lugnuts...fake? tires balding?

riptricket · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:53 am

okay so when i went to pepboys to hve my tires rotated and balanced... i paid $40 the first time and have never paid again, they told me two things... 1: we strongly recommend that you stop rotating every 3000 miles and then they showed me why, b/c the tops do not get flat, and the edges keep rounding, and 2: the lug nuts that DC put on the Jeep are breaking off and they suggested buying some real solid lugs.
My questions for you all are 1: should i still go and get the balance every 3000 miles and get a rotate every 6000 and 2: what kind of solid lug nuts should i get... i don't know the size or depth or anything!

thanks in advance!

Dje Ryu · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:07 am

you sure they aren't over-torquing the lug nuts? I don't remember hearing of anyone having a problem with lug bolts breaking easily.

As for what they said about not rotating... sounds more like it's not aligned properly, or maybe you're rubbing the corners while turning? or perhaps the tires need just a little more air pressure in them?

riptricket · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:09 am

i have the bfg at's and i run 32 psi always!... i am anal about checking, hince why i got a free compressor to help check out the pressure...

chetos · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:09 am

riptricket wrote:

okay so when i went to pepboys to hve my tires rotated and balanced... i paid $40 the first time and have never paid again, they told me two things... 1: we strongly recommend that you stop rotating every 3000 miles and then they showed me why, b/c the tops do not get flat, and the edges keep rounding, and 2: the lug nuts that DC put on the Jeep are breaking off and they suggested buying some real solid lugs.
My questions for you all are 1: should i still go and get the balance every 3000 miles and get a rotate every 6000 and 2: what kind of solid lug nuts should i get... i don't know the size or depth or anything!

thanks in advance!

Don't know about the lugs. I wanna know that too. I thought you rotated no matter what but my step dad said that on my mom's old 95 Chevy Cavalier, they never rotated in all 112,000 miles. They just bought new tires as needed because they never showed uneven wear. So who knows???

Maximum Carnage · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:33 am

The lug nuts DC put on the Liberty are decent. But the problem will start when they get over tighten and the cap will break off, exposing a simple nut. Mine went one after another. I bought some at Pepboys they have a chart where you can see what size you will need for your vehicle. The one thing about putting chrome lug nuts they will eventually rust.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:48 am

It's a known fact that OEM lugs and studs are not the best.I switched over to studs from Napa after breaking some and got some "big trucker" style lugs from McGard.Haven't had a problem in 4 years now and I rotate every 3000 miles.Oh the studs/lugs are 1/2-20 thread.

Guest · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 1:08 pm

Rotating every 3,000 miles is NOT a problem, they just don't want you to get the free service. I don't rotate THAT often but it sure isn't gonna cause any problems.

As far as the shoulders getting rounded or other uneven wear like that with religious rotation, that either tells me that you've got too much toe-out (if it's the outside edge) or toe-in (if it's the inside edge), so you need to get your rig aligned. if both edges of the tire are worn more than the outers, your tires are underinflated...however, 32 psi for BFG's is enough.

Ask for a printed report before and after the alignment, too...0 degrees toe IIRC is what the Liberty calls for, and 0 degrees of camber. you can fudge the numbers just a little bit, but just because an alignment is "in spec" doesn't mean it won't wear tires goofy or won't pull.

_UnLiMiTeD_ · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 2:36 pm

i rotate every second oil change and so does everyone in my family. I do not balance them nearly as often as you do because i dont see why its needed. The balace doesnt change if it goes front or back left to right. The machine just balances the tire generically, not as a specific side.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:38 pm

I rotate every 3 to 4000 and do it myself and have over 88000 miles now so thats like 22 times at least, lug nuts are still good , they are using the air wrench and hammering them thats what is tearing them up! As far as when to rotate I would still want to do it at least every 5 to 6 depending on where you live how much city driving or curvy country roads. You should not have to balance unless you feel a problem/ loose a weight or something like that. As far as Pep Boys go ...well I would go with whats right instaed of listening to them

renegadekj · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:42 pm

The only lugs i have broken are the factory locking lug nuts! As for rotating, you shold be fine with what you are doing!

