Surface Rust on Lug Bolts
 

I recently started seeing quite a bit of surface rust on my lug bolts. This coincided with having recently cleaned my wheels with Sonax wheel cleaner. I used this product once before and didn't get this effect, but I think I sprayed more of it directly on the lug bolts this time. I assume they have a rust preventative coating, so I'm wondering of the Sonax compromised it.

Regardless, the rust has to go. I considered trying to paint/coat them with something, but I doubt I would get acceptable results. Looks like I need to order 20 new lug bolts. I think about $4.50 each is the best price I have seen for OEM. I saw an Amazon seller with a set of 5 Bilstein brand (made by FEBI) for $18.50 + free shipping.

Would you buy the Bilsteins for a little cheaper, OEM for about $90, or something else?

Why did I all of the sudden get this rust? I have OEM metallic pads, but always have, and just now got the rust.

I have a set of new Centric E-coated rotors and Centric Posi-Quiet ceramic pads waiting to go on, but mechanic said my old pads are still fine, so we haven't been in a hurry on that and I am planning to paint my calipers with black gloss G2 brush on kit first. There is a little surface rust on the calipers as well, but that has been there longer.

Why not drop the bolts off to a local powdercoater and have them properly powdercoated? They will mask the threads off and you'll probably pay $1-2 apiece

I bought some plastic caps that fit over the lug bolts and are black to cover up the rusty look of the lug bolts - on my previous cars I had chrome bolts but I don't think it fits this X5

I don't think you need to buy a whole new set of lug bolts personally

I haven't had any rust issues with mine but they're weathered and faded. They appear to be black anodized rather than powdercoated. I often wondered if gun blueing would work. I don't have any but worth a try maybe.

I thought about that, but not sure how quickly I could get them back. This is my only vehicle, so can't go long without it.

These are what I have on my bolts - I take them off periodically and clean the bolt holes and the plastic covers and they seem to hold up great, been 4+ years

Lug Bolt Cover 19mm Black Set

Have the same. It's a black oxide finish (Fe3O4) since its steel. There are lots of DIY on gun smithing and knife making sites on how to get a nice black oxide finish. The short version (haven't tried yet) is boil in vinegar (suggest doing this outside if you want to remain married :-) and then dry and seal the porous finish with some sort of wax, oil or lacquer.

An aggressive cleaner will definitely strip off the sealer and let red-brown flaky rust (Fe2O3) start.

OT but On Topic....one of my Iron dissolving wheel cleaners now has a disclaimer sticker that says don't use on Pcoat Wheels.

I've used it on plenty, so I suppose like any product, it's really up to the user using it ....

I keep my lug bolts (entire wheels, actually) covered in a fine layer of brake dust. No rust problems so far.

Here's an example of results using gun bluing solution(s)

:thumbup::thumbup:

I think I will try some cold gun bluing stuff when I have the wheels off to paint the calipers. Will give me something to do while the paint dries. I'm also planning to clean my wheel barrels real well while they are off.

What color are you painting your calipers?

Gloss black. I thought about red, but didn't want to pose like I had BBK.

I just bought a set of used lug bolts on ebay for $13 and I talked to a local powder coating company who will coat them for $2 each. The used ones are in a little better shape than mine and this way I don't have to have any down time. He cautioned me that it will add a little thickness, but said I should be able to still use the same socket size on them.

BMW Lug Bolts Set of 20 E53 X5 | eBay

I'm thinking ceramic coating might be better then PC for the application IMO

People powdercoat calipers and seems to work just fine - lug bolts I dont think get hotter than calipers so IMO ceramic probably not necessary

I would just be concerned about the coating chipping off after a short amount of usage.

I'll ask them about ceramic coating. I was wondering how PC would hold up to lug wrench and especially impact wrench.

^I haven't used an impact wrench on lug nuts ever - this isn't an axle nut its 101 ft lbs lol -an impact will mar the finish on factory bolts as well

PC will likely wear/chip along the sharp edges from the lug wrench especially at 103 ft lbs. But its only $2 per, it is worth a try.

I'm guessing most shops do use an impact wrench because it is quicker.

My X has seen a shop twice in 4.5 years of ownership mostly for reasons like that

I'm with RB.

