Came to change the front brake pads on my sons fiesta which requires using a 19mm socket, the said socket would not fit over the wheel nuts and a 20mm one was to large. Did a bit of research online and apparently with time, some sort of chemical reaction happens to make said nuts expand.
What you have to do is hammer a cheap socket onto the nuts undo the item to halfway ish along the stud then tap the socket side to side to get it to come off the nut, then when refitting the wheel a new set of nuts are fitted.
If you have a 5-10 year old Fiesta, go outside now and check your nuts arenât swollen
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Must have had the telescopic wheel wrench for about forty years now, well before a guy had to check for swollen nuts
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That wheel looks illegal on that car. Is it?
Illegal in what way Bruce, my son had four new tyres fitted three months ago there is 7mm of tread on that tyre
Probably due to the cheap materials they are using now Spitty.
My daughter got a flat tyre and called for Dadâs assistance.
I couldnât undo the wheel nuts because they had been put on with one of those air guns.
I even had a âstand onâ wheel nut spanner but none of us could remove the nuts, even some burly passer byesâŠ
Plan BâŠUse my foot pump to put enough air in to get her to the garage.
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just the title, âswollen nutsâ ouch!!!
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Rule # 1, In Marine Engineering.
If in doubt.
Of what to Clout.
Reach 4 The âManchester Spannerâ.
But say Nought.
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I thought the same ⊠I was expectting it to be about squirrels or something.
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OUCH That sounds painful
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Did the right thing, Motoring, Motoring Chat / Discussions.
Youâre lookinâ swell, Dolly
I can tell, Dolly
Youâre still glowinâ, youâre still crowinâ, youâre still goinâ strong 
The wheel appears to extend beyond the mudguard. ie sticks out beyond the side of the car so is a danger to pedestrians.
Of course that may not be illegal in the UK but it is in NSW.
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Yes it is illegal here in the UK as well.
Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations
Nothing Fandango with the sons Fiesta, its standard Ford, it must just be the way the photo was taken.
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Since you were asking SpittyâŠ
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That is termed âoxidationâ of the steel Spitty and is to be expected if full maintenance is not exercised including the braking system.
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That wouldnât on my Beamer!!
On most cars these days they donât have âWheel Nutsâ they have âWheel Boltsâ and they locate and screw into a threaded hole in the wheel hub, and therein lies the problem.
They seem to deteriorate quicker than the old wheel nuts. Not only does it make them hard to undo due to the corrosion in the thread, but even the head of the bolt lives in a small recess in the wheel trim making them more prone to damp conditions.
Should be made of stainless steel in my opinion.
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Stainless Steel work hardens and becomes brittle, you donât want your wheels falling off. Same reason as you donât use stainless steel bolts on a towing hitch.
Anyway I think the problem in the OP is the nuts holding the brakes on not the wheels. (could be wrong) Wheel nuts donât get hot.
There are lots of different recipes and combinations of metals for making stainless steel Bruce, some is made for hardness and more brittle, some is made to be softer and springy, and some is made to hold all the crash barriers together on the motorwayâŠI donât suppose they want them falling to pieces any time soon either.