I bought my 2011 XKR about a year ago and just had a service from my local European specialist in Charlotte NC. All good generally except when they tried to take off the wheel lug nut, a couple of the tops snapped on two of the wheels.

No immediate problem (the lug is secure etc) but I'm going to have to solve this when I want to change the tyres at some point.
So a couple of things:Thanks all - always appreciate the great advise I see in this forum.

 

Why are you fixing what your "local European specialist" just broke? That's their responsibility, not yours. I assume you also paid them in full to damage your XKR. If you did, and paid with a credit card, you can dispute that charge.

I'm sure that happened because some unqualified tire jockey used an air gun or similar power tool together with the wrong size socket, which spun on the outer shell of the OEM lug nut and deformed onto the inner solid nut. There are lots of threads about this on this Forum. If you need to remove a damaged OEM lug nut, simply take a 19mm deep socket and hammer it onto the damaged nut until it's secure, then use a hand wrench to remove it.

It appears that they broke the tops off of two studs. They should be able to source the same size replacements.

Take your XKR back to them. Write a memo documenting what happened in detail, and give it to the shop owner. If you start working on it yourself, you jeopardize your claim against them.

This was no accident. It was caused by their incompetence.

 

replace the entire hub!
wj


https://www.carparts.com/details/Jag...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

I understand your point, but to be fair I've seen a number of cars in the forum have a similar issue, especially when its spent most of life by the coast etc. My car (before me) was in California and Florida.

Also, when speaking to Jaguar authorized they seemed to be unsurprised by the issue, just less familiar on how to fix it (they don't cover cars over 10 years old)

 

Thanks for this - I've seen a few hubs around. Do you know anything about the "special tool" being referenced? or is it simple to get the hub off/replaced (e.g. even at a non0Jaguar place)?

 

I’m afraid there is so much wrong here.

1. Only the incompetent would remove the cap from the 2 part nut…
2. Jaguar has not provided studs for the 3 decades I have owned Jaguars. Reason: you are supposed to replace the hub.
3. There is nothing wrong with the 2 part nuts. Its the inexperienced or “being to hasty” that seem to mess them up.
4. BROKE 2 STUDS!?!? WHAT?!? How the **** do you do that?!
5. “spent there life by the coast”?!? Ummm, I’m in Canada, drive my vehicles in the winter where we pour tons of salt on the road… And I run 3 distinct types of tires on my car… So I’m changing tires every winter, spring, summer, fall and have never experienced this situation… So what are you talking about??
6. OEM does cost more. There’s also a quality reason for that, too.

Did you luck out and they marred the wheel too? I wouldn’t be surprised.

I’m with Stuart. And after they correct their mistake, I would not ever be going back to this so called “specialist”.
But if you are determined to give them a pass… based on the review of others that have messed up, have at it.

 

I've just removed both rear hubs on my 2011 xkr coupe. It was a complete nightmare of a job, the cv joints would not come out of the hubs. I would imagine the special tool would be a puller. I personally wouldn't tackle this job again unless I had everything you might need to complete the removal, basically a well stocked shop.

 

And I forgot to add
My dealer will support any Jag or LR I bring in or my acquaintances bring in. That’s based on a long and trusted relationship.
(Whether or not there is contrary direction from “on high”)

In my experience, The “new” dealers with their shiny shops simply don’t have the experience, thus their position.
The age old dealers have seen it all, have long term qualified technicians, and bring the new guys up to speed.
Jaguar itself continues to manufacture parts for out of production cars! (some of which fit nicely into a Riley)

And every now and again, a box of beer is dropped off to keep it all in check.

 

Appreciate the feedback here guys. Just conscious Jaguar locally won't work on the car, and the one specialist around I'm being guided not go back to.

Assuming I find someone else, the question goes back to what I need to make sure they do it right:

1. Aftermarket studs (seem to be a few out there) if easy fixes are possible.
2. Buy new hubs per the recommendation above. Seems a few options out there, so ok there.
3. The "special tool" needed to remove the hub from the bearing..... not seen on any comments on this. Jaguar locally didn't know what I meant (but they didn't seem to know XKRs etc anyway) and I am hearing that people found the process difficult, so I am still trying to find out what this tool is.

I emailed my garages back in the UK in case they knew what it was. Feels like I find that, I have a path forward. Just not clear to me what/where that is.

 

Hi ACD,

I may have missed it, but I don't see that you've told us whether the problem is at a front or rear hub. The designs are very different. The fronts are replaced as complete units like the one posted by wymjym. The entire hub/wheel bearing/ABS wheel speed sensor assembly is unbolted and the new one bolted in. The main challenge typically faced is that the steel hub seizes in the aluminum steering knuckle due to galvanic corrosion. Here's the diagram of the front design:





At the rear, the bearing can be removed from the hub using an hydraulic press. Here's the diagram:






The special tool you have heard of is for the previous generation XK, the X100 (and the X308 sedans). It fits over the multiple lobes on the ABS wheel speed sensor reluctor ring on the inboard side of the hub and allows removal with a breaker bar or impact gun. Your X150 does not require this special tool.

If I understand the problem with your car, the hexagonal tops of two lug nuts broke off during the removal attempt. The first broken nut was probably not the fault of the current mechanic. It was probably the fault of the previous tech or techs who abused the nuts. We could argue that the second broken nut was possibly the fault of the current mechanic because after the first nut broke, perhaps he should have tried a different approach on the rest of the nuts.

