DaveW68

Here are some chrome lug bolts without the aluminum caps that would work on your car. Pretty cheap too.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-of-20-Ch...JUCMj-&vxp=mtr

mercedesbenzs55

Dave, The white over spray is from them spraying another car. I learned my lesson to not take it there. Wife was dissatisfied(and we can't have that!).




Thanks Just1time, that's the socket I need.

mercedesbenzs55

Too expensive, I'd rather keep the originals.

DaveW68

You'll regret not spending $70 for all new solid lug bolts when your caps start spinning and you can't get the bolts off. Then you'll pay a lot more than that just to have them taken off.

Amazing that you'll waste money on a fridge and steering wheel, but won't pay a little bit for the necessities. The ongoing theme of this thread.

Good luck with that!

nycphotography

So MB lug nuts are poorly designed rendering, them unreliable such that you can't depend on them to come off using the proper tool?

This is the first I've heard of this.

DaveW68

Yes, this is a typical issue with capped lug nuts and lug bolts, especially if they are exposed to road salt. Chrysler used capped lug nuts on their LX series of cars (possibly others too) and the swelling caps became a big problem. Buying solid forged lug nuts solved the problem for lots of owners.

When the caps swell, you can't get the socket fully over the bolt head. Then people try to get them off by pushing the socket partially over the head and try turning. Then the cap breaks loose of the bolt head and only spins, thus rendering them useless. It then becomes a nightmare trying to get them off as it isn't very easy to cut the caps off when the wheels are mounted.

I'm happy you were able to learn something today.

nycphotography

In my experience I could always pound an impact socket over the rusted cap and then remove it with an impact. The cap would flake, split and disintegrate, and the lug would have to be pounded back out of the socket with a drift, but the lugs were removable.

Oh, and use penetrating oil.

1bad540

I had one head break off my s550 while swapping wheels. i threw them out and bought solids. madea 20 min job 2 hrs.

mercedesbenzs55

Didn't know this was such an issue. Ill get the solid ones. But does that mean I still need to buy the flower socket to initial take them off?

1bad540

I used a standard cross bar.

DaveW68

Nope. The listing I put up before was a standard 17 mm.

nycphotography

He meant for removing the factory lugs.

1bad540

factory lugs can be taken off with a standard cross bar.

superpop

Ya, this sounds great on the side of the road with a flat tire. Get the 17MM bolts. And yes, 9 year old bolts that have been beat on with an impact wrench several times over their life, and exposed to coastal weather will fail when you least need them too. Cheap insurance.

superpop

Also, if you buy new bolts make sure you get the right ones. Depending on the thickness of the hub on the wheel, you will need the right length of bolt and the right type of shank. If you are buying new bolts you may also want to invest in a set of spacers for the rear wheels, 15MM spacer gives the car a little more sporty look but you will need longer wheel bolts for the spacer. Spacers can be had for around 40 bucks on fleabay.

DaveW68

If he had AMG reps that sat to far in, I'd definitely be getting spacers. But he's got the ugly stock 18's. No need to get spacers with those fugly things since it might look a little goofy. The link I posted has the correct size with stock length.

nycphotography

My MB doesn't have a spare tire. Not sure what removing the lugs on the side of the road would accomplish?

mercedesbenzs55

Don't be hatin' on my banana wheels.

mercedesbenzs55

What year is your Benz? My 2007 has the spare + kit.

Mike5215

Yeah my 2010 had a full sized spare and jack kit.

nycphotography

'08 CLK63 CAB? no spare.
'14 SL63? no spare.
'15 Town and Country frikken minivan? no spare.

The future is here, and I don't like it. Well. I do like the 600HP, so I guess not everything sucks about it.

shak

When I was looking at Infiniti Q50, spare tire was optional for non premium model, I think around $250. Pretty sure if the car comes with ****ty run-flats they now could sell you a car without a spare.

Luthian

My 2007 S550 has a mini-spare and I'm not sure about the jack kit. I was rather amazed that it didn't have a full-sized spare.

superpop

My 2012 has a full size temp wheel and tire with the right size lug bolts for the spare. You cannot use the longer wheel lugs with the spare as it is typically stamped steel and the bolts need to be shorter.

Wodeshed

Subscribed to this thread, mostly because I really enjoy horror movies.