Not so. The caps on Jaguar wheels are not meant to be removed; the nuts are torqued to the specified amount with the caps in place.

 

That is absolutely correct. I just removed mine a little over a month ago. The chrome cap is pressed or crimped around the lug nut itself. There was plenty of wiggle between the two parts but without totally destroying it, no way to separate the two pieces. The solid steel chrome plated ones were a big improvement/

 

Sometimes they are called “Happy Caps” I’m not sure why because when they fail and you can’t get the lugnut off, you aren’t happy

 

You're happy if you're selling them!

 

So I had the technician check and was told that it was the two piece design of the lugnuts.
We swapped them with solid lugnuts and there was no movement.
The trace amount of shavings was told to be normal, as part of taking them off and putting them on.

The vibration was attributed to a lost wheel weight from the front right wheel (there was some residual of adhesive).
So my next plan is to purchase some solid lugnuts (the local dealership said they only have the 2 piece kind, and they're $20 per nut) and swap them out.

What kind of solvent (water or alcohol) would you recommend to use to clean the studs and wheel interface?

Thanks!

 

Interesting question. After 45 cars over 50 years of driving and countless wheel and lug nut changes, I’ve never worried about cleaning the studs other than wiping them off with a shop rag.

If you must clean them for some reason, don’t use water, that will only encourage rust. Put some thin oil or WD-40 on a rag and wipe the studs off. Me….I’d do nothing.

 

good to know, thanks.

 

glad it turned out to be a nothing burger! Go for the Gorilla nuts. Looks like the forum guys who mentioned the two piece nuts were spot on.

I wouldnt clean the studs. Just wipe them off with a clean rag. As for the wheel interface, just a little soap and water and dry well.

 

Dawn dish detergent has excellent grease/oil removal properties. Mix some with a bit of water in a cup, so it's mostly blue. Use a toothbrush. Rinse well. May take more than one application if the grime is heavy.

 

'07 XK: One of the two piece Jag lugnuts failed on mine. Amazingly stupid design. Never encountered that before on any car. So I replaced them all with solid chrome plated Gorilla lugnuts #73138 (Toyota spec, $65 set of 25). Cross tightened them with my torque wrench and no problems since. Happy car.

Cleaning grease: I've had real good luck with Simple Green.

 

Dies anyone know what years Jaguar used the two piece lug nuts on the F-Type? Are they still using them?

 

The seperation of the lug nut and the cap is caused by the vibrations of the impact gun. You can see scarring and indentations on solid nuts, as well. Only difference is their is nothing to seperate with a solid lug nut. It doesn't affect the function.

Use a soft bristle wire brush to clean off the dirt and contaminants on the lug bolts, then spray WD-40 or Silicone lubricant on a rag and wipe them, as previously mentioned.

 

That must be why our lug nut covers are still secure. (Verified on a previous post)

I bring our tires into the 'monkeys' at the tire store two at a time, off the car...and re-mount & tighten them myself (no air gun for THAT).



The service writer probably say "Here comes the NUT again" when I walk in. LOL

 

I did the same. Excellent opportunity to give the wheels and calipers a good wash and wax.

 

Yes sir. When I purchased the XJR, It took the better part of a day to get the brake dust off my calipers and dust shield. I make sure to clean and wax, anytime a wheel comes off.

 

Yes this is very well documented and we have hundreds of threads about the terrible design. Yes Jaguar has been using this design for over 20 years now. I have had 2 Jaguars and have replaced the crappy sheet metal covered lug nuts with solid versions as have many, many others. The factory ones will distort and eventually fail. Do yourself a favor and just eliminate this problem once and for all.
Get the solid lug nuts.
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Added to the Christmas Wish List.

 

am also doing the same myself. thanks for the heads up.

 

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I wonder if they got this from Ford, or if they independently came up with the same stupidity.

 

That's an interesting question and I blame Ford but don't know enough Jaguar history to be sure? The reason why I know about them is I had a 2003 Lincoln LS before I could afford a Jaguar and that car had them with all the same failures and problems we have on the Jaguar side.

My 2003 Lincoln LS, 2005 S Type R and my 2014 XJR had them. They are still installing them on current Jaguar models.
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