Hi guys... Today was a Lexus day. My hubby was off from work so we went to JM Lexus to have my personalized settings done. I took pics but will post those on my new web site in a week or less.

This afternoon, my hubbie and I had yet another relationship enhancing task, paint the IS350 calipers. We split the work, he did the front wheels, I did the rear, but he had to help jack up the car. Fair enough. He did the front wheels, no problems. My turn. I started with the passenger side rear wheel. Sure enough, one of the lug nuts was difficult to get off. Hummm... I handed the 3 foot long wratchet to my sig other. He immediately realized that the lug nut was not put on correctly and it was cross threaded when the port installed the G-Spiders. Bottom line, the threaded stud broke in half with one portion in the wheel hub and the other in the lug nut.

My hubby called our Lexus master mechanic who operates a private shop and he said no problem. $100 between labor and parts and it will take about an hour to fix. The parts are being ordered tomorrow and I'll have it fixed either tomorrow afternoon or Thursday sometime. If we take to the dealership, I know they will say that I did it when we took off the wheels. I rather just pay the $100 and have our Lexus specialist take care of it. Besides, he is closer than the dealer.

So for the next day or two, I'll be driving with only 4 lugs on the passenger rear wheel. Is that o.k.? I presume no damage would be done. Anyone have info on this? Thanks....
PS: Here are a few pics. BTW... I torqued every lug to exactly 85lbs each.

 

Now for the rear. This was actually fun to do, but I'd rather be shopping or at the beach!

 

Here is the broken lug. If you see any paint on the rotor, it was burned off after a drive around the block.

 

wow, nice work

 

I wonder how will it look like if I painted them GFM

 

for safety reasons..i suggest against driving with 4 lugs...

 

Our Lexus specialist said it was no big deal for a day or two. Anyone else?

 

did you paint the air nozzle cap too?

when i went to get my brake tsib done, the dealer overtorque two of my lugs. good thing they didn't cross thread it, but it took my dad, me and a 3 foot breaker bar to break the lug loose. i'm actually very surprised we didn't break anything. it was on that tight!

 

Driving with one lug nut missing is not going to cause any problems for a day or two. What kind of paint did you use for the calipers?

 

You'll be ok for a few days. Hell I know people that drive like that for a while LOL

 

Calipers look great.

Do you having a locking lug nut? Alot of members, including myself, have had problems with those.

 

Thanks guys. I feel more confident driving "lugless" now.

No, I did NOT paint the valve caps blue. LOL Those are from the dealer who put in nitrogen. The blue caps indicate nitrogen and probably trick many customers into thinking that they HAVE to return to the dealership for tire pressure.

The paint I used was pretty common. Rustoleum, metalic blue. Nothing special. I had that on my S2000 and it never wore off after two years and many track days. I put 3 coats on each caliper with about 5 to 10 minutes drying time between coats. Sort of like painting nails, something I'm sure that you guys are well versed in. NOT! LOL

Yes, I have wheel locks, but those where no problem at all.

 

Its a Lexus! 4 lugs should be alright, but certainly not encouraged, especially for length periods of time. Actually the broken stud could be a fairly quick DIY project for under $20 I believe. Looks good though!

 

That paint looks fantastic, what kind did you use?

 

Nice job, i myself that red paint kit sitting on a shelf and some Gunk brake cleaner *yellow can* BUT... my chair is so comfortable while im slouched in it