I really messed it up....

[Analog Kid]

I often like to share my successes so why not share my failures too?

My wife's 2008 Town and Country van needed a new CV half axle. My brother helped me do them on my 2001 Pontiac so I thought I could handle it on her van and save some money. Seemed simple enough...

Well I couldn't even get past step one - taking the wheel off. The lug nuts were on so tight I couldn't get them off. I think when I had the TPS sensor fixed at NTB they torqued the nuts on too tight. I used my new electric impact gun and was finally able to get four of them off - however the last one is stripped. I've tried hammering smaller sockets but that wouldn't work. Then I started chiseling which I thought I could break the nut off but no dice. Now it's worse than ever.

So any thoughts on my options here? I guess my last resort is to take it somewhere and get reamed and ridiculed. Hang my head in shame. I think my wife might have jinxed me too when she asked me if I knew what I was doing when it came to replacing the axle.

 

[Davea Lux]

6pt impact socket on a large breaker bar. If some idiot put your lugs on that tight, inspect them carefully as they can stretch and fail later. There will a distortion on the threads about 2/3rd of the way down if they are damaged. Might need to go one size smaller on the socket and pound it on the remains of the nut. Also note that the rotor is scored.

Dave

 

[75LandYacht]

Time to trade it in.. get her a SRT Durango.

 

[Davea Lux]

Time to trade it in.. get her a SRT Durango.

Depending on how much she likes him, a self propelled wood chipper might be more fun.

Dave

 

[bigmoparjeff]

I had a similar situation on a Honda Pilot some years ago. I drove it down my street at 25 mph while weaving back and forth. The flexing of the wheel was enough to loosen the stuck one so that I could get it off. I would thread two more nuts back on first, but not far enough to touch the rim.

 

[rkrochen]

Unfortunately it doesn’t look like you will be saving too much coin by the time you are done never mind the grief you have on your hands.
Best advice I can give is reiterate the use of a 6pt socket 1/2 drive. Find the tightest socket you can get , standard or metric and hammer it on. Get your hands on a long breaker bar and good luck.
If you manage to get it off, and you eventually will, make sure you inspect the rim for damage in the seat area as well as the lug nuts.
By the way I like the fact that you are in essence laughing at yourself.

 

[65sporty]

I have had this happen a few times at work, I have a couple options at work though. Pounding on a smaller 6pt socket
A splined socket like this,

It supposed to remove up to like 70 percent rounded.

These also work well

If all else fails I have drilled the stud past the depth of the lug nut and the just broke it off. Step the drill sizes up from about 1/8 to one the size of the thread. I have used this method a few times, it worked well.

If you love tools there is the Lug ripper

I haven't bought one yet, if I did a lot of tires I would though.

I prefer the other spline socket to the 12 point like these

 

[barnfind]

What I use on tough lug nuts

 

[david hill]

Speaking from experience you will need a extractor as pictured below. Cheap China knock offs just wear down the lug nut leaving you off in worst position than before. Second, acetylene torch to heat the stud and nut on till cherry red. Place the extractor w/ a 3" extension and drive it down over the offending lug nut. Promptly attach a long breaker bar and try to remove. With a little luck it will come off.

 

[78Brougham]

Only problem is an oxy-acetylene torch doesn't mix well with aluminum wheels.
Inductive heating is the way to go, but expensive for a one time operation

 

[cantflip]

Sorry to hear your having this much fun Kid... as a home user, I'd guess your best available trick is to drill the stud (mentioned by Sporty). To help you find center, start with a drill that fits just tight enough to center itself, then once you have a dimple started you can work the progression using whatever sizes you have left in the index (usually only a pro or someone who has never used them has a full drill index). Expect to replace all of the studs, but you may only need one.

