So, here is the situation. I was rotating my tires on my newly acquired 2005 XE. The previous owner saw fit to install security lugs. There was new rubber on the truck, so the dealer was the last to reinstall them.
They came off without a problem. I typically use my battery powered impact gun (not very strong) to spin them off and on, but always use the lug wrench for initial loosening and final tightening. I understand, now, that you can't use an impact gun on the security lugs, but based on using it in the past, it hardly has the power to do anything.
Anyway, I was tightening the last lug, on the last wheel , when I heard an aweful ping and crunch and my lug wrench slipped of along with a corner of the security lug nut itself. Exposed was a cross section of the crap metal they are made out of. The socket with the squigly line in it, also had some damage in it, as one of the curves was missing.
The tires are all on and tight, so immediate crisis averted. I picked up 4 extra, regular lugs from the dealer and set out to replace the security ones. I first tried to remove the broken one, only succeeding in removing another peice of the lug itself, leaving 3 out of the original five lobes of the squigley pattern (if you've seen the lugs, you'll know what I'm talking about). I tried using the damaged socket on an intact lug, but without trying very hard, I started to hear come cracking and decided not to do any damage to the undamaged lugs.
So... my inclination is to take it to Nissan, as they apparently have a "universal" key to take the other 3, intact, lugs off. Any ideas on the busted one, or should I leave it in the hands of the "professionals."
Thanks,