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Those plastic-capped lug nuts... 18.5mm, 19.0mm, 19.5mm..

Help, Advice, Owners' Discussion and DIY Tutorials devoted to the second generation C70, S40 and V50 Volvos -- awkwardly model year 2004 ½ onwards -- plus where to go for advice and discussion on Volvo's sporty C30 Coupe powered by Volvo's ubiquitous inline 5-cylinder power plant.
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packetfire
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Joined: 24 July 2012
Year and Model: 2010 v50 2.4i
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Those plastic-capped lug nuts... 18.5mm, 19.0mm, 19.5mm..

Post by packetfire »

I am not sure how many cars come with these abominations, but 2010 v50 sure does, and a plastic lug nut stinks of "Ford", so I'll assume it is for the whole series built on those chassis.

I'm lucky, in that I've fought with these things before on friends cars, so I had the correct tool - a 1/2-inch drive impact wrench grade double-ended socket with 18.5 mm on one end, and 19.5 mm on the other. Why double-ended? 'Cause you don't know which you will need first.
You'll also need a shorty extension bar, as the square drive is at the center of the socket.

The plastic caps can bulge, and then your 19mm socket won't fit over them, but the 20mm will be too big, hence the 19.5 mm end.
The plastic caps can ALSO come off completely, and then you need the 18.5 mm end for the underlying nut, 'cause the 19 mm will be too big.

And of course this will happen when changing a tire in the rain at night, so having the socket in the car is a great comfort.

Of course the OTHER approach is to spend $14.99 on a whole set of new solid lug nuts, and eliminate the problem before it happens.
For example, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2FCAGY

PXL_20250811_135123943.NIGHT.RAW-01.COVER.jpg

PXL_20250811_135140557.NIGHT.RAW-01.COVER (1).jpg
1982 240DL: Drove it 32 years and 1.5 million miles (sold, even still had mint leather!)
2001 v70 2.4T: The most expensive $1500 car I ever bought ("Volvo Turbo" - what an oxymoron!) (sold)
2004 v70: Far less fatally-flawed v70 - It served well (sold)
2010 v50: Smaller, slightly sportier wagon. Its got a spoiler, so I upgraded with sway bars!

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