Here is what happened, and how to best deal with it. The acorn nuts had a stainless cap to make them pretty, rust formed under the cap and made it swell. Somebody chiseled off the caps to get a socket to fit, but without the cap, 19mm became 18mm. You should give hammering on an 18mm one more try before drilling. For wheel work, always use 6 point sockets and whatever extension to clear the wheel. Even a cheap long breaker bar is going to be better than whatever the factory provided. Breaking studs or tools is better than making a wheel ugly, a broken stud means you needed that one anyhow.

For a pro, especially one where they salt the roads, this stuff is something they deal with regularly. Some of the guys who answered would have this solved with very little drama. For a do it yourselfer, this is where the job goes wrong. A kid in a tire store using the wrong socket or getting nutty with an impact can also cause some of this fun, but if they got it on, usually we have something to get it back off.

The tool marks on the wheel are something the pros have to avoid at all costs, or they're likely to have to replace it. I applaud your efforts and determination to get that far, you just learned the hard way one of the more miserable aspects of working on cars in the rust belt. I hated those lug nuts and still do for that very reason. In the shop I'd often run a 20mm impact on the nut cover to remove the ones loose enough or tear up the cover enough to remove it more easily. In PA it seemed like my 18mm was called into action more than my 19mm.

If your new nuts are the open type, running them down by hand with the wheel off is an easy way to find distorted threads, and they will be unlikely give you this kind of problem again. Last and most important, don't use anti seize when reassembling, wheels tend to come off that way.

 

[rags]

If all else fails I have drilled the stud past the depth of the lug nut and the just broke it off. Step the drill sizes up from about 1/8 to one the size of the thread. I have used this method a few times, it worked well.

this. considering the time spent and the damage done, this is a far better solution. where knowing how to sharpen drill bits come in real handy.

 

[detmatt]

I’ve had this happen twice in my life, both times on either side of the same truck while doing the same job.
I ended up using the drill bit method and eventually got them both off, the second one went faster than the first.
Before I realized it was going to come to that I did manage to give myself a black eye when the breaker bar came off the nut in my aggression.

 

[cantflip]

I did manage to give myself a black eye when the breaker bar came off the nut in my aggression.

We've all punched ourselves in the face at some time, its practically a right of passage.

 

[Analog Kid]

Expect to replace all of the studs, but you may only need one.

I would need to get a whole new hub/bearing assembly in order to replace the studs - correct?

 

[rkrochen]

I would need to get a whole new hub/bearing assembly in order to replace the studs - correct?

Can’t say for sure but normally you can just change studs.

 

[Ripinator]

I often like to share my successes so why not share my failures too?

My wife's 2008 Town and Country van needed a new CV half axle. My brother helped me do them on my 2001 Pontiac so I thought I could handle it on her van and save some money. Seemed simple enough...

Well I couldn't even get past step one - taking the wheel off. The lug nuts were on so tight I couldn't get them off. I think when I had the TPS sensor fixed at NTB they torqued the nuts on too tight. I used my new electric impact gun and was finally able to get four of them off - however the last one is stripped. I've tried hammering smaller sockets but that wouldn't work. Then I started chiseling which I thought I could break the nut off but no dice. Now it's worse than ever.

So any thoughts on my options here? I guess my last resort is to take it somewhere and get reamed and ridiculed. Hang my head in shame. I think my wife might have jinxed me too when she asked me if I knew what I was doing when it came to replacing the axle.

View attachment 296267

I've had nothing but bad experiences with those clowns at NTB. I will never go back to NTB for anything. . .

 

[65sporty]

I would need to get a whole new hub/bearing assembly in order to replace the studs - correct?

You can change just the studs. Use one of the good, old lug nuts, some washers, grease on washers, pull it in place with the lug nut. With most jobs I have a tool for this also. It has a bearing in it so the nut turns smoothly.

 

[jct]

I've had nothing but bad experiences with those clowns at NTB. I will never go back to NTB for anything. . .

Is that like jiffy lube?

 

[Ripinator]

Is that like jiffy lube?

Used to be National Tire & Battery. . .