Can't seem to help myself . . .Still NUTS about lugnuts 🤪

1040 Views 35 Replies 13 Participants Last post by 2Seater2003, 5 mo ago

2Seater2003

Discussion Starter · 6 mo ago

Lugnuts, I learned, (info from some Forum members, thanks, to all of you), on my 2003 S10, are, by GM Standards, 19mm.
My 19mm sockets (Sears Craftsman and AutoZone Duralast) both do an adequate job to loosen/tighten them, whether by hand, or by impact wrench.
Adequate = Acceptable amount of slack in the socket-on-nut fit.

I think a socket of size 23/32" will work better, comparing to a 19mm socket.
I call a socket an excellent fit (not simply adequate) as long as it satisfies:
1. Socket goes onto and comes off from lugnuts easily
2. Socket fits snugly on lugnuts, (in particular, more snugly than my 19mm sockets).

It took me a long time to find that sized socket in stock. I spent hours online and on the phone, with tool companies that I know about, or learned about.
Initially I had no luck ("Not in stock"), working with USA companies. It gradually became a mystery to me, what is the big taboo with that BadBoy size?
A Lowe's tool department clerk checked, found that size not in stock, but then asked me, "What is this socket for, anyway?" He understood my explanation.

I finally found a company (Thanks, Google) that stocks one - - a company in Scotland. I ordered one, and it's on the way. Before ordering I asked them how far apart are 2 opposing flat surfaces inside their socket. They said about 18.5 mm. I checked a sample lugnut here, with a metric micrometer, so the idea got a green light.

I will let you know, later on, whether or not it works.

I might get reported to the OCD police. They will come and get me, if they find out what I've been up to.

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needawheel

· #8 · 6 mo ago

did you measure the lug nut wrench that comes with the scissor jack?
none of my 19mm or 3/4" sockets have visibably rounded lug nuts on anything in my experience. you would be better off just snatching some exta lug nuts from the junkyard for whatever peace of mind you need.

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needawheel

· #11 · 6 mo ago

2Seater2003 said:
Scissor jack measurement ? That is funny, got me a good chuckle.

I soon will take some photos (and share them) of the S10 nuts, which I am claiming to be starting to get rounded (decided not to say "my" there in front of the word "nuts", you understand

Thanks for the info, Magic17. I had no idea such sockets exist.

A tool department clerk, who also didn't know what you know, joked "There are no 18.5 mm sockets" and we laughed together, but that joke was on us.

Can you tell more about the brand name of your half-sized sockets? For example, are they are part of a complete socket set. . . or . . . if can they be purchased individually.?

Wow, 1/2 millimeter in fractional inches, is about 1/4 of the way between 1/64 and 2/64 which is a really small increment.

(Per Windows 10 calculator - - 0.5 mm = 0.0196850393700787 " = 1.259842519685039 / 64

im talking about the tire iron behind the seat in the roadside emergency kit... apparently i am confusing which one of my gm products uses the tire iron as the scissor jack's handle...<?>
either way, your concern of rounding lugnuts with 3/4" or 19mm sockets is unfounded...
impact sockets have generally looser tolerances than chrome sockets and you could literally rip a lugnut off with an impact and an impact socket from craftsman, husky, stanley, kobalt, gearwrench, etc then re-torque it and repeat that process for a whole week non-stop without rounding the lugnut.... now if you re-tighten it with the impact and overtorque it then maybe you will round some crap but thats what torque wrenches are for...

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needawheel

· #13 · 6 mo ago

im not scolding you, im helping you... you have to use a torque wrench on lug nuts.
on a '63 i would think you would likely have a rust issue more than anything else.

either way your 'perfect lugnut socket' quest is pointless, additionally because you are also only looking at the sockets... what about the variations in lug nuts? what if theres some dirt or corrosion caked up on there and you are roadside in the middle of nowhere? oops your socket is too tight and you cant get the caked on dirt off or its too tight to scrape the rust...

just find another s10 at the yard next time you are there and pop off the extra lugnuts you need and be done. dont even make a special trip. its not worth it.

on a '63 i would think you would likely have a rust issue:
i had to use a high torque impact on the lugnuts of a vehicle with steel wheels once. it hadnt had one wheel removed in probably a decade and had likely been in a highly corrosive environment to boot. they finally came off with a high torque impact on speed 3. the wheel itself required extensive beating with a hammer to get it off the hub... i even drove it around the neighborhood with loose lugnuts and jerked the wheel around and it still wouldnt budge <not safe>

and just because i feel you may not be aware, you dont want to leave grease, anti seize, or lube on lugnuts or wheel studs because it will throw off the torque wrench. just wire brush corrosion off the studs and lug nuts as necessary and torque them dry.

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needawheel

· #21 · 5 mo ago

2Seater2003 said:
Thanks, needawheel, I appreciate your help. I should have realized that the word "scolding" was not correct. On my part maybe it was TMC (Too Much Coffee) when I wrote that reply. Good idea about getting some extra lugnuts. I may have to go to Phoenix junkyards. There are a couple local ones here, and 3 in Tucson. 2 of the Tucson ones keep inventory and they told me that they have NO Chevy S10 trucks on their lots. The third junkyard did tell me they have one, and I visited it a few months ago, to find it without wheels and raised on supports.

Phoenix is a much larger metropolis and I assume there are many more choices. I need an excuse to drive up there. For me, Tucson is 100 miles NW of us (Interstate 10), and Phoenix is another 100 miles north of there (continuing on Interstate 10)

well in that case just order some in or try to figure out what vehicles use the same lug nuts.
car-part.com has searchable inventory for most full service yards
row52.com has searchable inventory for most you pull it yards

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needawheel

· #35 · 5 mo ago

manbearpig said:
That piece isn't water or dust proof, I wouldn't worry about it. I would find a replacement but I wouldn't tape it up, no reason to really.

mine is loose enough to occasionally jump up and down while driving down the highway.
it might be taped down to prevent it from flying off... i can unfortunately see it happening.

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