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Ford's famous 2 piece lug nuts

boB

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I've watched some tire shops "follow the proper procedure" by hammering the lugs on with an air gun, then spot checking them with a torque wrench. Which only does an incorrect spot check that the static torque is at a minimum level to pop their torque wrench. It does not ensure that they are not over torqued.

I'm still on the factory tires and dred the day that a shop has to mount new tires and destroy my rims in the process. I'm leaning more and more towards mounting them myself, but would still need to find a shop to computer balance them.

Until now and hopefully until that day there is not a scratch on any of the rims...
When I had a flat (earlier this week) I took the wheel/tire to the shop. I may do that when it comes time to get new tires, two wheels at a time. They may mess up my wheels but at least they won't get my car! :)
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barron64

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I believe the oem lug nuts are steel with a decorative stainless steel shell covering. That SS cover tends to get loose after being hammered on & off with an impact gun, causing a 13/16" or 21mm socket not to fit. Do not go to the next size up if you run into this problem...Dont ask me how I know. My service guy, at Ford dealership, said the factory lug nuts are junk, and that they see this all the time. They hammer on a 21mm or 13/16 socket to get them off. I did not want to fool with this and replaced all of them, including factory Mcgard locking lugs as new lug nuts are 22mm in size.
 

vernonator

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I have had Fords since 1979 - 4 Mustangs, 2 Explorers, 2 Expeditions, Taurus, Edge, Escape, F-150, Ranger, Focus (Yes I like the Blue Oval). This is the FIRST time I have ever heard anyone complain about the lugs....EVER. So nope....never a problem, you are over thinking it and seem to be looking for issues.
 

kent0464

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I have had Fords since 1979 - 4 Mustangs, 2 Explorers, 2 Expeditions, Taurus, Edge, Escape, F-150, Ranger, Focus (Yes I like the Blue Oval). This is the FIRST time I have ever heard anyone complain about the lugs....EVER. So nope....never a problem, you are over thinking it and seem to be looking for issues.
Same here, have owned 20+ mustangs and other fords through the years. Not saying I like the lug nuts at all, but when properly used they do their job just fine.
For those hopping on the class action lawsuit......you probably will not win, other makers have been using the two piece lug nuts for as long as I can remember. Lol! So basically its a bunch of bitching because the Chrome piece came off and now they got ugly nuts.........
 

barron64

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I have had Fords since 1979 - 4 Mustangs, 2 Explorers, 2 Expeditions, Taurus, Edge, Escape, F-150, Ranger, Focus (Yes I like the Blue Oval). This is the FIRST time I have ever heard anyone complain about the lugs....EVER. So nope....never a problem, you are over thinking it and seem to be looking for issues.
Difference between those past Fords and the new Mustang is probably the 150ft/lb torque rating for the Mustang lug nuts. Your past Fords probably had specs at or around 85ft/lbs. That extra 65ft/lbs of torque means the impact gun really has to hammer away to break them loose, causing the interior nut and decorative SS cover to seperate some. This is what happened to mine. If you don't use an impact gun, you probably will not have a problem.
 

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jacknifetoaswan

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My S197's lugs all had this issue after several years, and within about six months, my S550 did the same. I replaced all the S197 lugs with one piece lugs from CJ or AM, or whoever (not sure of brand), and the S550 lugs with Gorilla locking lugs. The two-piece Ford lugs are almost as bad as the two-piece Ford spark plugs for the early 3V.

JR
 

Sivi70980

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Funny, I just put black Gorilla lugs on because they look better and had no idea the factory lugs were this bad. To remove and install, I used an old school cross wrench and of course, a dab of anti seize on the new lugs. They're all "arm torqued" and checked after a short drive and again after a few hundred miles. All is well here.
 

DavisCustoms

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my 94 F150 has 303,000 on it and still wears it's factory stainless 2-piece lung nuts...
with that being said...
however, on our Mustang I followed 4 easy steps.
1) Remove factory lugnuts and throw away.
2) Install Gorilla lugnuts in black
3) Re-check torque after 50 and 150 miles
4) Never look back.

Before:
Lugs chrome.jpg


After:
Lugs black.jpg
 

DavisCustoms

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My S197's lugs all had this issue after several years, and within about six months, my S550 did the same. I replaced all the S197 lugs with one piece lugs from CJ or AM, or whoever (not sure of brand), and the S550 lugs with Gorilla locking lugs. The two-piece Ford lugs are almost as bad as the two-piece Ford spark plugs for the early 3V.

JR
I would strongly disagree, I would rather deal with 20 sets of deformed 2 piece lugnuts than deal with extracting a single broken 3valve 2 piece spark plug
 

barron64

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I paid around $4 apiece or $80 for a set, for my Mcgard nuts. What did the two piece nuts cost Ford? Maybe $1 each? Guessing here. If Ford bought in bulk from a solid manufacturer, figure cost at approximately $2.50ea? So an estimated savings of $30 a car ...Was it worth it Ford?
 

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jacknifetoaswan

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I would strongly disagree, I would rather deal with 20 sets of deformed 2 piece lugnuts than deal with extracting a single broken 3valve 2 piece spark plug
I was lucky with my 3V. I bought the Lisle tool to remove the OEM plugs, but they all came out with just some Liquid Wrench, or whatever. Didn't need to use the tool, so solid it for what I paid, and put Brisk Racing plugs in with a good coating of anti-seize on the barrel.

JR
 

Sivi70980

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I paid around $4 apiece or $80 for a set, for my Mcgard nuts. What did the two piece nuts cost Ford? Maybe $1 each? Guessing here. If Ford bought in bulk from a solid manufacturer, figure cost at approximately $2.50ea? So an estimated savings of $30 a car ...Was it worth it Ford?
$30 X vehicles sold x years = yes indeed!

Sucks for us, but they're getting some sweet vacations out of it I'm sure.
 

Strokerswild

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Interesting things happen to those lugs after they are exposed to winters involving road salt....

Since they are fully exposed on my new F-150 and I'm in Minnesota, home of winter hell, I ordered a set of Gorillas a month in. I have no time for being stranded with a flat due to lugs as some have experienced.

So, if anyone needs/wants a total of 44 of these (cheap, like new!), hit me up. In addition to the truck's, the set off my Mustang is kicking around in a bag too since they wouldn't work with my custom wheels.
 
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Yeah I use an impact. Just easier. So I guess I will get one piece nuts. Not a big deal. They are cheap enough. Just didn't wanna replace them if they really didn't need to be replaced

Don
 

frank s

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I have had Fords since 1979 - 4 Mustangs, 2 Explorers, 2 Expeditions, Taurus, Edge, Escape, F-150, Ranger, Focus (Yes I like the Blue Oval). This is the FIRST time I have ever heard anyone complain about the lugs....EVER. So nope....never a problem, you are over thinking it and seem to be looking for issues.
Other Mustang forums have extensive threads on this subject. My own experience with 150 or more such lug nuts is that two or three had a loosened cover. That was in the first couple hundred miles of each car's use, after which I replaced all the nuts with either McGard's or Gorilla's.

In case anyone wants some, I have several pounds of S197 and S550 two piece-ers holding down garage shelf space.

None of my experiences, nor any of those reported here can be construed as "over thinking" (sic) or "looking for issues". You seem to be an issue-seeker, your own self. He said, without thinking at all.
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