MCI wheel lug nut sizes - updated

gumpy · September 02, 2009, 07:06:39 AM

Brian,

The lug nuts are the same as those used for semis. Go to any decent truck repair place and they'll have both inner and outer nuts.

If you have aluminum rims on the rear, you'll need the long inner nuts. For steel wheels, use standard lug nuts.

If the nuts on the bus are not rusted and the threads dinged, you probably don't need all new, but that's your call.

A couple drops of oil in the threads of the nut will prevent this from happening again. Get yourself a good 1" impact wrench if you're going to be removing your own wheels.

craig

DaveG · September 02, 2009, 05:08:03 PM

Craig...you should check out the other thread he started about being pissed off...turned into quite a discourse on torque, etc.

I think I'll pop over there now and see what's new!

gumpy · September 02, 2009, 05:44:47 PM

Yeah, I read some of it.

Torque happens!

I stand by my previous post.

bevans6 · September 03, 2009, 03:06:03 PM

Well, my next door neighbour (long time heavy equipment/truck mechanic) loaned me his 1" impact gun, a couple of sockets, a 600 ft lb torque wrench, I screwed my shop air compressor up to 150 psi, and went at it. I had to take the rear outer off, so that I could get one of the rear inner nuts off, so that i could take it to the parts store to buy new ones. As recommended, they were standard 1 1/8" outers and 3/4" inners, and the store had them in stock. Lovely big new store, "Traction" chain, 69 cents each for the outers, and $1.33 for the inners, which I thought was very good. Also got those ugly green plastic pointers to visually check for movement.

Only the left side nuts were over-torqued. all but three of the rear inners were on very hard. the one at the front that broke my torque multiplier took 10 minutes of hammering, waiting between times for the compressor to recover to 150 psi. I was this close to getting the flame-wrench! All of the right hand nuts came off normally, so the issue was left hand thread related. None of the studs seemed damaged. A lot of work done today, but it's done.

All in all, putting new, plated, rust-free lugs on seems like a good idea, to be honest.

Brian

DaveG · September 03, 2009, 06:34:05 PM

Good for you Brian!

Glad you got 'er all done.

PS did you try the hammer trick on that stubborn one?

bevans6 · September 03, 2009, 06:43:30 PM

No, I didn't - it wasn't my socket! I was tempted, I'll tell you that. I would let the gun run till the compressor started up, then stop till it was up and start again. took at least 10 minutes before it started to turn. I had my eye on my 2 lb ball pein and it was calling to me! some of the hardest to get off were the inner dual cone nuts, and you can't hammer on them to great effect.

Man, those flourescent green plastic lug tabs are ugly, I don't know how long they are going to stay on. On the race cars we sometime use modelers enamel paint to put a witness line on non-self locking nuts, that might work too. A bit fussy for a bus, mind you. On my race cars, the wheel nuts are either self locking, or they have a mechanical locking pin of some sort.

DaveG · September 04, 2009, 07:33:57 AM

With regard to the hammering on the socket, if you have a nice big 'n ugly black 1" drive socket, go ahead and hammer on the outside of it, it won't care!

Another trick for removing the inners is to get a socket that is the 13/16 square that fits the inner lugs, rather than the combo inner/outer socket. This seems to work good as the socket stays on the inner lugs better.

Yeah, I'd 86 those green things...sell them to Waste Management or someone...if you are concerned, paint the witness marks like you said, after all, you are the one gonna be checking them.