Those ^%%^#&^% center caps

Shane77624 · September 10, 2004

Okay, I have a 99 Sierra with the chrome rims and center caps. I have lost three of the four caps and have just bought four new ones off of ebay. How do they stay on? The pitiful little plastic threads do not hold onto the threaded lug nuts tight enough to keep the cap on. What do yall do? Please help.

az'03Silverado · September 11, 2004

Believe it or not, when installing those black plastic caps that screw onto the lug nuts, the lighter the touch the better. The threads strip very very easily. Just 2 or 3 clicks at the most and they're on. Don't try to torque them down real tight or the movement of the wheel will eventually make the threads round off and the cap will be gone. Especially if you drive on a lot of bumpy roads.

99silveradoz71 · September 11, 2004

I know on my 99 it doesn't take much and you can feel them catch.

Blue-2001-Z71 · September 11, 2004

My fix, new wheels!

tryn2lrn · September 12, 2004

I find that I only tighten those by hand, take the socket and an extension and tighten them only as tight as you can make them by hand. I have always done this on our blazers and now on the trucks. Never broke, stripped or lost any yet. Sometimes less is more Good luck.

budhayes3 · September 12, 2004

I find that I only tighten those by hand, take the socket and an extension and tighten them only as tight as you can make them by hand. I have always done this on our blazers and now on the trucks. Never broke, stripped or lost any yet. Sometimes less is more Good luck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Same here.

joedunlevy · September 16, 2004

I lost one once, so I went around and put a dab of silicone on the threads.

WVtrucker · September 16, 2004

You have to make sure that they click into place or they will back off even if it doesn't feel as tight as you think it should. That took care of my problems with them. For extra protection at one point I did however smear a little dab of RTV on the inside of the cap and that tightened things up but came right off the next time.

mike

12secSS · September 16, 2004

Yup, that is also a concern with F-body owners, as stated previously just hand tight. This works very well and is what I do, I use the method tryn2lrn describes. On my Sierra, it is missing one center cap, guess I'll follow your lead and get them off of eBay.