Josh

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:30 pm

Never heard of someone rotating every 3k. 6k is enough for me and my tires are doing just fine at 30k. They probably have another 10k on them but idk if Ill put up with them for that long or not.

Lugs are doing just fine. I use an impact wrench to take them off but torque them back on by hand. They are usually over tightened since most tire places torque them down with an impact wrench.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:15 pm

Jeepster youre anal with washing / waxing and I am like that with rotating my tires! :lol:

But I have almost always done that since I was 18/19 of course worked in a tire shop back then so would just do it to have something to do at times!

corwyyn · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:29 pm

I've lost three or four of the shells off of my lug nuts. I use the lug wrench that came with the KJ to take them off and use a torque wrench and socket to put them back on. Been thinking about getting some aftermarket nuts to replace them, but I'm lazy like that...

Hood297 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 8:31 pm

I've lost 3 lug nut caps already and it looks aweful.

Signcutter21 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:31 pm

broken two caps, not a big deal other than the slight cosmetic difference. However, have broken/ stripped out three factory studs and messed up the nuts or vice versa. I want to get around to replacing a few more lugs that are starting to get the threads mixed up.

Otto · **Posted:** Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:22 am

ive had a cap come off on one of the lugs, has that nice yellow color underneath. I too am too lazy to get new lugs and also because i dont know what size they are. Maybe ill get new ones soon.

Video Guy · **Posted:** Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:13 am

tjkj2002 wrote:

It's a known fact that OEM lugs and studs are not the best.I switched over to studs from Napa after breaking some and got some "big trucker" style lugs from McGard.Haven't had a problem in 4 years now and I rotate every 3000 miles.Oh the studs/lugs are 1/2-20 thread.

I have those same lug nuts. No issues here after a year of service. Didn't like having to buy a new 13/16" lug wrench though, but that's not a big deal. I can show you pic on the factory steelies if you want. Looks good, IMO.

snowsport · **Joined:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:52 pm **Posts:** 1211

I just replaced all the lug nuts on my KJ with McGards, too. (Canadian Tire) Three of the original lug nuts had the caps come off and it can make changing a flat fun, because the capless nuts need a smaller wrench to get them off properly. (image: -30, flat tire, night time, lonely stretch of highway, no cell phone service, the dang wrench won't take the nut off, but just strips it) The right size to get if you are going to replace them is 1/2" x 20 but make sure you get the 3/4" cap size so you can still use the lug wrench that came with the vehicle. Well, my 03 uses 3/4", you might want to double check yours.

Pote · **Posted:** Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:15 am

this all makes sense now. I recently had my ride in for the LBJ recall and had them rotate the tires while he had the fronts off. anyhow, about 3 days later was doing some cleanup on the rims and noticed that two of my lugs were gone and were replaced by the stealership with some ugly corroded and rusted open fac lugs they must have had laying around. I was like, WTF?!?! They didn't even put 'new" shiney lugs on let alone with caps on them...I couldn't figure out if they just grabbed some wrong lugs or had fubar'd mine...well now I know, the caps must have sheared off and they just threw on some seconds. Anyhow, I went back and got two new chrome ones since these just flat out looked fugly. $7 bucks a piece at the stealership!!! OUCH!!! I'll be getting aftermarket ones from here on out... :shock:

Joe Jeep Owner · **Posted:** Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:27 am

Do yourself a favor and dump the factory lugs, once the caps loosen then they start falling off constantly. I kept having it happend and the stealership wants $6-$8 a piece to replace them. I got some good after market solids that look almost identical for $25 which included the spare tire. Havent had a problem since and they look great.

lugnuts...fake? tires balding?

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