chunme
FT West Coast
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Joined: 05/12/2006
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My 06 2500HD D/A 2WD came with really stupid, plastic hub covers. Removing eight plastic 'nuts' just to check the real lug nuts is ridiculous. And now after a couple of wheel rotations the plastic 'nuts' are falling off. Without the covers the hubs look really ugly. So does anyone have a solution? I really don't want to buy new wheels, that would be a waste of money.
Not to be vindictive. But one hears about auto workers being laid off, well if it is the GM design team that came up with this junk, they deserve it. This truck is built to work hard, that means frequently checking safty stuff like lug nuts. What were they thinking?
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Lucky Mr H
Creston, IA
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Joined: 07/29/2008
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I've got an '03 Silverado with the EXACT same cover. I HATE them!
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chadsalt
sc
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While I agree theyre a PITA, I would say get a set from Ebay and dont strip them out this time.
Are you doing your own work? Ive used those stupid covers for years, havent ruined any yet. A cordless drill with the clutch set low works well to save time and not strip them.
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BlackSilver
East of Heaven, North of Hell
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All the grocery-hauler girls convinced Detroit that trucks were supposed to be "pretty", so they bling the trucks up with lots of shiny parts. Toss em. It's a truck, not a fashion statement!
Hans, KØHB & Colleen, KØCKB
Master Chief Radioman, US Navy
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troll3193
SouthWest, MI USA
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I had an 88 firebird with the same plastic covers... They were a pain in the rear then too...
Bryan
2006 RAM 3500 MegaCab w/Cummins Turbo Diesel
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2004 Dutchemen 31BK
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outdoorsman2007
In the Woods - Somewhere!
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There are plenty of simulators that you can buy to spruce up the look of the wheels.
* This post was
edited 09/26/08 11:37am by outdoorsman2007 *
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campercajun
Central Texas Hill Country
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I've had the covers on S10 pickups, Blazers, Suburbans, and now on my 03 GMC 3/4 ton pickup. My wife still drives a '99 Blazer. None of the caps have ever stripped or come off. I must admit, though, except for having to mount the spare, I've rarely ever taken the caps off myself. Discount Tire rotates the tires on my vehicles.
Watching them do it the last time, in front of the waiting room window, I noticed that the technician tightened the plastic nuts on the Blazer caps using a socket wrench by hand only. I asked him about that, worried that the plastic nuts would fall off. He said that the company now required them to only tighten the plastic nuts by hand, and that although they had stripped plenty of the plastic nuts when using a wrench, they had never had anyone come back and tell them that the nuts fell off after they had been tightened by Discount Tire personnel by hand.
And, the plastic "lug" nuts are still on my truck, and on her Blazer, after several thousand miles since the last rotations. So, if you do replace the caps, you might try just hand tightening the plastic nuts. So far, Discount Tire's hand-tightening procedures haven't resulted in my losing any of the plastic decorative nuts, so the plastic caps and "lug" nuts haven't ever been a problem for me, on any of my many vehicles that have used them.
2003 GMC Sierra Crew HD; 6.0L; Prodigy
2006 Thor Tundra 30RL-DSL; Reese Strait-Line & Dual-cam HP
2001 Honda Elite Scooter
Jim & Gayle Bryant
Murphy's Law: "Anything that CAN happen, WILL."
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Peg Leg
Anderson, IN
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I've taken mine off many times since 97. I put them back on with a deepwell socket by hand. They feel like they click, I alway turn them till they "click" the second time. Never a problem. I even painted them and use them with my 19.5" wheels they look great and keep the threads clean.
KA9ATV
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PopBeavers
San Jose, CA
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Tire rotation is free with a $25 lube/oil/filter. As long as my mechanic is trustworthy I don't have to deal with it.
I have never had a lug nut come loose, so I have never gotten into the habit of checking the lug nuts more often than every 5,000 miles.
Wayne in San Jose
TV1:2002 Chevy 1500HD 4wd Crew Cab,Valley Odyssey brake ctlr,McKesh mirrors
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Engineer9860
Eagle Scout dad
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I have a whole fleet of Chevy 4x4s, and the plastic hub/nut covers have never been a problem for me. I just don't see how these things can cause such problems.
The secret is to tighten the nut cover 1 click after the nut cover tightens down. Also use a criss/cross pattern the same as you would use for torqueing the lug nuts.
You guys do torque your lug nuts with a torque wrench, right? 140 ft/lbs on all 1988+ 8-lug trucks.
Don't use an impact gun on the nut covers either. 
2002 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 8.1/ZF6sp RC/LB
2001 Chevy 2500HD 4x4 6.0/4L80E EC/SB
1997 Chevy Blazer 4x4
1994 Chevy K-2500 4x4 C6P 5.7/4L80E
1979 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10
1977 Chevy K-30 4x4 4sp 4.10 454
30 year student of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
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