Danton

Just recently purchased some 17" GTS style wheels and was in the process of taking off the original S4 wheels. I loosened all the nuts on one side, way over torqued! And as I'm removing them by hand one of them comes out missing it's bottom lip. It's about 4mm or so in length and is stuck on the stud. How do I get this off? Anyone BTDT? This is a new one for me! Any bright ideas welcome.

Garth S

A metal cutting hole saw of the correct diameter that just slides over the stud is a reasonable way to chew out the reminants. ( like in the sets for installing door locks)

Paul D

Don't drill out the ring like the P.O. did on my car. He drilled several holes through the wheel, into the hat on the front rotor and of course destroyed the threads of the lug. I ended up replacing the rotors, wheel, and the threaded lug. Good Luck!

Thaddeus

I had SIX of these to do on my 928. It's a major-*** pain in the ***. ***, ***, ***.

I got a hole saw of an internal diameter just a hair larger than the stud.

I drilled through the ring (which I assume is what you call the "cap" of the "mushroom" that the lug nut looks like when held upside down) until I got to where the nut ends and the wheel begins. DON'T GO FURTHER. Also, GO STRAIGHT IN SO THE HOLE SAW DOESN'T DAMAGE THE THREADS on the stud. There should be a thin sheath of aluminum left, covering the threads. You WANT the sheath there-- it's protecting the stud! In other words, there should be part of the ring left in the bottom of the hole, still holding the wheel on, and a sheath of aluminum still covering the stud.

Then, I took a dremel tool and cut a slot in the remainder of the ring, one on either side. Again: don't cut the wheel or damage the threads. Take your time! You don't need to cut all the way to the bottom, just most of the way.

Then, I took a very small-tipped wood chisel and tapped it into the slot I created at the bottom of the hole. Twist the chisel so it pries the slot apart. The ring that's left in the bottom should split apart and peel off some of the sheath of aluminum that you left on the threads. The sheath will be rather brittle, as opposed to being pliant like foil. You can then reach into the hole with needlenose pliers and peel the rest of the sheath off.

Did I mention it's a pain in the ***? ***, ***, ***!

The first one took me like 8 hours to do. The last one took about an hour. It can be done.

I believe Porsche recommends replacing the studs after this. I had some people recommend replacing the hub as well on the grounds the excessive torque might have compromised it.

AO

FYI... after you get this done, put some antisieze on bolts (lugs). You'll never have the problem again.

Danton

I bought the hole saw. I'll keep you posted as to what damage I can incur.

Danton

Done! Not really as bad as I thought it would be. Took about an hour. Messed up a few threads on the stud but I filed it best I could and the lug nut went on without much trouble. I sprayed liquid wrench on the two remaining wheels. Hopefully it will help because there are more enjoyable things I could be doing...

ROG100

Well I go to remove the two rear wheels on the SE and S**T same thing happens to one of the lug nuts. Glad I found this thread and I am off to HD to find the right size hole saw. I will post the size later. Pictures to follow.
Crap! crap! why is nothing easy - wanted to spend more time prepping for putting my rebuilt RogerBox (thank you Greg) into my GTS.

Vilhuer

Studs are M14x1.5 meaning inside hole needs to be little over 14mm. Lenght possibly 7-8cm or 3".

SeanR

Shoulda called me, I've got a couple of them so you could have one of mine.

James Bailey

get a steel lug nut VW part so you can chase the threads with it BEFORE putting on the alloy lug nut. The steel nut will help clean and straighten any bunged up threads...ideally you would use a die but the steel nut will help a lot.

Wisconsin Joe

If you are willing to go to a bit more effort and be a bit more thorough, take a file and cut a couple of channels across the threads, just like a die would have. It makes a place for any shavings to get out of the way.
I have made a few different "thread chasers" including lug nuts this way. It makes cleaning up thread damage easier than just using a plain nut. I was pleasantly surprised at how much difference 2 small channels (180 degrees apart) made. Some sort of lube to help carry the shavings away is helpful too. "Tap Magic" is the "real" stuff, but I've used PB Blaster or WD-40.

James Bailey

Good idea !! far better than risking having the alloy nuts get recut by bad threads on a damaged stud.

Ad0911

I did not have this situation thank God, but I bought myself a set of steel lugnuts from ebay because I thought this might just happen.

WallyP

"...take a file and cut a couple of channels across the threads..."

Easier, faster, neater to use a hacksaw to make three grooves - BTDT.