RegularGuy

Well i went into Tractor Supply and picked up a 17mm deep socket.

Made like Hank Hill and propane'd the stupid A-hole for a spell, then hammered the sucker on there pretty good.

Still turned it. Im almost tempted to put the torque wrench on and see how hard the dang thing is stuck.


So. Get an even smaller socket and try again? 15mm? or try and find a bolt extractor for a decent price? or just move onto other, more crude methods?

jonb8

Depending on what wheel you got, get a big chisel and a shop hammer and go to work on it, Like a impact the shock of it is what breaks it loose.. good luck

jonb8

Were are you located in SE Ohio... I probably just need to come buy that jeep off you...LOL

RegularGuy

the wheel im trying to get off is from my 1st XJ, they are the Classic wheels (not sure what the proper name for them are) so the lugnut is recessed in. or else id just get a nutcracker or dremel the SOB off.

I might go snap a pic later. since there's a bit of space above the actual stud that the nut extends past, maybe i could whack a chisel in there. hopefully it would fracture the nut and i could chip it out.

Why does the ACTUAL LUGNUT under the beauty cap seem so soft?

RegularGuy

Zanesville area. About 3/5 the way to Columbus from Wheeling.

Well, i tried what i'll call the "Heat 'n' Beat" method. heated with the dwindling supply of propane, then took the 4lb hammer and whacked away with a big screwdriver. this succeeded in cutting notches in the dang thing, but it didnt loosen it enough to come off. 17mm socket jut turned with little resistance.

I have a 15mm socket but it isnt a deep well, and its for a 3/8 drive. i doubt a ratchet will survive this abuse and i dont have a reducer to make my breaker bar accept that small a hole.


Looks like for at leat a few more days, ill be driving R.C. mkII with the is-matched wheels and nearly slick road tires.

jonb8

Your not the first one to get into trouble with those stupid stock lugnuts...Yea there in there were you can't beat on them..I won't lie When I'm in that spot I just burn it off.. Unless you take a chisel and try to split the lug nut by hitting it directly from the side along the stud...

RegularGuy

The neighbor that helped me last night was afraid his "real" torch would mess up the finish on the wheel.

I might pick up a chisel tomorrow, or a bolt extractor if i find a cheaper one. Or a smaller socket, heck i dont know.


In any case, my lead on a roof basket is still in the air; his wife wants to put the basket on the roof of the cap of their truck (?!?). Im thinking of just getting a headlight harness that i didnt get for the first jeep, that combined with the nighthawks should really light up the night. I MIGHT get a muffler tomorrow, but i am also thinking of getting a new red dot for my rifle so....

jonb8

Go to Pick a part, and Pull a part on the internet and check there inventory. There's one in Columbus, Canton and Akron, and your pretty close to all those. If you have to torch that wheel off you should be able to get another one cheap. I go up there all the time, great place to get to know when you own an xj..

stoutxj

A drill will work it's just real tedious. ESPECIALLY without sharp bits. My Camaro had locknuts on it when I bought it that stripped out three keys. I had to use the smaller socket and hammer method on all but one that kept slipping. Just center the drill on the stud as best you can. Drill a small pilot hole deep enough to get past the nut and step it out till you’ve drilled out most of the stud and hit it with a chisel and hammer to break it free. Take your time, be patient, use sharp bits and lots of oil. Should result in you getting the wheel off and not burning up your good rims.

LACK

If its completely rounded off you may have luck welding another, larger nut onto it and putting a big breaker bar on it.

If the wheel stud snaps its not the end of the world, they are cheap and easy to replace.

RegularGuy

Yeah, the neighbor told me to pick up some titanium coated bits. I have a "decent" ( about mid-grade, i think) cordless drill but i still imagine it taking a while and a few beers to get done. Oh, and not a sea of mud outside.

Lack, not too awfully concerned about saving the stud itself, as this will be coming off the parts jeep and the guy who offered to buy it probably wont care that its missing a stud on one wheel.

After work this evening i might run into the other Walmart and see if they have the bolt-out kit. the one i went to yesterday didnt have it even though the website said they did.

Basslicks

Your old wheels are called "Grizzlys"... and man that kinda sucks 'cause there's not a lot of room to get in there with ANYTHING.

Can ya get your hands on some liquid nitrogen? lol

CantDrive55

I've had to use an angle grinder on a few studs as the lugs felt like they were welded on... Love the color, good luck man! Look forward seeing updates.

RegularGuy

Here's the pics I didn't get to post the other day. Its a pain to get pics off your phone to post, when your phone's wifi hotspot is your internet connection!

Picked up this OBD-II connector from Amazon for 12 bucks. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth and through a code reader app, you can view fault codes, engine data, ect. Ive tried Torque Lite, Dash, and Piston.

Torque (paid version) might be better than the free version i had, but its still really unpleasing to the eye, and the interface seemed to be like wading through waist deep murky water. Data refreshing was bogged down and sometimes stopped altogether. But it worked and was free.

Dash seemed like junk. all it wanted was to just be a trail to make you buy the full version, plus seemed to want to separately sell sets of vehicle code data. It actually didnt do anything while i had it, tried to give me a code neither o the other readers showed, but conveniently censored out the last digits of the code and wanted ten dollars to tell me what it was.

Im happy with Piston so far. It doesnt have as many "features" as other apps (they all use GPS, accelorometers and BS to 'calculate' horsepower and other junk) but this means that the download is less than 1 megabyte and it runs much smoother and is much cleaner. Plus it needs only permission to use the bluetooth, which is great for me who values privacy and cringes at most app's permission demands.


In any case, CEL came on and Piston seems to ID it as an 02 sensor issue. Which could be the source of my intermittent rough engine? I can check the code again later.
ALSO noticed that when the thing starts running like crap, the manifold pressure goes from about 5-6psi at idle to 9-11psi. Im not sure if this is a symptom or cause of the issue, since pressure seems to be higher at a higher RPM (which makes sense due to increased airflow).

RegularGuy

Oh, here's a pic of the girls.

Bass, thanks for the tip, I think I think I've heard them called that before but I wasn't sure. The wheels on the 98 seem to be the 'standard' jeep wheels, but they seem different than other 'standard' wheels, unless they changed the way they look with the phase II XJs. such as, old standard steelies had the black center cap, mine has silver.

Im debating what to use the money I eventually get from the white one for. if i get 350 or so from it (assuming the motor, Tfer case, tranny and axels are all still working as i suspect), i may use that to get a small Upcountry-esque lift.