So to a start of a long weekend I figured I would start by putting on my new rotors and pads from focus sport. I went to use the tire iron that comes with the jack and the spare tire and as I was pulling on the I slipped and stripped the wheel nut.
I'm stuck and have no idea what to do.
i know that there is a cover around the wheel nut but i can't get that off, should i just take it to a local garage and spend the $$$ or is there something else i can do, where i can fix it myself?
stripped the nut or the threads on the bolt?
princess auto sells locking security nut removers this may work on your stripped nuts. The other option is to grind off the back of the stud if you can and pop it out.
If it's just a stripped nut, buy a cheap 18 mm long socket and hammer the thing on and use your socket wrench and a pipe for leverage to break it loose. Though if it's a lock key the tell you the truth, it either welding a nut on the end of that one and wrecking the wheel or take to the dealer ship. I know from experience, I worked at a tire shop. Several lock keys broke on us because of over torque or just not cleaning the wheels enough(corrosion).
When I changed out my winter to summer wheels this spring I noticed the shop had stripped one of the lug nuts. I tried it with the socket and johnson bar but it wouldnt grip. I just put some vice grips on it and hit it with a hammer. Only thing is this was with steelies, not sure if the vice grips would work on the factory rims from Ford or others.
when my mcguard key broke , i used a 12 point 3/4 socket to remove it by banging the socket into the lock and then removing it. You can probably try a 12 point 18 as you're doing a nut.The 12 point socket does make a huge difference... good luck
I had my buddy weld on a nut and take it off that way no damage to the rim at all just be sure your welder knows what your doing