1997 - 2003 F150 1997-2003 F150, 1997-1999 F250LD, 7700 & 2004 F150 Heritage

Center Caps

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  #1  
Old 01-02-2007, 11:58 AM
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Center Caps

All at once I can't keep the chrome centers on my wheels, they fly off, I have bought new ones. Only happened on the same 2 wheels. Any help?
 
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Old 01-02-2007, 12:13 PM
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Don't they attatch to the lug nuts? Maybe there is a problem there,
 
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Old 01-02-2007, 12:42 PM
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correct, they "snap" on the lugs, but nothing has changed, I cleaned them of really good thinking wheel grease or something was on them but then the new ones came of as well. At a loss.
 
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Old 01-02-2007, 04:27 PM
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are the lug nuts original? make sure they have a little lip on them for the caps to hook on.
 
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Old 01-02-2007, 06:18 PM
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What year is your vehicle and which wheel size/style do you have? Describe your caps...three clips on back or five?

Some of the OEM center cap styles are fixed-size for either 12mm (97-00) or 14mm (00-03) lugnuts, while others have spring clips that are adjustable for either size. That may be the issue.

As noted in the previous reply, the factory lugnuts (shown below) have a groove/notch between the nut & washer that allow for the cap clips.

 
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Old 01-03-2007, 07:15 AM
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Yes, factory lugs, have the lip. the caps have like a metal clip on every hole, They seem to go on tight but then come off a day or so later. was thinking of putting some silicone on them.
 
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Old 01-03-2007, 12:06 PM
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Again, what year is your vehicle? What size/style wheel do you have?

Also, do your caps have a part number (on back) that begins with 'XL', 'F65' or 'YL'? (that's not a yes/no question, I need to know which one of the three).
Without that info, there is no way to help. Do not use silicone.
 
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Old 01-03-2007, 02:32 PM
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I've been battling this problem for some time now. For some reason the center cap companies don't realize that Ford made a lug size change in 2000 from 12mm to 14mm lug studs. Just make sure you are getting centercaps from the same year range that your current truck is. From what I understand, the tricky part is if you have a 2000 truck they changed somewhere in the middle of that year.
 
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Old 01-03-2007, 10:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Regta
For some reason the center cap companies don't realize that Ford made a lug size change in 2000 from 12mm to 14mm lug studs.
It's not the manufacturers issue, it's the vehicle owners that purchase the incorrect cap from ebay, etc. I've sold 5-lug OEM F150/Expy wheels & caps exclusively on ebay for the past three years, and the majority of bidders, and even sellers, are oblivious to the fitment specs. I make sure to provide all necessary info in my listings, and then confirm the buyer's vehicle model/year prior to shipment.

I also constantly contact other sellers with corrections to their listings.
 
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Old 01-04-2007, 12:47 PM
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The easy way around it is to take some wire and wrap it around the little clips on the cap, more or less you just tighten it up a little bit. I've run '99+ caps on my '97 lugs with no problems doing this. I have some pics of it in a gallery on another site if you want to see them.
 
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Old 01-04-2007, 01:40 PM
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Originally Posted by galaxie641
The easy way around it is to take some wire and wrap it around the little clips on the cap, more or less you just tighten it up a little bit. I've run '99+ caps on my '97 lugs with no problems doing this.
That will work (but unnecessary) on the cap styles with three spring clips, but does not apply to the cap styles with five fixed-size clips (which is what I suspect the problem is with the original poster). For the spring clip style you simply squeeze each opposing pair of 'fingers' (there are three pair per clip) until they touch, then release. They will now fit/hold on 12mm lugnuts.
 




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