NOBODY has touched my X since I bought it (even fueling). 6 yrs running.

Wheels/tires are brought to tire installer (Classic BMW).

A vehicle is no better then the lamest tech that has worked on it.

Already got the used bolts in the mail today. No rust, so I guess they are already better than what I have. Definitely some wrench wear on them, but the powder coater guy said they would clean them and then blast them down to a metal surface. I didn't realize they have a movable cone on them, but no need to coat those. The threads look fine...

https://s31.postimg.org/k08v8ob3f/20160701_213811.jpg

^Yep the E53 bolts are sort of special, moveable cone and super short threads (19mm or so IIRC) - i'm sure the powdercoating will come out great - I'm actually considering it myself so I can take the plastic bolt covers off and be able to get dirt out of the lug hole crevices easier

Got the bolts back from Pro Kote Indy today - they turned out great! They coated the movable cones also, so they aren't really movable any more.

Here are the 'after' pics:
https://s31.postimg.org/5jo1hphtn/20160708_161912.jpg

https://s31.postimg.org/l3kuundsr/20160708_161947.jpg

Nice! How much did it cost? I inquired from a local powder coating firm and they said nada, will be too thick to fit:dunno:

I always wondered what purpose the moveable cones were on the lug bolts - this car is the only one I know that has them

Stops the twisting force tearing up the alloy wheels (or the finish on the wheels). The cone sits in the socket on the wheel and the bolt turns inside the cone when torquing it up.

That's the theory anyway... :rolleyes:

$40 even. I just tried one of them with the lug wrench that came with the car and it doesn't fit. Got out my 19mm impact socket and that fits fine, but I was going to try not to use the impact wrench. I'm going to take one with me to Pep Boys and see if it fits in a standard 4-way.

I picked up a 4-way tool and the 19mm socket on it fits them fine also.

Well, it turns out that the lugs on my X5 are 17mm and the ones I bought and had powder coated are 19mm. The new ones thread in fine - threads are the same length, 32 mm from bottom of cone to the end. The only thing that makes them longer is the 19mm head is 13mm tall and the 17mm head is 10mm tall.

https://s32.postimg.org/7vevqkq4l/20160711_194629.jpg

My lugs are 19s

The lugs and the lug wrench that came with the car are 17mm. Another funny thing is that it came with 18" sport rims (Style 131) from the original invoice (255/55R18 tires), but my spare is a different type of wheel and it is 17" (235/65R17 tires).

Does that tire size difference make up for the different wheel size? I heard it can be bad news for the transfer case to run a different sized wheel.

255/55/18 doesnt fit in the spare wheel well. 235/65/17 and 255/55/18 have the same rolling diameter. The factory lug wrench in mine is 19 as well. Maybe someone swapped out the original as well as the bolts? Or maybe mine is the weird one.

I have this set up on my '05 and I assumed this was the reason.

But here's the thing. If the wheels are the same rolling diameter, why DOESN'T the 18" fit in the wheel well? :dunno: :confused:

It's not a width (or height when laid over) issue, as there is a threaded stand-off to hold up the trunk floor.

Reeks of cost saving to me. Which is fine - I understand that too. :rolleyes:

And a 17" (style 130) is WAYYYY better than a space-saver! :rofl:

It is a width (height) issue. You cannot close the floor over the wheel. It just barely doesn't fit. If the wheel well was an extra inch or so deeper you could make it work. I found that out the hard way when I bought a spare wheel and tire to match.

Thanks for getting the length from bottom of cone - I actually may just buy a set of 20 Black bolts from a retailer or get mine powdercoated as well - maybe next year when I get the calipers and carriers powdercoated I'll get the lug bolts done

I painted my calipers the other day with the G2 self-leveling brush on and I'm real happy with the results and ease of application. The picture below doesn't really show how true black and consistent the finish is because it was in bright sunlight and they were still drying.

https://s31.postimg.org/hj69b3v63/20160718_004104.jpg

My mechanic is going to install my Centric e-coated (black) rotors this week, which should look nice with the black calipers (and it's a black X5). I didn't put the new lugs on yet since I knew the wheels will be coming right back off, but they will go on after the brake job and probably won't need to wrench them again until I need tires in 20K miles or so.

