out 18 needed to be replaced. Argued with Service Manager and at least had it reduced to cost but was not amused. I rotate the tires myself every 12000km on this truck and only use hand tools to install, never had an issue so this is fishy.

I personally suspect the tech didn’t use a 22mm socket and by the time he ruined half the nuts with an impact gun, it was too late.

—-

In all my years to rotating tires, installing, breaking studs due to stupidity etc, I’ve never had to replace a lug nut due to being swollen… I’ve broken the chrome covers on two piece yes but never had one “rust” or “swell”.

Once I got home I put a 22mm socket on every single nut, yes the new ones definitely went on with a little play in the socket compared to the old ones but still no issue.

Since I still have 14 “old” nuts I’ll monitor those during rotations and if they start to “swell” so that I can’t slide a 22mm socket over them at all, I owe the dealer an apology. If I have no issue I’ll be pissed.

Either way from now on when going to any shop to get tires done on any vehicle, I’ll test each damn nut right in the service bay before I hand over the keys, fool me once etc. Lesson learned.
 
I don't let shops touch my nuts. I also don't hammer on them with an impact at the house. They get broken loose with a 30" breaker bar that lives in each car (with 6" extension and correct socket) and they get final torque with a torque wrench. My light duty impact isn't used to pound on them - only to remove once broken loose and run them down to contact on installation.

BTW, a 7/8 socket is the one you want and will buy you some additional wiggle room. Tire shops have half-size (IE 22.5mm) sockets for this reason.

When I bought my truck last year I purchased a "new" set of mopar lug nuts (ebay, takeoffs for custom rim swap) for $35 because prior owner wasn't as careful and digging nuts out of sockets is annoying.

EDIT: FYI, you can get a set of Gorilla splined nuts (one piece) and solve the problem forever. McGuard is the other name to look for. They can be spendy. Lots of Gorilla knockoffs out there.
 
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100K miles on my truck. Rotate every 5K. Never had an issue with OEM or aftermarket. Always use an impact with 7/8 socket.

You got took.
 
A known issue…electrolysis occurs between the nut itself and the cladding which is dissimilar.
Replaced them on my truck first thing. It happened on the last.
Discount worked for a few hours doing a tire rotation, charged ~$60 IIRC for new lug nuts but no labor. So, I tipped the guys well.
Replace them all now with no-cladding nuts before the problems manifest, it is a job and a half doing it afterward.
 
Money wise, you got took, but that's why they call 'em stealerships. The outer cladding spinning around while the lug nut underneath stays tight is actually a thing.
If you've got shiny wheels you can get chrome one piece lug nuts for a reasonable price.
 
Stealerships at their finest, but I can't imagine why anyone would use the dealer for tires and an alignment... especially when oem alignment specs are garbage.

As @Poolmonkey mentioned this can happen with the clad lug nuts, but it really depends on where you live and how corrosive the environment is.

More commonly, as you suspected, the wrong size impact gun is used. I've damaged clad lugnuts myself with a 7/8" impact (not enough to replace, but the 22mm is harder to fit on them) and now only us a 22mm. I have 3 rigs that use the same lugs nuts and do all the tire rotations myself right now.
 
I had a similar experience at American Tires in CA. They deformed the stainless steel covers on the OEM lug nuts by using a 7/8” impact socket and admitted to me that they don’t even have metric sockets. Unbelievable!
I now bring my own socket and demand that they use it, or bring in the wheels only for re-balance or tire installation. It’s a PITA.
 
I replaced all my factory garbage clad nuts with a solid unit, and this is no longer an issue for me.

Whoever came up with clad lugs deserves to stub their toe every morning they wake up. It’s a terrible idea
 
Trash Panda said:
I replaced all my factory garbage clad nuts with a solid unit, and this is no longer an issue for me.

Whoever came up with clad lugs deserves to stub their toe every morning they wake up. It’s a terrible idea
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It will happen eventually to every nut that gets wet between the cladding and nut, it took ~ six years in mostly dry desert for the Raptor.
 
The dormans are kinda spendy for my tastes.

I purchased some new take-off nuts on eBay for $35 and if treated gently with a 22mm socket, don’t expect future problems. Such as deez nuts:


Or go one piece. Buy two packs of deez nuts…but these are likely fake gorillas and will soon be rusty due to shoddy chrome, just like the cheap Amazon options and the American truck set you found.

 
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Thorvald said:
Thanks for the dorman info...but hopefully with a better design.
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Sounds like you need three ten packs and two singles, so $150 plus tax/shipping. But it's same two piece as OE. Stainless cover cap stretched/stamped/formed over a steel nut. I'm not sure what Dorman's "lifetime warranty" would cover.

1763386162799.png

For less money ($115) you could have chrome one-piece from the top brand. Still crazy money for lug nuts.

1763386324621.png
 
If I had not been present while I friend experienced while sharing a trail recently, I might not have believed it. Here's the full story.

And here's a snip:

Encountering flat tires while overlanding can transform a scenic trip into a challenge, especially in the wild where help is hard to find. At a high elevation along the trail, Paul wrestled with a stubborn flat that tested his patience, struggling to loosen the OEM lug nuts that seemed to swell under the reduced atmospheric pressure - likely due to the sealed chrome covers reacting to the altitude. He tried the factory 7/8-inch breaker bar, but it wouldn’t fit the nut, and a 15/16-inch socket just spun uselessly. Driving down to a nearby town eased the pressure, and the lug nuts returned to normal size, the chrome covers shrinking as the air thickened - a clear sign of altitude’s quirky effects. Moving forward, I’m swapping my OEM lug nuts for solid aftermarket ones to avoid this headache in the future.
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RC 25-391.jpg
 
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