Blessings Received; Disasters Averted

April 13, 2019

Much gratitude tonight. First things first, Linda and I had the privilege of attending granddaughter Izzi’s induction into the National Honor Society Thursday evening. She follows in the footsteps of her two older sisters, and like them, is eminently deserving of membership. In addition to academics, her integrity, community service, and compassion are compounded by her energy and spirit for living. We are so very proud of her!

In other news, about two years ago I attempted to change the tires on Linda’s car. It was not a fun job. Apparently in 2013, one of Ford’s better ideas was to wrap the lug nuts in a thin sheet of aluminum or stainless steel, I’m not sure which. They were trying to make everything look shiny and new, but when I tried to remove the lug nuts, the sheathing disintegrated, leaving the actual lug nut a millimeter or two smaller than the socket size called for in the manual. The correct size was too big, and the next size down was too small. I ended up hammering on a mismatched socket, removing the lug, then having to punch out the lug from the socket. Five lug nuts per wheel means that ordeal was repeated twenty times. Talking with my mechanic, he informed me that Ford was aware of the problem, but declined fixing it. 

So I went to AutoZone for some replacement lugs. The only ones they had required a special removal tool which was supplied. Each set of lugs had a different pattern to the hex, so they essentially were locked lugs, something I didn’t want, but didn’t have a choice. I neglected to see where they were manufactured, but after today, I can guess.

Today’s balmy weather seemed made for changing out winter tires for summer treads, so I backed the car out of the garage, dragged out the jack and positioned it under the frame rail, rolled out my set of summer tires and rims, fired up the compressor, and was all set for the job. My compressor isn’t big enough to break the old lug nuts loose, so a half inch drive with an extension bar was commandeered for the task. It took a bit of muscle, even with the breaker bar, but they all popped loose. Or so I thought. When I put the air wrench to them, two of the lugs broke off. If the entire lug came off, it would have been OK, but half of the lug is still fastened to the tire stud, and there’s not enough left to loosen them. Major frustration except for one thing: I am grateful that in all our travels over the past two years, they didn’t fail on the road. That could have been disastrous. God protects us, for which we are thankful, but next time I buy lug nuts, I’m going to make sure they were manufactured in the good old USA!