Lug Nuts and such

Just a general, 'please check your rig' thingy...Sorry, no pics!

I was pulling the tires off the rear axle on the deuce for a general inspection along with repacking the bearings and seals and liked to have had a cow! I found 3 of 6 lugnuts loose on BOTH axles, not a good thing! And by loose, I mean, put your fingers on them and start turning! I checked the rest of the axles and found at least 1 on each axle this way!

I had checked them all a couple of months ago and all was good, so this happened in about 1000miles...

So, as a friendly reminder, please check your lugs and nuts!

I sometimes wonder if the 5+ thick layers of paint that have been applied on the rims over the 30 + years contributes to the problem.

I would concur. I went 20+ years and never had a lug nut problem. This year, I've had loose lug nuts cause near disasters twice.

Also don't forget to turn the time back....I am up and on here cause I forgot to turn back my travel alarm.

Could it be caused by the nut or studs being threads being worn? I wonder if replacing the lug nut with new ones might help.

I agree that it's a common issue.

Mechanic by trade and have never had a lug nut loosen, everyone is HAND tightening there OWN lugs correct???? (to the proper spec)

To be fair, you can overtighten the lug nuts too. Those who put a 3/4" impact on them and leave the sucker on for a minute tightening the sucker are going to find out what happens to overtorqued studs when you hit a pothole.

Before a big trip (or once a month) check the lug nuts. If you own an impact wrench, 2-3 seconds MAX once the nut stops doing any major spinning, just to cinch it up tight. If you don't own an impact, and instead use the Budd wrench and a 4-foot breaker bar, LEAN into that sucker with your full weight. Make sure they are snug, but don't go to extremes.

And another error some guys make, even me once in a while: lefty-loosey righty-tighty on the RIGHT side of the truck only. (passenger side). Driver's side is OPPOSITE, lefty-tighty righty-loosey. I've seen folks with impacts on the driver's side saying "dammit this just won't come off" and they forgot the opposite rule.

I have seen lug nuts loosen, but most times ,if thay were put on right, the cause was a viberation caused by a bad bearing, another cause was lubed studs and over tighting that leads to stretched studs and buds