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I have a spare six-point 3/4" flank drive socket I'd like to keep in the trunk with a breaker bar. (From recent experience, the little collapsing wrench that comes with the seventh-gen Chevy Malibu doesn't provide enough torque to loosen the lug nuts, when changing a flat tire. It's possible they were over-tightened.)

The lug nuts are presumably 19 millimetre. Is this an acceptable idea, or is there a real chance I'll be abusing the lug nuts by using a socket 0.26 % (a quarter of one percent) too big?

Mathieu K.
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2 Answers2

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Being as it's only 0.05mm larger in diameter, you shouldn't have a problem unless you're using that socket on a rattle-gun every day. If it's a 6-point socket, the wear on the nut should be minimal (12-point sockets have more of a chance at 'rounding' the nut).

Ideally, however, you should go down to the shop and spend two dollars on the correct sized socket. Yours will still get you out of a pinch if needs be however, and using it once or twice shouldn't be too bad for the nut depending on how tight it is.

Aaron Lavers
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Lathejockey81's comment on the other answer:

.05mm < .002 in. That's less than a hair, and well within most manufacturing tolerances on precision machined surfaces... which a socket is not. No, there's no need to get a 19mm socket, and it will present no difference in performance just because the number on the side is different.

Mathieu K.
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