Lug nuts? Lug bolts?

Sep 28, 2004 10 Replies

Sometimes I feel like Donald Duck's nephews are working on the Wonderbus, and I'm one of them.



The Wonderbus got new shoes last week. I had a local tire shop do the installation, and while I was at it, had them remove the dopey chrome wheels the PO put on. Had four stock steel wheels installed. The fellow at the shop said that I better replace the lug nuts, as the steel wheels wanted ball-end ones, and the ones from the chrome wheels were acorn-end.



So yesterday I went to jbugs in Oceanside (CA, USA) to purchase stock



14mm lug nuts. But the dealer brought out lug bolts -- male threads. Not nuts, I asked? No, he said, stock wheels use bolts.

"What you have," he said, "are these," showing me a bag of aftermarket chrome lug nuts, "and these," showing me another bag of studs. "You'll need to remove the studs." And he showed me how the studs have holes in them to accept an allen (hex) key.



So OK, what do I know? I buy 20 lug bolts and putter home. Took off a rear wheel to see what I was dealing with. Five studs sticking out of the brake drum. No allen key holes on the outside. Do I need to remove the brake discs (front) and brake drums (rear) to get to the allen key?



Wait a minute -- time to look at pictures. Bentleys shows studs on all four corners of the bus. I think my dealer has made a bit of a mistake. Hi-ho! Back to the dealer's shop.


-- Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott



71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)" KG6RCR
71 bus uses nuts and studs, not bolts

Your FLAPS made an error

John Aircooled.Net Inc.

Yeah boy howdy they sure did. Went back at lunchtime. jbugs counter man looked a bit puzzled, then said, oops. Credited me back for the bolts and told me, with some regret, that they don't stock the stock nuts. Pep Boys, he said. 14mm acorn. Wait, I said, the tire guys said I don't want acorn, but ball-end. Acorn, ball -- they're the same to me, he said.

Well, acorn is another word for conical, which is NOT another word for ball. The stock lug nuts are spherical on their ends, and the stock wheels want ball-ended nuts pushed into them, not conical nuts. So another mark against the nice but not real knowledgeable counter guy at jbugs.

Hewey, Dewey and Louie.

Non-aircooled content: just serviced my 84 Vanagon's auto transmission. Shifts /much/ better now! Woo-hoo!

-- Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott

71 Type 2: the Wonderbus 84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)" KG6RCR

Yep. Or

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-- Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott

71 Type 2: the Wonderbus 84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)" KG6RCR

I have no clue what I have done to piss you off, but I won't try to help any longer. Good luck.

John ACN

John -- I owe you an apology -- you have done nothing to piss me off and if I have, through my clumsy words, given that impression then I am very sorry! I feel that you are one of the good vendors in in the ACVW market, you give good advice and have always taken good care of me.

-- Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott

71 Type 2: the Wonderbus 84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)" KG6RCR

I "think" John got pissed off because you pointed out another source for the part you need for a lesser price. Life as we know it will

*probably* continue. Glad I could... be the impartial voice of reason. :-)

Maybe it was something I said in another thread. I don't always choose my words skillfully.

-- Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott

71 Type 2: the Wonderbus 84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)" KG6RCR

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