Front tire removal, hex nut question?

[woobie]

The hex nut on the front axle (2003 600), is it a 12mm?

I may have to take my tires off to get new rubber installed , but my hex keys only go up to 10mm . Anyone know the proper size so I can grab the right one?

[Skydvr]

Yes, it is a 12mm. Now here is the difficult part, most places don't carry anything above a 10mm. At least around here they don't, I found mine at Sears after going to places like Lowe's, Pep Boy, etc...

[woobie]

I'm going to raid my buddies well stocked Garage , I'll pick one up of my own when I can find one since I'll need it atleast once a year at the rate I'm riding.

[Dan Dubeau]

Ya woobie, it's a 12 mm. I ran into that same pinch when i pulled mine off last thursday. I was in a hurry to get them pulled off and couldn't afford another 1/2 hour to go get one. So i improvised. I took an old cold chisle, that was made out of 1/2" hex steel, and just filed one end down to 12mm. cut off about and inch and a half, and just stuck it in a 1/2" socket. worked like a charm. I'm just going to jb weld it into an old 1/2" socket and keep it around for future use.

Obviously if you have the time to buy one, that would be the better route to take. but if you don't have the time or can't justify the money (last time i checked they were around $15 for a single craftsman one) then this might be a good route to take.

[Spedee]

There's a 12mm in your tool kit under your seat.

[ThAzKat]

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00999181000&subcat=Sockets

This is what I reccomend, try getting a set of these also.

[tzortn]

I just went through this. I ended up buying a set of hex driver sockets on ebay for $16. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=43998 . They are not the highest quality stuff, but I do not need the large sizes so often so these should work.

[ThAzKat]

that is a good buy tzortn!