Hello guys,

One of the lug nuts is evidently seized on my right front wheel, and the stud is now spinning in the hub assembly. Therefore the lug nut won't loosen, and I can't get the wheel off.

Not sure why this would have happened...bolts and nuts (almost) never seize on my car, I don't drive it in the rain (no rusted bolts or nuts), and my lug nuts are only a year old.

Anyway, the nut is about halfway off the stud, so it has loosened some, but now the stud is spinning quite freely and I'm not making any more progress.

Ideas, please! I'm stuck. Thanks in advance.




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I'm not sure if this will help, but perhaps you can go to a tire shop and they can drill out the damaged lug nut.

 

Is there room to rotate it to a position where you can get behind it with the wheel on full lock and cut it from behind?

 

Is the stud definitely spinning?

According to the Parts Catalogue, the 97 MY had threaded studs to VIN 008233 and splined studs from VIN 008234 to VIN 031302.

If your is within these ranges and the stud is spinning, there may be damage to the hub.

Graham

 

Try this first: Jack up the car so the tire is off the floor. Position the lug at the top and have someone pull very hard at the bottom of the tire a few times. then while holding pressure outward on the wheel, try an impact wrench. if that fails...
Mask the wheel around the area with lots of tape for protection. Then drill around the center of the lug nut several times until you get to the stud. Hopefully it will be weakened enough to cut the lug nut off with a small chisel.

 

Norri-

No room to get at it.

GGG-

The nut has loosened enough so that I can get a small screwdriver between the wheel and the rotor, so that it is touching the suspect stud as a "feeler." When I then attempt to turn the lug nut, I can feel the stud spinning against the tip of the screwdriver (although I cannot see it).

Cat Man Do and Dev Spider -

Trying not to drill if I don't have to. I have tried pulling the wheel outwards as I work the lug nut...no joy with that so far.

 

Here's where I am, guys. No luck so far.

I've gotten the cap off the lug nut. Sprayed PB Blaster directly into the top of the nut, into the threads. Got a Vise-Grip clamped tightly onto the stud, between the wheel and the hub (the nut is partially off so there is a little bit of room to do this) to prevent free rotation of the stud. Banged on the nut just a bit with a socket extension and a hammer (light taps).

This nut - somehow - has frickkin' welded itself to the stud.

With the above vise-grip setup and significant force applied to the nut, the stud STILL rotates within the clamp of the vise-grip rather than let the nut spin free.

Any thoughts?

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I'd think drilling the nut and splitting it is the way to go at this point.
I expect the hub is going to be a mess too.

 

My gut says that nut was cross threaded on with an impact wrench. Easiest and least costly way to get it off is with a torch. WAG (wild *** guess). Hope there is another way that won't destroy the wheel.

 

+1

Sorry to say, I agree. You might be lucky in the lug was the wrong size for the hub, i.e. too small. But you won't know until you get the nut off.

Best wishes, Colin

 

Howdy Folks:
Just a couple of thoughts:
If you can get a small screwdriver back there, How would it be putting a hacksaw blade back there, then using your drill on the nut, power cut the stud. (make sure that you have the blade oriented so that I will cut).
Otherwise, how would it it be to hold the nut while spot drilling the end of the stud with a 1/2" DIA drill bit. Once you have a center spot in the end of the stud. drill a start hole 3/16 DIA. or so (try to drill as square as possible. Then go back with the 1/2 bit. Also, I agree with others to protect your wheel with tape or something.

 

I don't know how the stud is secured, but if it has no head and is free spinning, should the wheel come off with that single stud?

If not a dremel or air chisel seem to be the best bet here, just tape up the wheel and you'll be fine

 

I was going to suggest something with a vise grip earlier, but did not know if you had room to get a grip with one.

I have to agree that it must be cross threaded somehow. You will probably have to cut the nut off with something. As suggested above a dremel or or a drill with a grinding wheel will let you cut the nut off.

If it weren't cross threaded, some heat applied to the nut might expand it a bit and loosen it, but I suspect that it must be cross threaded to be that hard to take off.

On another note, I have to confess complete ignorance as to how the studs are attached on our Jags, but for the cars I had in the past they were pressed into their fittings with a powerful press and would, under no circumstance spin around.

I bought a '68 Barracuda and had a flat the day before a Spring Break trip in 1972 and could not get the lug nuts to move with any tool that I had. I got a large lug nut wrench like the service stations had and a breaker bar about six feet long and ended up snapping three of the lugs off before I gave up.

Had to drive to another town where they had a press able to replace them. As it turned out, for that year, Chrysler decided to make the lugs on the passenger side thread in the opposite direction so they would not loosen. So, that is my sordid tale of dealing with studs and lug nuts.

Good luck to you.

 

I know we have all said cut it or do something else. Judging on the lack of reply I am guessing you haven't yet. My advice is pick one and just do it. In this case get a grinder or dremel and cut the nut in half and then pry it apart with a hammer and chisel/screwdriver. (IMO)
I always find myself standing around finding the best way to do something and in the end i just wasted time because if I put in the effort multiple solutions would have worked. Just go for it mate

 

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

I haven't attempted to cut or drill the nut, because these nuts have a shank on them, with threads inside, that extends into the wheel. You can't see that part of the nut in the photo below, because it's inside the hole, and I can't get to it.

I'm thinking that if even if I'm successful in getting most of the visible part of the nut cut out, enough will be left inside the hole to maintain a grip and then I've maybe lost other options for getting it out.

I've been needing to take the car into my indy's shop for a new rear crankcase seal...I'll go ahead and take it in tomorrow and have him go after the nut. He'll have more tool options than I do for the job. And then of course I'll likely need another hub. When things are sorted I'll update you.

Thanks.


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Not the same situation as you, but I had a tire shop strip the stud by using the wrong size wheel nut. They referred me to another shop to have the stud replaced. I have threaded studs on my '97. The shop could not remove the stud and ended up replacing the hub & bearing at the tire shops' expense.

 

All you need to do is put a really good drill bit in your drill that is the size of the stud and drill it all out, holding the lug nut with a wrench.

 

If you can't achgieve separation of the nut and stud by the drilling method (risk of damage to the wheel may be an issue?) I would go straight for the hacksaw blade at the back on the stud and use the drill to spin the nut/stud assembly as suggested above.....Allan

 

If you get a grip on the lug nut and have a good drill bit with some cutting oil to keep it from overheating, this thing will come apart in a few minutes with no damage to anything but the end of the stud where it was inside the nut and the nut itself.

 

I haven't had much luck in the past drilling out bolts, studs, etc. Most of the time it's stainless,but sometimes other steel as well. Any suggestions for a good brand of drill bit, and does it require a heavy-duty drill, or will a medium-duty cordless (DeWalt, etc.) do the job with a good bit? Thanks for any tips you guys have.