Stuck wheel bolt

[EddieM]

First - put all the other nuts back on!!!

There is now 1 single nut taking a lot of tension. Use the other 4 to relieve that tension and the 5th will come off. It's "Fitting 1.01". Just like when you torque them up afterwards, you wouldn't just bust in and do one up to full tension, would you. WOULD YOU?

Second - having the full weight of the car on the ground is fine to slacken the nuts, but also recall the above - it means the whole weight of the car is now acting through one lug nut alone. Chock it FIRMLY, stick it in gear, stick the handbrake on, jack it up a little to take the weight off the hub, if only a little. Problem with this are two fold - might not be enough friction on the handbrake (if dealing with rear wheels of FWD car) and most major - you might pull the car off the jack if it's up too high and the chocks are loose. (This can also happen through driving the other wheel opposite direction through the diff)

Nozzle

Maybe... but deffo the advice of turn the wheel in

 

[Nozzle]

Oh, and generally - ALWAYS use axle stands never rely on a jack if you're working anywhere near something that might crush any body part

Nozzle

 

[footprints]

If the car is drivable back to the garage to tightened it up so kin tight!

 

[baldykev]

Try pouring boiling hot water over the alloy by the stuck bolt. Put back the other bolts first and tighten them fully first.
Good luck

 

[DIYspanner]

Surely a wheel nut could not tighten so much with out the thread stripping?

My breaker bars are
Sealey AK7302 750mm 1/2 (500Nm rated)
Sealey AK729 450mm 3/8 (200Nm rated)

Be sure to use a single hex socket! .... and possibly 3/4 drive if available.

I doubt heat with assist because that heats the wheel and hub so they expand and put more tension on the bolt although the threaded bolt hole will also expand. Driving the car with the brakes applied a lot will warm everything up.

 

[johnny2007]

Simply put the the bolts back on and use a long scaffold pole (6 foot works perfectly) in your breaker bar.
It will come off.
Then, go to the main dealer and buy new bolts as those ones have been stretched.
Then ho to the garage that tightened them and give them the invoice.
You won't get the money back but at least there's a very minor possibility that they might feel guilty.
A lot of the cheap (and expensive) tyre places don't have their impact guns tested regularly.
They should be at 140Nm in and anything above 300Nm out.
I invested in a torque wrench years ago so to tighten my bolts to the manufacturer recommendation of 120Nm

 

[DIYspanner]

This is really a daft one to explore. Did the tyre place accidentality break the stud and replace it with a left hand threaded bolt which you are just tightening more? .............. highly unlikely but have a look!

Vehicles used to have both left and right thread wheel nuts. A couple of decades ago an uncle of mine had been trying all day to get the wheel off a farm trailer and when I had a look, it was left thread and I got the nuts loose.

 

[Mottie]

From my apprenticeship days in a Vauxhall/Bedford main dealer, it was only large commercial vehicles that have left handed threads and on the nearside only.

 

[Burnerman]

That's correct.....Transit twin wheeler and upwards......the vans are conventional RH threads.
John

 

[Funtimes]

Happy to report I get the bleeding thing off. Got a 30 ins breaker next day from amazon. Took some doing and a few swear words.

I will send a snottogram to national tyre centres for what its worth and mention the bolts. It doesn't look too clever and its starting to rust and has some gunk in the threads.

Will get some bolts ordered, with future prevention in mind is it worth treating the new bolts with anything or just tell the tyre places not to torque it to 9000nm next time

Thank you for all the help on this.

 

[EddieM]

First - put all the other nuts back on!!!

There is now 1 single nut taking a lot of tension. Use the other 4 to relieve that tension and the 5th will come off. It's "Fitting 1.01". Just like when you torque them up afterwards, you wouldn't just bust in and do one up to full tension, would you. WOULD YOU?

Second - having the full weight of the car on the ground is fine to slacken the nuts, but also recall the above - it means the whole weight of the car is now acting through one lug nut alone. Chock it FIRMLY, stick it in gear, stick the handbrake on, jack it up a little to take the weight off the hub, if only a little. Problem with this are two fold - might not be enough friction on the handbrake (if dealing with rear wheels of FWD car) and most major - you might pull the car off the jack if it's up too high and the chocks are loose. (This can also happen through driving the other wheel opposite direction through the diff)

Nozzle

Maybe... but deffo the advice of turn the wheel in

Happy to report I get the bleeding thing off. Got a 30 ins breaker next day from amazon. Took some doing and a few swear words.

I will send a snottogram to national tyre centres for what its worth and mention the bolts. It doesn't look too clever and its starting to rust and has some gunk in the threads.

Will get some bolts ordered, with future prevention in mind is it worth treating the new bolts with anything or just tell the tyre places not to torque it to 9000nm next time

Thank you for all the help on this.

Doesn't look too bad TBF, but a replacement won't hurt, clearly gunned up way too much.

 

[Mottie]

Don’t put anything on the threads. Most torque figures are for dry bolts.

 

[DIYspanner]

Well done getting the wheel stud removed!

I fit wheel nut/studs dry and I wire wheel buff threads when I take the wheel off during services.

Grease the wheel and hub mating faces.

I presume the torque will be about 120Nm. A decent torque wrench will see the job right.