Driving while missing a lug nut and stud

ANSWER : Hello there, driving your 2014 Ford F-150 with a missing lug nut and wheel stud is not safe. Without all the lug nuts attaching the wheel it cannot be properly torqued in a safe manor. Your vehicle should not be driven until the wheel stud is replaced and the lug nut reattached. A qualified Technician such as one from YourMechanic will be able to inspect your wheel stud and make any repairs required to make your truck safe again.

ANSWER : Hi there. I’ve seen many vehicles on the road with a lug nut missing and it does seem to work. However, what these people are unaware of is that improper/uneven wheel nut torque is a major cause of brake vibrations. The uneven/improper torque can cause the brake rotor/drum to warp. If the lug nut is loose, only drive it if you need and get the stripped nut replaced as soon as possible. I suggest having a qualified technician perform an inspection to determine if more than the lug nut needs to be replaced and avoid replacing unnecessary parts. Your Mechanic has several technicians available that can assist you with a check wheel nuts inspection.

ANSWER : Anything is possible with enough engineering. The changes you are looking at would take major structural changes and would definitely not be an easy job. You could possibly consult a manufacturing engineer to get more details on how this could actually be carried out and whether it would be feasible.

ANSWER : Hey there, thanks for writing in. All of the lug nuts are necessary. Leaving even one off could result in warping of the brake rotors or drums, necessitating their replacement. If two are left off that puts an excess load on the remaining three and will compromise their strength and integrity. If you need to have this addressed, a local expert, like one from YourMechanic, can provide new lug nuts and tighten them accordingly.

ANSWER : I would have to say that the studs are not reusable if you try and knock them out and then try to reinstall them into the Ford. I would recommend putting in new studs on the Ford vehicle with new lug nuts.

ANSWER : Hi there – I believe your on-going problem is that the center hole in the wheel, which fits over the bearing hub, has a bigger diameter than the bearing hub. That forces ALL loads: standing weight of the vehicle, cornering force, attachment stresses (wheel to hub) onto the wheel lugs. They are NOT designed for this and will break unexpectedly as you have experienced. The hub/wheel mounting must be snug so that the center opening of the wheel is transfering these forces – except for the wheel-attach force of course. If you are able to hold the wheel against the hub, without any lug nuts/bolts attached, and slide the wheel around on the hub, the mounting hole size of the wheel is incorrect. Try it first with the spare wheel/tire(if it is the OEM spare) if needed to see what I’m speaking of here. This is a huge safety issue, and must be addressed first, even if it means buying new wheels. Sometimes – concentric wheel rings are available to resolve this issue. Check with your wheel supplier for these. S/he will want to know both the inside diameter of the wheel center opening, and the diameter of the mounting bore on the hub. Your wheel supplier will also have correct wheel lug bolts or nuts for your wheel tire combination as well.

ANSWER : You may have custom wheels that will require only special thin lug nut types. You cannot put extensions on them. You will always need to use a special kind of lug nut and special socket the put them on and off.

ANSWER : It may be possible someone stole the lug nuts. If you had some kind of recent service done, where the tire and rim were removed, like a tire rotation for example. Then the mechanic may have not tightened the lug nuts properly, causing them to come loose. I’d suggest getting some help from a certified mechanic who can service your lug nuts and ensure that they are tightened to specification.