Hex Nut The hex nut is the most common type of lug nut. Spherical Seat Also known as a ball seat lug. Where would you use these? Conical Seat The conical seat is a very common type of lug nut. Mag Type with Flat Washer The mag type has a unique look which features a long thread and a flat washer seat which allows them to sit flush against the wheel. Tuner Nut with Hex Socket A tuner nut with hex socket features a smooth outside that can not be loosened or tightened with a typical socket.
Spline Drive This type features a conical seat with spline grooves along the length of the bolt and require a special tool. Open ended Open-ended lug nuts are threaded the length of the nut and do not have a closed end. Commonly found in racing applications or when wheel spacers and extended wheel studs are used. Lug Bolt Many European cars use something called a lug bolt.
Recommended For You. Subscription Confirmed! Look for the latest news stories and features, sent straight to your inbox! Yes, I would like to receive communications including news, special offers, and product information about Nitto Tire products. Subscribe to our newsletter Get our top stories delivered! If you have purchased a used car, these elements might be missing. If so, be sure to replace them, either by sourcing the necessary components from a junk yard, off an Internet service like Craigslist, or from your local dealership.
So long as you have a spare tire, jack, and lug wrench , you can change a tire. Changing a tire is easy. In fact, you're not actually changing the tire; in reality, you're replacing both the wheel and the tire with a spare.
In order to do so, however, you first need to loosen the lug nuts or bolts that are holding the wheel onto the car. To complete this task, place your car in park or in gear should your vehicle be equipped with a manual transmission , and using a lug wrench, loosen the lug nuts that are holding the wheel in place.
To loosen the lug nuts, turn them in a counter-clockwise direction. Remember, righty tighty, lefty loosey. NOTE: If you try this task after the wheel has been lifted off of the ground, you'll find that the wheel simply rotates with your lug wrench, making it difficult to loosen the lug nuts.
Once the lug nuts have been loosened to the point where you can freely spin them by hand, raise the appropriate corner of the car into the air so that you can replace the flat tire be sure to use a suitable jack point; reference your car's owner manual if need be. Most cars include a scissor jack as standard equipment, which can be used to lift the vehicle. To operate this device, which starts out flat and expands into a diamond shape as you raise the jack, you will need a jack handle this should be included.
Insert the handle into the open slot on one end of the jack and turn in a clockwise direction. As you do so, a threaded bolt will force the jack to expand, which in turn, will raise the car. Once the jack has been raised to the point that it comes into contact with the car, take a second to check that it is stable before continuing.
If everything looks good, raise the appropriate wheel entirely off of the ground, but only high enough to allow you to remove it. To prevent the car from rolling, be sure to place rocks or other obstructions in front of or behind the remaining wheels.
NOTE: Be sure to never operate under the car when resting on a jack — only operate under a car if it is resting on jack stands. Learning to loosen and install lug nuts is an essential skill for anyone who drives a car; you never know when you might need to fix a flat. Fortunately, it's not that difficult to learn, and there are a number of tricks that can help you remove even difficult stuck-on lug nuts. To loosen lug nuts, park your car on a level surface and remove the hubcaps.
Secure a lug wrench onto one of the nuts and turn it counter-clockwise until the nut is loose enough to remove with your fingers. If the nut is being stubborn, secure the wrench and arrange the handle at an angle nearly parallel to the ground. Then, use 1 foot to press down hard on the wrench. When the nut loosens up, stop and use the wrench as normal. If a nut is rusted to the stud, you can apply a penetrating oil as a last resort. To learn more from our Master Mechanic co-author, like how to use a wheel lock remover or torque wrench, keep reading the article!
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Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Things You'll Need. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. Remove the hubcap if present and locate the lug nuts. Depending on your vehicle, the hubcap may need to be removed before you're able to access the lug nuts and loosen them.
Hubcaps are usually either attached by metal clips, held on by the lug nuts themselves, or using plastic lugs. If your hubcaps are held on by the lug nuts, you'll only be able to remove them after you've removed the lug nuts entirely. If you try to remove them before doing so, you'll break them.
If your hubcaps screw on using plastic lugs, you'll need to remove these with a lug wrench and avoid excessive force when reinstalling them to avoid breakage. Examine the lug nuts.
The wheels of cars, trucks, and other vehicles will be affixed to the axle with between four and eight lug nuts, used to center the wheel and secure it onto the vehicle. Some European cars will have lug bolts instead of nuts, though the removal process should be exactly the same. On some cars, locking lugs are used to keep the wheels from being stolen.
This is usually only necessary for one lug nut per wheel, and it should look different than the others. These require a special key to unlock require the use of a key to loosen the lock on the end of the lug nut. Using the above diagram, tighten your lug nuts in the correct order that corresponds with the number of lug bolts your wheel has.
You should do the sequence once and then do it again to double check and retighten. You should never perform a final tightening of your lug nuts while your car is in the air, hopefully, supported safely by jack stands.
If you've just installed new brake pads, tighten the wheel bolts aka lugs snugly before you lower the vehicle back to the ground, but always be sure to perform a proper lug tightening when the car is sitting firmly on the ground, all four wheels. You'll get a much firmer platform to perform your tightening when the car is on the ground, but it's a lot safer to be pushing on a big wrench if the car is not on jack stands. If you're a car or truck owner that doesn't do and don't plan to do any serious repair work on the vehicle, you probably don't have a real torque wrench in the toolbox.
We completely get this. A good torque wrench is one of your tool box's larger investments , so few people will splurge on this tool just so they can nerd out on torque specs when they do their seasonal lug nut check. It's actually not a bad idea, but not an investment everyone can or wants to make. To tighten your lug nuts without a torque wrench, you just need to pay attention and say "oomph" a few times. These directions vary according to how strong and heavy you are.
If you're an ironworker that has no trouble moving sheets of heavy gauge steel around the shop, go a little easier. If you're an accountant that grunts as you try to pull that empty in cartridge out of the printer, give it all you got. Using your regular lug wrench, grip the end with your right hand, and use your left hand to place the wrench over the lug nut.
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