I don't have personal experience with the beauty rings. But from reading they are on pretty tight and pretty easy to strip. I would think using an impact wrench would raise the chance of stripping. Sounds like the correct size bit and a breaker bar to get good leverage would be the best bet for breaking them loose. After they are loose then you could use a 1/4" impact driver to make removing them a little quicker.Thanks, by be careful do you mean remove by hand or do you think power tool would be better? How did you strip them?
Torx 45 (T45). Standard Torx, not Torx Plus. TP45 will not fit.
Can anyone confirm the proper Torx bit to use for the Beauty Rings? I see both without any actual confirmation. Is is T45 or TP45?
On my Bronco Badlands with Sasquatch package, only the T45 fits…Yeah would be nice to have a definitive answer
Thank you! Truly appreciate the confirmation.T45 fits…
TP45 does NOT fit. I am holding it against the bolt, but the bit is not penetrating the standard Torx recess…
I am a mechanical engineer and a tool junkie. Please trust me on this, even if you think the photos are fake.
The installation instructions for the bead lock rings (attached below) also say to "use a T45 Torx wrench to remove the decorative beauty ring from the wheel."
I noticed this after I was about to put the 3rd ring on because something didn't look right. Somehow I managed to get the first 2 correct and didn't have to fix.and make sure you realign the valve cutout on the ring with the valve lol. First time I took them off I didnt even notice, next day went to fill up my tires and lesson was learned.
I stripped a few using my impact driver so be steady. I started to tighten with the impact and finish with the wrench just to be safer.
Probably not but I don't know for sure, hopefully someone who knows will chime in. If concerned about them being scuffed up just remove them before taking to tire shop. Worse case scenario the tire guy is not sure either so decides to remove them probably damaging a handful of bolts in the process then just throwing them back on with gobs of loctite.My question is…do they have to come off when you get new tires?
On my Bronco Badlands with Sasquatch package, only the T45 fits…
On my Bronco, the TP45 does NOT fit. I am holding it against the bolt, but the bit is not penetrating the standard Torx recess…
The installation instructions for the bead lock rings (attached below) also say to "use a T45 Torx wrench to remove the decorative beauty ring from the wheel."
I guess it is possible that Ford has been selling Broncos with both tool specs, but I can only speak about what is on my Bronco and in the Ford installation instructions for the beadlock rings. To be safe, I would recommend trying both bits before attempting to remove the rings, especially if the T45 bit appears to have a very loose fit.
I am a mechanical engineer and a tool junky, so I tried both standard Torx and Torx Plus before commenting above.
Quick follow-up...Thank you! Truly appreciate the confirmation.
That makes sense to me, and I agree that T45 is the correct bit for the beauty ring bolts. Thanks for the follow-up.Quick follow-up...
After watching a YouTube video in another thread, where the YouTuber used a Torx Plus 40 (TP40) bit to remove his beauty rings, I decided to check the fit myself, to see if Ford actually changed the spec since the time the video was made. Interestingly, although Ford specifies standard Torx 45 (T45) here, the smaller Torx Plus 40 (TP40) does loosely "fit" by penetrating the bolt head (see below)...
... but the fit of the smaller sized TP40 bit is not optimal (i.e., similar to using a standard Torx bit where a Torx Plus bit of the same size is actually specified, in which case the standard Torx is not optimal), and it is not consistent with Ford's instructions to "use a T45 Torx wrench to remove the decorative beauty ring from the wheel."
From an engineering perspective, the T45 bit makes sense here, because it is a larger diameter bit, with more surface area at the perimeter of the bit where the teeth are located, for better contact with the bolt head and better application of torque in this particular application.
I suspect that the non-optimal "fit" of the TP40 bit may explain why some people have stripped a few of the bolt heads when removing their beauty rings (i.e., where the bit cams out of the recess).
Before I read this post of yours, I went out and tried my TP40 bit - And yes, it does work. I bought these bits specifically to remove my beauty rings since that's what some other posts had mentioned. Maybe that's why I stripped two of them, however, it worked great for the other bolts.Quick follow-up...
After watching a YouTube video in another thread, where the YouTuber used a Torx Plus 40 (TP40) bit to remove his beauty rings, I decided to check the fit myself, to see if Ford actually changed the spec since the time the video was made. Interestingly, although Ford specifies standard Torx 45 (T45) here, the smaller Torx Plus 40 (TP40) does loosely "fit" by penetrating the bolt head (see below)...
... but the fit of the smaller sized TP40 bit is not optimal (i.e., similar to using a standard Torx bit where a Torx Plus bit of the same size is actually specified, in which case the standard Torx is not optimal), and it is not consistent with Ford's instructions to "use a T45 Torx wrench to remove the decorative beauty ring from the wheel."
From an engineering perspective, the T45 bit makes sense here, because it is a larger diameter bit, with more surface area at the perimeter of the bit where the teeth are located, for better contact with the bolt head and better application of torque in this particular application.
I suspect that the non-optimal "fit" of the TP40 bit may explain why some people have stripped a few of the bolt heads when removing their beauty rings (i.e., where the bit cams out of the recess).
Now go try a T45 and compare.Before I read this post of yours, I went out and tried my TP40 bit - And yes, it does work. I bought these bits specifically to remove my beauty rings since that's what some other posts had mentioned. Maybe that's why I stripped two of them, however, it worked great for the other bolts.
No. I'd rather struggle with something that is moderately close.Now go try a T45 and compare.