You’ve been warned – removing lug nuts without jacking the car can be risky. Here’s a guide on how to do it safely and effectively.
What Are Lug Nuts and What Does Their Removal Require?
Lug nuts are the small, round, Allen-head bolts that secure the wheel to the car’s axle. They’re ubiquitous on cars made in America before the 1970s, and their widespread removal requires the use of a lug wrench.
There are two types of lugnuts: standard lugnuts, which have two hex-shaped nuts on the circumference of their hub, and metric lugnuts, which have one nut on a thin spindle. Standard lugnuts are most commonly found on cars from the 1970s and 1980s, while metric lugnuts are more common on pre-1970 cars from Europe.
If your car has standard lugnuts, you’ll need a lug wrench to remove them. If your car has metric lugnuts, you can use a standard wrench or a torque wrench to remove them.
Some people believe that using an impact gun to remove lug nuts is safer than using a wrench because it doesn’t put undue stress on the surrounding metal. However, there is no empirical evidence to support this claim. In fact, using an impact gun can actually damage the wheel hub and/or brake rotor if done incorrectly.
How to Remove Lugnuts Without Damageing the Vehicle
Lug nuts are one of the most common vehicle parts to need replacing, and they can be a real pain to remove. If you’re having trouble removing your lug nuts, there are a few techniques you can try.
One approach is to use a socket wrench. But be aware that using too much torque may damage the nut or the wheel. Another option is to use a lug nut removal tool. These tools have specially shaped tips that make it easy to remove the lug nuts without damaging them.
Tips for Removing Lugnuts Easily
If you’ve ever tried to remove a lugnut from a car by hand, you know it’s not easy. The nuts are usually tight and situated in hard-to-reach places. In this article, we’ll show you how to remove lugnuts without having to jack the car up.
Start by locating the lugnuts on the wheel. Sometimes they are hidden under stickers or else they are mounted in hard-to-reach places. Once you have located the lugnuts, use a lug nut wrench to loosen them. Be careful not to strip the threads on the nut! If you do strip the threads, you can try using a tap and die set to rethread them.
Once the lugnuts are loose, simply remove them from the wheel. Be sure to clean up any debris that has fallen onto the wheel surface before continuing.