Lug Wrench recommendations?

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grouch

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A lot of folks don't like the 4 way. That's cool but I still keep one in each of my vehicles. I also put a piece of electrical tape on the arm that fits the nuts on that particular vehicle. I use mine because it lets me put stress on both sides instead of one side of the wrench. When I was younger, I was known to snap studs off.

I make certain when I have wheel work done, like getting tires, I specify that the nuts be hand tightened. I have a '96 Ram 1500. Just the basic wheels. When I went to replace a tie rod end, I had to remove the wheel. No big deal, right? It took me two days, a chisel and cut off wheel to remove the one nut. The other 4 on that wheel, and the remaining 16 nuts on the other wheels, I used a 4 foot cheater pipe and every trick for getting nuts loose I've learned over the last 50+ years, to get them off. All my impacts would just sit there and vibrate.

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The socket was a good one and wasn't the only one I broke. The 19 lug nuts I didn't have to cut off, had to be replaced as the threads were warped. I've only seen that a couple of times. I even broke two VERY heavy duty stripped nut extraction tools.

When I later went to replaced the wheel bearings, the same individual had put those on too. The PO told me where he had the work done and I told him to never go there again. To get the axle nuts off the front shafts, I found a shop that works on coal mine trucks. Extreme heavy duty equipment. The mechanic finally got it off with a one inch impact wrench set to max torque. He even broke one of the impact sockets for that.

So, in short, use what's convenient for you, but make sure they don't over tighten the nuts. At 2 AM, in the rain, when it's 35 degrees F and the wind is blowing up the back of your coat, you want the nuts to come off reasonably easy.
 

DougAMiller

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Agree with an impact wrench on and off at home, with a torque wrench for the final tightening. In 17 years the Tahoe has never needed a road-side tire change. The TPMS let me know in time for the few nails/screws that I have picked up so they didn't leave me with a flat tire. So I've never used the factory lug wrench on it, however, I had only had the Escalade a few months when I ran over a big, sharp piece of metal that flattened the tire in minutes. The factory lug wrench worked just fine.
 

2006Tahoe2WD

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I suggest a 1/2" breaker type bar and a length of pipe. The 140 ft-lb nuts are hard to move with the supplied wrench.
 
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I would also suggest, whenever you have a wheel off, before putting it back on to put a light coat of oil on the threads of the wheel studs before installing the nuts.

I do this every time I rotate the tires. I don't think it really matters what lubricant, whether it be WD40, 2 in 1, Break Free, Light Weapons oil, etc. I would just squirt a bit on the threads.
 

grouch

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I would also suggest, whenever you have a wheel off, before putting it back on to put a light coat of oil on the threads of the wheel studs before installing the nuts.

I do this every time I rotate the tires. I don't think it really matters what lubricant, whether it be WD40, 2 in 1, Break Free, Light Weapons oil, etc. I would just squirt a bit on the threads.

That's the way I was trained. Specifically, 3in1 motor oil. I've heard that on newer vehicles you shouldn't do that as it messes with the torque settings. Granted, on head bolts I don't use lubricant, but on steel threads with steel nuts, and putting them on by hand, I don't see a problem. However, I've noticed newer cars are more dainty.
 

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