It may be possible to remove the damaged nuts without harming the studs. I have an array of "damaged nut extractors" designed to grip nuts that have been rounded or otherwise damaged such that standard 6- or 12-point sockets won't grip them. If you search "damaged nut extractor," "lug nut remover," and similar phrases, you'll find various designs.

Depending on your wheels and how deeply the nuts sit in their wells, there may be other ways to approach the problem, such as creating a slot through one side of the nut with a cutting tool such as an air-powered reciprocating saw or die grinder, perhaps then fracturing the nut with a cold chisel, then spinning the nut off with an extractor or similar tool.

I have heard of a method that uses a hole saw to cut through the nut around the stud, but I have not tried that method myself.

Obviously, great care will be required to avoid damage to the wheel.

If, ultimately, the studs have to be drilled out, you should be able to find suitable replacements. With the measurements of a good stud, I would try my local auto parts stores and specialty suppliers like Summit Racing, JEGS, McMaster-Carr, etc., and even Amazon.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks Don, appreciate it!

Sorry, yes, it's actually both the front right and rear left where the nut has broken off as you described, so one of each. Given the age of the car etc, I'd probably change all 4 studs/lugs or hubs anyway. Fresh set.

Good to know the special tool is for the older generation XK8 type. Makes me feel better from that perspective. I didn't want to go down the road with any garage only to find we had a problem on a later step.

This was really helpful!

 

My JLR dealer here also has no problem at all with servicing older cars, including my wife’s 22 year old X-Type. The work is done properly and on time. A relationship with the dealer is one of the most important things an owner can do.

 

Hi ACD,
I've heard the following method described to remove a totally seized lug nut, when all methods to grip it have failed:
A hole saw (like a small core drill for steel) is used to cut the lug nut down to a diameter of about 17mm around the stud. Once cut down to the depth of the bearing washer, thread tension is released and the lug remnant can be unscrewed or the wheel can be pulled over it.
I haven't had first hand experience but was considering the method to remove locking wheel nuts without key. (Turned out to be fairly easy to make a key).
Good luck

 

@ACD
This is a good video on replacing the rear bearing/hub. He makes it seem pretty easy. The front is just replacing the entire assembly as shown above. Removing the nut with a crushed sleeve is as above as well, drive on a slightly smaller socket, can't remember what size I used. Don't know if rear hubs are available, but would have to be removed to get new studs in I believe. If not new, NOMA Auto Parts on ebay might have one. You can also replace the jacketed nuts with these from Amazon. Require a 21mm socket instead of the normal 19mm.

 

I had a,seized lug nut (front).
Used the hole saw method to remove lug nut hex portion, removed wheel, then:
Used large C clamp and deep well socket to press out stud, while still attached.
Reverse procedure to install new stud.
I did put stud in freezer to reduce its diameter and ease the install. That was 28000 miles ago. All is still good.
I haven't looked at the rear to determine if this same approach would work.
wj

 

I am a prime example of the saying "ignorance is bliss".

When attempting to replace the front brake pads on my 2008 XK I found 2 lugs on the left side that had the outer shell stripped. When using the proper size socket the outer shell would just spin on the inner nut.

Not knowing, at the time, that this was a not uncommon problem my first thought was the outer shell simply needed to be removed. To that end I grabbed a small, sharp chisel and used that to split the outer shell and then grab what was left with needle nose pliers and removed the shell. At that point I used a socket to unscrew the inner nut. No damage to anything else.

It was about at this point I found out that the stripping of the outer shell was a potential issue. I then replaced all the remaining lug nuts with one piece nuts sourced from Amazon.

Paul

 

Update: replaced all the wheel studs and nuts no issue in the end. Took advice from the forum and decided to also replace the front and rear assemblies given age of the car.

Did the rear ones, no problems (though they're harder)

Replaced the front ones today with the Moog front whole assembly system (https://www.carparts.com/details/Jag...E&gclsrc=aw.ds) but now I am getting ABS warning light (as well as check engine light which I think is because of the ABS).

Any idea why a new assembly would cause that? (I assume something off with the installation but not sure what).

 

Check the connections of the new wheel speed sensors - could be one of them is not fully latched, or the pins inside the connector may have bent.

I don't think the CEL should illuminate for a wheel speed sensor issue, but I could be wrong. Scanning the codes would be the best next step, since it will tell you which side the ABS problem is on and why the CEL is illuminated. But for the ABS code(s) you'll need a scan tool that can read Chassis (C-prefix) and possibly Network (U-prefix) codes. Most scan tools can only read the Powertrain (P-prefix) codes.

Cheers,

Don

 

If you are not already a member, I recommend you join the Carolina Jaguar Club. Here is their website CarolinaJaguarClub.com

 

I replace the crappy sheet metal covered lug nuts IMMEDIATELY when I get another Jaguar!
This will bite you as it's just a matter of time. Keep them if you want but replacement with solid metal ones will eliminate the problem forever.

If you don't think it's a problem here is a quick search with over 200 threads?
Take a look and reach your own conclusion. This has been a problem for 30+ years including my old 2003 Lincoln LS.
Solid Lug Nuts
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