Wheel lug nut spins and won't come off...
#1
Wheel lug nut spins and won't come off...
Just picked up my 05 Evo a couple weeks and thought I'd take off the wheels and inspect the brakes.
Funny thing but when I tried to take off my front wheel, it seamed maybe the Hulk may have put these wheels on last time when the previous owner had it. My 500ftlb impact wrench had problems getting most of the nuts off the wheels. The right front had one that was really struggling to come off. Then all the sudden it starts to spin freely. WTF? After looking closer, it seams now the stud is just spinning freely in the stud hole. There was some slack so I tried to take the wheel and force it off but no luck.
First thing I tried was to split the nut. This actually worked on an a set of locking nuts on my old STi. You basically just grind a slit with a dremel and pound a wedge so it splits the nut. Well, the metal on the stock nuts is thin at the top and thick at the bottom so I was not able to split it.
I finally was able to get the top rounded acorn metal out of the way and was able to see the stud. Got the drill out and matched up the bit to the stud and started drilling away. The only problem is it spun the nut so I needed somehow to hold the nut. Looked in my toolbox and found an o2 sensor socket tool that was able to hold the nut while I drilled. Used lots of lucubration and the bit seam to cut throug the stud pretty quick but still took a good 10 minutes.
Took some pictures and thought I'd share this just in case it happens to someone else.
[
Funny thing but when I tried to take off my front wheel, it seamed maybe the Hulk may have put these wheels on last time when the previous owner had it. My 500ftlb impact wrench had problems getting most of the nuts off the wheels. The right front had one that was really struggling to come off. Then all the sudden it starts to spin freely. WTF? After looking closer, it seams now the stud is just spinning freely in the stud hole. There was some slack so I tried to take the wheel and force it off but no luck.
First thing I tried was to split the nut. This actually worked on an a set of locking nuts on my old STi. You basically just grind a slit with a dremel and pound a wedge so it splits the nut. Well, the metal on the stock nuts is thin at the top and thick at the bottom so I was not able to split it.
I finally was able to get the top rounded acorn metal out of the way and was able to see the stud. Got the drill out and matched up the bit to the stud and started drilling away. The only problem is it spun the nut so I needed somehow to hold the nut. Looked in my toolbox and found an o2 sensor socket tool that was able to hold the nut while I drilled. Used lots of lucubration and the bit seam to cut throug the stud pretty quick but still took a good 10 minutes.
Took some pictures and thought I'd share this just in case it happens to someone else.
[
#5
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I had a similar issue with my car also.
I F...ed it up so bad i eneded up having to spend $400 on a new hub.
Patience & a drill works best for this obviously. Stay away from sledge hammers.
I F...ed it up so bad i eneded up having to spend $400 on a new hub.
Patience & a drill works best for this obviously. Stay away from sledge hammers.
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Thanks a million for posting this up. I decided to throw a rebuilt shep trans in this weekend and literally the first bolt I had to remove (drivers side stud) turned into an hour and a half of misery until I searched google and turned up this page.
On the downside the stud surface is FUBARed and I'll have to tack weld the new stud in place. I'll just use it for the lock lugnut which isn't torqued down as much. There's no way after I just blew through 2K in mods and fixing the trans that I'm going to buy a new hub as well.
On the downside the stud surface is FUBARed and I'll have to tack weld the new stud in place. I'll just use it for the lock lugnut which isn't torqued down as much. There's no way after I just blew through 2K in mods and fixing the trans that I'm going to buy a new hub as well.
Last edited by colonelfox; Jul 3, 2009 at 01:39 PM.
#7
That sucks man, glad you had the tools to get it - having that happen totally sucks. What probably happened was the last person to put the wheels on most likely used a powerful impact gun without a torque bar to put the lugs back on.
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that sucks- had a shop strip an OEM wheel lock, they were able to somehow get it off after an hour and all it did was destroy the lock itself, no damage to hub/stud etc. I was lucky.
#9
Thanks a million for posting this up. I decided to throw a rebuilt shep trans in this weekend and literally the first bolt I had to remove (drivers side stud) turned into an hour and a half of misery until I searched google and turned up this page.
On the downside the stud surface is FUBARed and I'll have to tack weld the new stud in place. I'll just use it for the lock lugnut which isn't torqued down as much. There's no way after I just blew through 2K in mods and fixing the trans that I'm going to buy a new hub as well.
On the downside the stud surface is FUBARed and I'll have to tack weld the new stud in place. I'll just use it for the lock lugnut which isn't torqued down as much. There's no way after I just blew through 2K in mods and fixing the trans that I'm going to buy a new hub as well.
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I've been to the ER 2 times for eye injuries while wearing safety glasses. Make sure they're of the wrap around variety and not just the cheap front protection kind. Definately use a carbide bit. They have a black oxide coating and are made for metal. A wood bit will almost certainly dull out very quickly, or worse yet, snap under pressure gouging your wheel and possibly your wrist or hand. You need to lean into the drill just a little to keep constant pressure on the bit. Don't let it chatter because the studs are hardened steel and it'll kill the bit.
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I had something similar happen. The stud may have been spinning too, but I know the lug nut was for sure. It was severely stripped. I took an impact to it and just put pressure on the wheel, hit it with the impact till the stud got hot enough and broke the lug nut off. Then I took it to mitsu told them the studs suck and they replaced them for free. Happened on both fronts on the same day. Ive never had a problem before until after my first winter up in Reno and I was taking off my stocks with blizzaks. I rotate every 3000 plus swap race wheels on for autoX, so I take my lugs off quite a bit and this was first time I stripped any out, let alone two. Mitsu actually warrantied it, which surprised the heck out of me!
Im told if you live in a place that gets snow, its a good idea to put some thread lubricant type stuff (not loctite) on before you install the studs. Reapply every 6 months or so and it should be ok.
Im told if you live in a place that gets snow, its a good idea to put some thread lubricant type stuff (not loctite) on before you install the studs. Reapply every 6 months or so and it should be ok.
#14
I actually apply anti-seize to the threads and the nuts seam to go on and off so much smoother and I never had a problem with any coming loose. I've been doing this on all my cars for the last 10 years and no issues and they always maintain the same torque when checked with a torque wrench after 6 months.
Anyone else doing this?
http://www.engineersedge.com/wwwboard/posts/13070.html
Anyone else doing this?
http://www.engineersedge.com/wwwboard/posts/13070.html