Left hand threaded wheel studs?

[Guest 31tudor]

I was playing with my Buick this weekend (hopefully you were too) and tried to inspect the brakes. I turned left on the front passenger side lug nuts and they wouldn't budge. I tried turning the to the right slightly to tighten them before loosening, but there was a lot of resistance there too. I tried the passenger side rear with the same results.

My question is this: Did Buick use left hand threads on the passenger side wheels? (My car is a '62 Invicta.) A friend of mine (a Mopar freak) told me that "lots of manufacturers in the 60's used left hand threaded lugs on the passenger side of cars." I thought only Dodge did that, and only on a couple of cars.

I hit each lug with penetrating oil and will let them sit for a few days, but wanted to ask if there was some off-chance that they were lefties before I crank hard enough to either break the lug off or screw up my aluminum drum.

Any input is appreciated.

[Guest brh]

I use to change a lot of tires in the 70's and the only car we would watch for was Mopar, and I seem to remember only on the spindle nut, pass side. I do not recall any G.M. having lefties. Twas a long time ago.

[palbuick]

Your were correct about the left hand threads on your Buick, I believe that Buick used left hand threads from 1961 until 63, pon all full size models. Try using a long breaker bar with a deep well socket to break loose, but gently.

Jim Schilf / palbuick@aol.com

[brad54]

Yup, Mopars are famous for that. A whole lot of guys snap off wheel lugs!

Do you have bolts or studs and nuts? If you break off a stud, you can press it out of the steel hub behind the aluminum drum.

Incidentally, Mopar also used left hand threads on ring gears in the rear end. A whole lot of guys snap those off, too.

-Brad

[NTX5467]

There was a solid engineering reason for the rh and lh studs on the early Chrysler products, but it turned out it was not the issue it would have been suspected of being. Along about 1970, Chrysler changed to what everyone else was doing back then. I wasn't aware of the ring gear bolts, though.

NTX5467

[Pat Baysinger]

My '63 Electra has "backwards" threads on the drivers side, and regular threads on the passenger side. If this doesn't sound right to other '63 owners, then mine are probably not correct.

[Guest Skyking]

I had the left threaded studs on my Invicta. When I added the road wheels, I changed the studs to right hand threads to fit the new chrome lug nuts. This was done 13 years and 24,000 miles ago without any problem. I don't understand why they used left threads in the first place.. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

[our51super]

On a '57 Cadillac we owned the lugs were stamped with an "L" - they were all left hand thread. Might be worth your while to check for this stamping.

Cheers!

[poci1957]

Pontiacs used LH threads on the DRIVERS side until 1963, then they changed to RH thread all around. The studs are marked with an "L" on the end. Todd C

[Guest 31tudor]

Thanks to everyone for their posts! I still haven't gotten around to looking at it again, but I appreciate everyone's input!!!

[Guest COMPACTBC]

If your drivers side studs are stock (never been replaced)they are left hand threaded and will have an "L" on the end of the STUD. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

[Guest sintid58]

I was told by a Chrysler dealer that the left handed studs on one side of the car was to keep the nuts tight. The thought was with the torque of the car taking off would tighten the nuts. Maybe that had something to do with the left handed threads on the differential as well.

[NTX5467]

The left handed studs did have an "L" stamped in the center of the stud, only thing is that not too many people who were unfamiliar with those cars KNEW to look, but did after the nuts would not come lose. Then, those that did know about them stood by and snickered.

Seems like the theory about using them in the first place had to do with centrifugal force causing them to allegedly loosen with use, hence the tightening motion should be in the direction of normal wheel rotation. I suspect that if they were only marginally loose, that could happen, but the combination of clamping force AND friction between the lug nut and the wheel's lug nut tapered hole probably prevents them getting loose when the tightening direction didn't match normal wheel rotation.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[Guest 31tudor]

So is the general consensus here that the left-handed studs and lug nuts were on the right side of the car, and right-handed studs and lug nuts were on the left side of the car?

It would seem that mine may be installed just the opposite, which is entirely possible considering the car has seen better days.