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Noah930 Noah930 is online now
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Join Date: May 2005
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Cross-threading lug nuts

What am I doing wrong?

On the Odyssey, it's gotten to the point where almost every time I do a tire rotation (with each oil change), one of the lug nuts has seized on its wheel bolt. I use a breaker bar to literally snap the nut off with the bolt. This only happens on a front--never the rear.

The first time it occurred was when we took in the minivan to patch a nail in a tire. The tire shop couldn't get the wheel off and suggested the previous wrench (me) cross-threaded the lug. I've never done it before in any other car I've worked on, and with no power tools at home, I hand thread on the nuts every time and torque down appropriately. I'll re-torque a day or two later. Since that episode, I am vigilant about not cross-threading the lug nuts, yet still I'll get one almost every oil change that seizes to the wheel stud.

I do all my own oil changes/tire rotations, so no one else to blame.

All parts are Honda parts.

This never happens to any other car.

It's always one of the front wheels, but it'll vary from wheel stud to wheel stud (not always the same one).

The last straw was when the car was taken in to an indy mechanic for a replacement of the steering rack. He had to take the front wheels off in the process to patch a nail in the tire. Two weeks later, I did an oil change at home, and again one of a front lug nut was seized. So I don't think it's just me (the shadetree hack) to blame.

What gives?
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1987 Venetian Blue (looks like grey) 930 Coupe
1990 Black 964 C2 Targa
Old 05-23-2023, 11:02 AM
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