apierce918

im doing some body work on my buddys 944, and i was going to take the wheel off so i could get better access and cut away the undercoating towards the door...

his lugnuts were torqued on there pretty good... and one of them sheared off. i'de imagine someone used a edit: impact wrench because they are pretty chewed up to begin with, it sheared off almost right near the base, and there is no room to get a socket on it without rounding it because of all the torque...

anyone encounter this? what did you do about it?

what a pain, maybe i can cut it away by feel...

Techno Duck

Someone probably used a impact wrench to tighten it, not tottally uncommon, ive had it happen before at the shop i work at.

The best thing you could do is either change the entire hub or change just the stud. Honestly i would just change the hub, they are probably readily available to just swap right on.

Im not sure i understand what your saying though...the entire stud is gone, or the lug nut is stripped?

BeerBurner

I saw the wheel fall off a Jaguar one time at an autocross, and the lugnuts stayed on. The metal on the wheel tore.

Not that it's particularily relavent to this thread.

BB.

Matt H

Swap the stud, it is about a 5 minute job with the right tools. Take air hammer with punch attachment, punch out old stud (10 seconds or less). Take new stud pull through, use two open ended lug nuts, tighten against each other. DONE.

FWIW, you can tighten lug nuts WAAAAY tighter by hand than with an impact wrench.

The most likely answer is that it was crossthreaded on.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

apierce918

hmm, heres a pic to better describe it, the lugnut is actually still holding the wheel on... but the part where you put the socket sheared off!

Scootin159

It sounds to me like he's saying the actual lug nut (not the stud) sheared off...as in the 'round' portion of the lug nut is still on there, and the 'hex' portion of the lug nut is in his hand.

I haven't 'seen' this personally, but I have heard of it happening with the aluminum lug nuts.

If this is the case, is his best bet to cut off the back of the stud, push it through, and then replace the stud?

Matt H

Andrew, I just dealt with this on another car. The only way that is coming off is by drilling the ball end out. You will need the right bits and patience. You are going to have a near impossible time drilling it without damaging the wheel.

I am headed to lunch but I can give more details after that.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

Matt H

Scootin, I dont think there is room to cut the back of the stud off. You would have to work inside the wheel and behind the backing plate. That would take seriously deft hands.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

apierce918

ok, i'll put some tools away for now then until you can give me a walkthrough, his wheels arent in the best of shape to begin with, so i dont think its going to matter, the car had a salvage title at one point in its life, and was put back together with less than stellar quality. but w/e, he wants the nasty football dent in the fender taken out, and some fresh paint on the front end, since i might be dragginf him to 944fest, he wants it lookin a little better

Matt H

If he doesnt care about the wheel then just drill it out and who cares how careful you are.

Otherwise get metal drill bits (the wood bits will break once they heat up, ask me how I know), go VERY slow with the bits and work your way up. The ball end is tapered so what you are seeing is the biggest part of the lug nut. I would drill inside of the lugnut, we did this the other day and while time consuming it worked perfectly. The stud will eventually have very little holding it to the nut.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

apierce918

so i am basically trying to split the rest of the lug nut? the other thing i was thinking was to take an air chisel, and shape a chisel to be narrow and to a point, then just stay close to the stud, split it on two sides and take it off.

Matt H

You can drill out the stud (what is left of it) or you can break the lug nut. You method would probably work if you got a small enough, sharp enough chisel.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

apierce918

the stud is full and in tact, the picture was dead center head on because of my wonderful photo skills... it looks like it broke too, when in fact it sticks out 3/4" past the lug (whats left of it)

theedge

You could try a chisel, but a better bet might be a hand held chisel then someone with a sledge hammer swinging very carefully.

A small air chisel is weaksauce. I doubt itll even annoy that lugnut so to speak.

Matt H

Aluminum lugs are very soft, a small air chisel will do damage. I would say at this point (since the stud is still in tact) that drilling it out would be the way to go. Start small and work your way up in bit size.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote