km02LS430

Boy, do I feel stupid. I have a 02 LS 430 and I have rotated the tires in the past. I just can't seem to remember where the lug wrench is stored. I remember that it is a chrome unit, fairly short but it is not in the tool bag???
Any suggestions??

Kansas

I thought the 02 LS430 had a tool box that slides into a trim panel and that the lug wrench is in it.

The little lug wrenches that comes with these cars is better reserved for emergency use.

It's better to use a breaker bar with a 21mm socket and maybe with a short extension to keep the breaker bar away from the wheel.

You'll need a torque wrench to evenly tighten the lug nuts to about 76 ft. lbs. Re-torque the lug nuts after driving about 100 miles -- they really can loosen up a little after a few miles.

I tend to be a little obsessive about this having once been a passenger in a car when a wheel came off.

km02LS430

You were correct. I have several Toyota/Lexus products, some with tool bags, some with boxes. I guess I forgot from the last time and the tool box looked so similar to the trunk mounted cd player in one of my other cars. Oh well, problem solved. Thanks for your help.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

That certainly can happen, but IME, they will loosen up ONLY if the wheel wasn't positioned properly when the lugs were originally torqued. If the lugs are tightened only a little bit -- some people just finger tighten them, which isn't enough -- with the tire off the ground, then the vehicle is lowered so that there's a lot of weight on the wheel/tire prior to fully tightening/torquing the lugs, it can deflect the wheel a little bit and cause the lugs to tighten slightly off-center, thereby not fully seating down. Then, when the car is driven, the wheel fully centers itself and the lugs become slightly loose. I've had this latter happen once when I was in a rush and I I KNEW that I lowered too much weight onto the tire of my A3 without the lugs being tight enough. Sure enough, they worked loose a bit after about 50 miles. I've NEVER had this happen on any other vehicle. I always tightened the lugs as much as I can with the tire off the ground, then lower it just barely enough to keep the tire from spinning while I fully torque the lugs, or use the parking brake if I'm working on the rears. I've never had a lug loosen on any other vehicle, from cars that I've taken to 180+ MPH, to heavy trucks.

I also normally keep a very, very light coat of lubricant on the lug threads and seats, which may help, but I don't always do this.

Jabberwock

I discovered the LS stock rims have a very tight fit over the wheel hub. A little dirt or corrosion on the wheel, the hub, or both will cause the wheel not to seat tightly over the hub when remounted. The wheel lugs should be checked after the car is driven for a few miles to insure the nuts are still tight.

The LS wheels are hubcentric wheels that have a hole at their center that fits closely over a round feature on the hub, serving to center the wheel on the axis of the spindle, as well as bear the vertical weight of the vehicle.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

Certainly can't hurt, but it's also not necessary if you do it right.

The LS has a pretty foolproof system with its shouldered, large lug nuts, so it's even safer than many. A lot of OE wheels, and practically all aftermarket wheels, don't have have the shouldered lug nuts and don't have a provision to index the wheel to match its rotation up 'fore and aft' with the lugs. Even if you have the hubcentric feature carrying the weight of the vehicle, you can pinch these wheels slightly out of place fore-and-aft if you have too much weight on the tire.