Automobiles how to Loosen Frozen Lug Nuts on the Wheels of a Vehicle

A number of years ago I had a situation crop up whereas I got a flat, and being in the middle of nowhere with the winter wind howling, it wasn't the most pleasant experience when it came to trying to change the tire. Everything was going fairly smooth even though the cold air made it difficult to handle the job.

When it came time to take the lug nuts off, that is where the problem came in, and I'm sure many of you have had the problem whereas a couple or more lug nuts just wouldn't budge when trying to loosen them. Being fairly strong, I was actually bending the lug wrench because the lug nut was so tight. This wasn't good I thought, and it's possible I might even break the lug stem right off.

With the car still jacked up, I got back in the car and ran the heater so as to warm up and do some thinking about how I'm going to get going, because there were no cars in sight, and it was late. I began to worry that I'd have to either try to hike it to a service station, or stay in the car till morning in the hopes someone might come by and offer some help.

I have to say that I've been blessed with being able to find a way to fix things in a way that makes no sense, but if the end result is that what I try works, then who cares. Warmed up, I once again tried my hand at getting those lugs off, but it just wasn't going to happen. It was as though they were welded onto the wheel. Looking around in the trunk, I found a piece of pipe that I figured would give me some leverage when placing it over the lug wrench handle, but all that did was bend the wrench.

Okay, now what do I do? I noticed a propane torch sitting in the trunk that was used for a do it yourself plumbing job, and the idea popped into my head that perhaps heating the lug nut using the torch might expand the metal enough so that the lugs might be easier to remove.I held the torch steady for about 30 seconds or more till I was sure it was nice and hot, and I knew it was as it started to smoke a bit.I then put the torch aside, crossed my fingers, placed the lug wrench to the nut, and like magic, it came loose like butter.

Being cold, stressed, and eager to get home, I almost cried when the lugs came loose so easily when heated. Who would have thought that such a simple idea would be the ticket? Since then I've always carried a propane torch in my trunk, because who knows what else it may be useful for when getting stuck in no mans land.

Well, as it happened, today I was sitting on my porch reading the newspaper, when my neighbor across the street started jacking up his car to change his tire. He was a grumpy sort who would just about say hello on his best days, and it appeared that he was having a hard time removing the lugs. He began swearing and throwing the lug wrench on the ground with such anger, it was like he might be going postal.

I dared to ask if there was anything I could do to help, and he murmured "my nuts are frozen," and they won't budge. I went to my trunk and got out the propane torch, and offered to provide him some assistance. He looked at me puzzled, and said "what do you think your going to do with that?" I simply "said watch and be amazed."

As I was heating up the lug nut, I knew he was thinking I was a little soft in the head, but when I said "try it now," he applied the same force with the wrench as though the nut wasn't going to budge. Well, "there you go" I said, works like magic doesn't it? "Well I'll be" he said. "How in the world did you ever come up with that idea? He couldn't thank me enough, and as a show of appreciation, he invited me over for dinner with his family.

He couldn't stop talking at the table about how easy it was to remove those blasted nuts as a result of my heating them first. I guess now I made a friend by using my kooky idea to help him out, and the reason I'm writing about it is that I hope that if you find yourself in the same situation, just break out the ol torch. It works like magic, I guarantee it.

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