Lugs and stripped studs/nuts! What do I do?!

[DiveDeep 07]

I purchased some spacers. One set is universal 1/2 x 20 studs. The other set is 12mm studs. What are the stud measurements in Metric size with a 12mm stud? i installed the front ones first, Universal 1/2 x 20 spacers, and put the wheels on. I never installed the metric ones. I stopped when I ran into my problem. I purchased some Gorilla 1/2 x 20 small diameter lugs and attached my wheels to the spacers. Well, the lugs went on fine til I backed one off and saw that the threads on the stud of the spacer and also inside the nut were flattened. Now, I have no idea what to do with these things. Were the studs wrong? Were the lugs wrong size/manufacturer? What do I do? I need your help guys! I know y'all are getting sick of me posting about wheels and spacers and lugs! I am sick of dealing with this! I want them on and completed! Help!

-G

 

[mookie]

Start over?



It sounds like you need at least one set of nuts and one spacer (or both front?). Once the threads are boogered up they're toast.



Link below....

 

[Bill Ellis]

Seems like you should just put the wheels back on without spacers and forget about it. If you really have to have spacers, go to an off-road shop and have them do it for you. Based on your questions and all the problems you are having, sounds like you need more help than you can get from asking questions here.

 

[Eric Pennal]

It sounds like you may have screwed the 1/2"-20 lugs onto 12mm x 1.5 studs. You say you have two sets, so before installing the other spacers, check the unused lug nuts by threading them onto the unused spacer studs without a load on them (while they're laying on a table, for example). If they're the right nuts they should screw all the way down without any resistance. Once you've determined you have the right nuts for those spacers, use them to mount your wheels. If it were me - and I only had one set of spacers to start with - I'd mount them on the rear first. If you still think your Trac would look better with them on the front also, then get another set. Like Mookie said, I'm not sure how safe the boogered-up spacers are, so it's probably not a good idea to re-use them.



If you did get the nuts mixed up, you still probably have a mis-matched set of unused spacers & nuts. If that's the case, you'll have to buy another set of wheel nuts to match your spacers.



The other possibility is that you used the correct nuts, but you cross-threaded them when you mounted your wheels. How many boogered-up nuts did you find - just the one, or all of them? That will answer the question as to which scenario occurred. Chances are, you didn't cross-thread all of them.



Good luck.