I just got in my daily Amazon purchase to protect the lugs - non-marring lug nut socket:

https://static.summitracing.com/glob...-w32924_ml.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-T.../dp/B00H8A57LW

These are my new rotors:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....LL._SY679_.jpg

Yes, once it is all together, I will post pics of the whole package, with my Style 131 wheels!

This is the thread for you then! ;)

Great job on the rotors and calipers - I also did mine 2 years ago with G2 paint - I love that stuff, it holds up great - when I overhaul my brakes next year (same Centric rotors as you) and actually remove the calipers and carriers, I am going to clean them and give them a fresh second coat of G2 to get some of the spots i missed, and do each axle on separate weekends with 2 kits of G2 to be sure they look perfect when done

Hey guys - so if I were to get some Black Nickel plated Grade 10.9 bolts from here (funny enough this is where I got the lug bolt covers from) -

Black Lug Bolt 14mmx1.50 Conical Seat 28mm Shank


http://www.ezaccessory.com/v/vspfile...os/954BK-2.jpg


Our size is 14 x 1.5 conical bolts, and the thread length they have are 28mm and 33mm - which is better and closest to OE? I have purchased Chrome lug bolts for 2-3 other cars on this site and they held up great over the years.

I didn't price the OE lug bolts - although I wonder if the black nickel plating, grade 10.9 bolts might be more of a durable finish than OE

Both my old lug bolts and the 19mm bolts I bought and had powder coated were 32mm from the bottom of cone to the end. That was my measurement - maybe it's really 33mm.

^ I'm wondering if the OE finish might be nickel plating??

Thanks! I'm sure the 1mm difference isn't a big deal - if it was more than 3-4mm I might think about it.

You know what I'm not sure what the OE finish is but I know they don't look as nice as yours even when you get new ones from the dealer :)

I could try the aftermarket ones for a while and see how they hold up - and then I'd have my OE bolts that I could powdercoat to have as spares if I needed to -

RB, the OE bolts have the floating pinch cone that these aftermarkets do not have. So don't be surprised if these are harder to torque or scratch the wheels a bit (though I doub't thats much of a care since its hidden by the bolt head anyhow)

^Yeah thats kinda what I thought - I'm fairly certain under my lug bolt heads now, there is some scratched paint -

Finally got my Centric Premium High Carbon e-coated rotors and Centric Posi-Quiet Ceramic pads installed, along with new control arms and ball joints at the same time. When the wheels went back on this time, we used my powder coated lugs. I like the whole look with my black X5 - black calipers and black hats with my perfectly black lug bolts.

Now I need to clean up these wheels again with the BMW wheel cleaner I picked up (dealer sells for $11, much less than Sonax and supposed to work better). If you click on the thumbnail at the bottom, you can go hi-res and see every imperfection on my 131's.

https://s9.postimg.org/7rn21blwv/20160812_203252.jpg

https://s9.postimg.org/u3kuupl0r/20160812_203252.jpg

RB - I'll drop the old lug bolts off at the powder coater on Monday.

RB - here is the before and after of your lug bolts. It looks like the black I selected is more glossy than what they did mine with - I hope you like them. If not, I bet someone on here will take them! I am wrapping each individually and will take them to the post office today.

(thumbnails will get you the hi res images)

https://s4.postimg.io/dnm8w983h/20160815_152006.jpg

https://s4.postimg.org/oag21og8p/20160815_152006.jpg

https://s4.postimg.io/cl1cd9a6l/20160819_141244.jpg

https://s4.postimg.org/pcfijrjyh/20160819_141244.jpg

Looks like they glass beaded the zinc coating off in the threads. They will rust like crazy there!

Tim I'm sure they will look better than the rusty bolts that are on there now - worst comes to worst I have a spare set that I can get coated in a more semi-gloss black if they look out of place

But honestly they should work great, the bolts are recessed into the 20" wheels anyway, the gloss black should clean up nice!

Thanks again man, and not too worried about the threads being bare, a touch of anti-seize on the threads should work fine to protect them going forward -

Look forward to getting them on my X!