Lug Nut From Hell

KotaClewis

New member
Hey Everybody! I have a really ridiculous problem, as the title would suggest. I have a lug nut that has beaten me to a pulp. It's the famous Chrysler 2 piece lug and the cap had come off while trying to remove it. That rounded the nut pretty bad. Me and my dad tried using the bolt extracted sockets, that didn't work and broke two adapters. All it did was twist the nut up. We are pretty sure whoever tightened this nut jumped on a 3 foot bar to tighten it.

Would drilling out the stud be a simple way to solve this? I have replacement stubs and lugs. I can also upload pictures, too. It looks like the devil.

I have a buddy who owns a plasma cutter but I want to keep the wheel as an extra full spare, so that's not really an option at the moment.

Any advice would be very helpful. Thanks!

Sent from my SM-G955U using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

QuicksilverJK

Caught the Bug
Typically when the cap falls off you can use the next size down (18mm) but after rounding it you are pretty well screwed. You can try sacrificing a smaller 12pt socket by beating it on and using an impact to remove it, or use an external extractor if you have enough room to do it. Other than that drilling the stud like you mentioned is your last option. Gonna be a slow process. Keep the speed down and use cutting oil if you care about your drill bits.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

TrailHunter

Hooked
Can you weld a 1/2” or 5/8” nut to the end of the lug nut? ... then wrench it off... maybe the heat from welding would help as well?
 

RedRocker

New member
For what it's worth Discount Tire was able to remove my McGuard wheel locks without a key. They called it burning the lugs off although there wasn't any fire involved.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using WAYALIFE mobile app
 

KotaClewis

New member
For what it's worth Discount Tire was able to remove my McGuard wheel locks without a key. They called it burning the lugs off although there wasn't any fire involved.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using WAYALIFE mobile app
I actually went to discount tire as my first option. They tried with a normal tire iron and told me it was rounded and basically to get out lol. I will maybe try a local mechanic to see what he could do. If not I'll just try drilling it out.

Dakota
 

JDDK

Member
I had this happen on several wheel studs. i took hole saw drill bit and removed the pilot bit. i picked a hole saw that was slightly larger on its inside diameter than the stud and slowly used my drill to sneakup on the wheel. it worked and i was able to pick off the remaining pieces of nut without damaging my wheels. buy a bimetal holesaw from hd or lowes.
Saved my bacon.
Now i make sure the tire shop doesnt use the air ratchet or overtighten.
 

NecessaryEvil

Caught the Bug
Drill the center of the stud with small bit and work your way to a bigger bit. You only drill as far as you think the nut goes (you can go further if you want). Once you have drilled it out big enough, take a pry bar and pry the wheel from the back and it will effectively break the rest of the stud off. This can all be done without damaging the wheel. I have done this on many vehicles with success on all.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
Top Bottom