OK so I feel really dumb asking this...but I had to change a tire on my 96 Disco for the first time. I'm pretty sure the goon that put my springs and shocks in put about 1000 ft/lbs of torque on the lug nuts because my impact wrench wouldn't take them off. So I busted out the lug wrench from under the seat...it doesn't fit. why would they give me a lug wrench that needs to be hammered on? I feel like a moron because I had to check the Haynes Manual to see how in the hell to get the lug nuts off...it talked about some lug nut covers removed with an extractor tool? There's no way those stainless covers on the lug nuts are coming off, and I'm super confused. Can anyone tell me what size socket I'm supposed to be using? I got one bolt off using a 1 1/8" socket, but I pounded it on and had to stand on a breaker bar to get it loose. Total nightmare.
Sorry for such a dumb post I'm sure you guys are going to make fun of me. And the search failed me. More than two years with my Disco and I don't know how to take the wheels off. Jeezus.....

 

The chrome/stainless covers work loose over time, and then the lug wrench doesn't fit anymore. It's 1-1/16, but you'll probably need 1-1/8 now. The OEM lug wrench is junk anyway. I just got a 1/2" drive hinge handle, and both sockets for my D1. (I replaced all of the lugs, and kept the busted ones for spares).

 

The chrome caps get damaged. Throw those sorry things away and replace with solid ones from Range Rover Classic. Also buy a 4 way spinner type lug wrench, you cannot beat it for added leverage. Twenty bucks at Advance Autos.

 

Don't feel bad dude, I went through the same crap with mine. If you manage to get any off the vehicle intact, they can be pounded off of the nuts through the interior of the nut (they're hollow) with a hammer and punch. I ended up having to cut those little bastards off with a Dremel. Any socket big enough to fit just spun the caps on the nuts, and any socket small enough to grab the nut wouldn't go on over the cap. The caps are crimped on, at the base of the nut, so you have to make a cut as far around as you can right along the filet edge there. Otherwise, you'll just wrestle and wrestle with them. And make a few other cuts so you can sort of peel it off with some pliers. Then, depending on how much the nuts are torqued on, and how much you care about their condition, you can either get the bare nuts off with a 1 1/16" socket, or get a 1" on with the aid of a mallet, if some of the nuts are already rounded off like mine.

Cut those things off and never look back. They are a PAIN.

EDIT: For a better fitting socket for the nut sans cap, you might try a 26mm socket. It's just slightly smaller than the 1 1/16", so it may be a little more snug, but not so snug as the 1". I haven't tried this myself, but I intend to.

 

Like I said earlier, once you get those off, have replacement nuts on hand but use the solid nuts not those stupid chrome capped jokes of a lug nut.

 

wow thanks guys. me and my neighbor were just stunned on Sunday afternoon...we just couldn't imagine WTF was going on.
I'll probably just carry on with what I was using now that I realize there's no way to get them off without trashing them.
Just when I thought I had figured out all the **** poor designs on the Disco...

 

yeah I'm sure I've got a 4-way lug wrench somewhere in my barn...
are these the ones i'm looking for?
Lug Nut - Steel - From 1987 for Range Rover Classic | Land Rover wheels, tires, hubs, axles

 

The link did not work for me. It is the RRC ones. I paid 75 bucks for a full set of 20 from a west coast recycler.

Make sure the 4 way has a 1 1/16 on it. 20 bucks at AA.

 

I love it when people confuse "**** poor" with different and unconventional...

 

different and unconventional is fine. **** poor means "prone to failure".
I have never seen another vehicle where something as simple as a lug nut is designed to fail.
in fact, the term "lug nut" is synonymous with "simple", and these lug nuts are the opposite of that. AND, I've got a Toyota Echo that came with a beefier lug wrench.
What a joke.
I've got a laundry list of things that are poorly designed on the Disco, and I'd tell that to the designer's face. Have you tried to clear an ice dam from that horrible space underneath the wipers? WORST DESIGN EVER. Greaseless prop shaft, oh great, we can call that different and unconventional when it shreds your tranny. Gimme a break, my BSA is different and unconventional and that thing is a work of art, but the electronics (Lucas) is generally regarded as one of the poorest designs in history.
There's a difference between Pininfarina Design and functional industrial design. I guess I didn't know the Rover was going to be so pretty and non-functional.