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Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 3:36 am
by stephen ollerenshaw
My nuts have been out in the rain and have suffered from a lack of regular oiling which is now becoming an embarrassing problem. :?

I have no hub caps but the wheel nuts are standard steel and after 2 months of the UK summer they are starting to show surface rust.

Can I just replace them with alloy versions that have a closed design to cover the stud? I am just concerned about messing with the wheel nuts from a safety perspective.

Also, the exposed parts of the rear hubs are also starting to rust are there any caps available for these?

Or maybe I should just buy a set of hubcaps...

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 7:04 am
by C J Murray
Rusty nuts are better than no nuts. :wink: If you have steel wheels I would stay with steel nuts just because I have never seen alloy nuts used with steel wheels so I naturally fear that everybody knows something that I don't know. In other words, I don't know. I do use alloy nuts on my alloy wheels on my B coupe. As for rust on steel lug nuts and the axle nuts, I get them cad plated and they do not rust.
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Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 2:16 pm
by Mike Wilson
If you don't want to use the hub caps, I agree with cad-plating or for a different look, black chromate.

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 2:46 pm
by Tom Tate
I found a set of chrome lug nuts on the internet some years ago so I could stop chasing the rust off the stock pieces. It also made the Fudge Rudge wheels look better.

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 3:50 pm
by stephen ollerenshaw
Thanks for the tip on Cad plating.

I love the "fudge rudge", had a quick look online and couldn't find an obvious supplier - are they still available as an aftermarket? Otherwise I might look into getting some made for me.

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 4:24 pm
by Tom Tate
They were originally a VW accessory. They show up from time to time on Ebay.

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 4:46 pm
by Jeffrey Leeds
If nothing is too good for your tub, Titanium Open-ended Lug Nuts are the way to go.

Light weight, strong, and virtually un-stainable for no maintenance:

http://www.world-motorsports.com/titani ... ended.html

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 6:33 pm
by C J Murray
$260 a set, I hope. :shock:

Aluminum is lighter.

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:09 pm
by Jeffrey Leeds
But not as strong, and certainly not as shiny. 8)

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:24 pm
by C J Murray
That's ok I guess but I use beryllium alloy for my lug nuts. 8)

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 7:37 pm
by Jeffrey Leeds
You are always one step ahead of the pack, Cliff

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 4:07 pm
by Edwin Ek
That is $260 for the set. Cliff, are you joking or serious about beryllium?

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 5:10 pm
by C J Murray
Hi Edwin, I was just kidding. Mine are aluminum which are very light. The ones on my 911S have all been trouble free since 1967 but I do worry about the quality of the aftermarket ones on the 356. I do keep the studs greased so that the nuts don't gaul. Somehow I have always been nervous about using aluminum for lug nuts and it's only been 50 years for the 911S so they may fail yet. I use steel nuts on the race car.

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 10:30 pm
by M Penta
I'm using magnesium(?) 911 nuts, not sure if wide 5's take a different nut. Nice nuts, but as Cliff pointed out have not seen them used with steel wheels before. They are scary light but proven strong in racing applications.

'Edit' They are actually aluminum. I used them on an Audi hill climb car with no problems (thankfully!), and if Cliff and others use them on they're race cars they must be plenty strong.

Re: Oh no, I have rusty nuts

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2016 12:12 am
by Dave Erickson
If you want to keep the stock nuts looking good, you can buy a Parkerizing kit from Brownells:
https://www.google.com/search?q=brownel ... g&tbm=shop

It is very easy to apply, if you can borrow a small stainless steel pot from your wife to heat the solution in ;<)

Then to duplicate the original factory wax coating, squirt some LPS-2 or CRC3-36 on the nuts and let the solvent evaporate.