Problem is fixed... but just in case anyone else has the same issue.

You will need 18mm hole saw, with removable centre bit, and a drill.

The local tyre fitters put Lurch, the 16 year old lad and his air gun onto my wheel nuts for a tyre change... he of course promptly snapped one of them in two. I believe jaguar OEM nuts are a bit soft so they might have been fair when they refused to make good... Anyway, there was just enough nut left on to hold the pressure on the stud thread.. but not enough to hammer a socket over or use a nut extractor on. Using anything else that deep in the wheel like a cold chisel or a dremel filled me with horror...

Fix for this is really easy. Buy a hole saw - that just fits over the stud - 18mm should do it (double check your stud diameter). Make sure its one with a removable centre drill bit as it fits over the stud to keep it straight - you are only cutting the nut remnants not the wheel or drilling into the stud. Start slow and you wont ruin the thread on the stud.

Jack the car, use axle stands, chock the wheels, wear goggles, wear gloves, dust mask etc - usual safety stuff.

Tighten up the remaining bolts a bit, just to take a bit of pressure off the one that's snapped. Then using slow RPM's just saw through the remnant of the nut - let the saw do the work, don't rush it. I stopped regularly as I didn't want the wheel to get too hot in an isolated spot. Do this until you cut through the nut, the other side of the nut between wheel face and nut will be a washer so you wont cut the wheel.

I repeat, do not cut through the washer on the nut.

Once through the nut, it removes all the pressure and it should then be easy enough to remove whats left with your fingers.

Then replace the rest of your nuts... if one is weak the all probably are.. and do not let Lurch near them again!

 

Thanks for the tip! The Jag wheel nuts shouldn't break under realistic loads. My guess is the fitter didn't put the socket on all the way and wrecked the nut. FWIW, I've had dreadful experiences with tire shops. So much so, that I don't ever take any car in for tires. I don't trust them to jack up the car properly without body damage (especially the aluminum air riding X350). I don't believe they torque the wheels properly, and have no clue how to read a pressure gauge. I remove the wheels at home and take in the wheels only. I did take in my truck when I bought it used to have the oversize wheels & tires swapped out for new stock size wheels and tires. Its a Chevy 2500 - what could go wrong? When I got home I checked the tire pressures. They were 20psi low at the rear! (The rears should be 80psi - they put in 60). The correct pressures are on the door sticker! I sound like a grumpy old man - maybe I am today - tire shops just infuriate me!

Cheers, Dave

 

Yep - I missed the bit about tyre pressure!! they do that here in the UK too...I don't understand.. put new tyre on, inflate.. how can such a simple business model fail to do it properly..

 

Most of those nuts that use air guns in the shop don't know how to use the torque bars properly on their air guns. The torque-limiting extension is an indicator that the torque has been reached but imposes no actual limit on the torque being applied. A strong enough (or fast enough, as many of the newer battery-powered guns are) air gun can completely override the torque extension and keep on banging. Guys who use them without that understanding may as well not be using them at all.

My rule with air wrenches is removal only, never installation. Anybody that disagrees with that doesn't get any of my money.

 

any extension is a torque reducer a stick just does more in less space

get to know your gun and you’re nice and consistently overtorqued. for anything that’s not a pickup i get into the 120-130 range

 

120-130 Nm or lb-ft?

That number is too much for if it's lb-ft, but it's about right for Nm.

Another issue is torqueing unevenly, which leads to weird issues with heat dissipation in the brake rotor, which can lead to warping of the rotor.

 

ft/lb. i don’t have time to individually torque your wheels so you get extra 👍 brake pulsation comebacks near zero