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wheel stud broke, wheel nuts too tight!

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 4:39 pm
by Orange_Octopus
Ok - any hints would be most apprceated!

Seems the last person to do up the wheel nuts on my Moggy was Clark Kent! Managed to get three tyres off with my extendable wrench and some WD40 but the last one is impossible! The nuts are too smooth to grip even if they could be undone so the wrench just slips off - any ideas how to undo a round nut????

Also in my attempts to remove the nuts I managed to break off one of the wheel studs/screws - guess I'll be replacing the whole hub if I ever get this darn wheel off!!! Don't know my own strength!

If anyone has some handy tips I would be most appreciative!
Amber

studs

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 5:21 pm
by Willie
Wheel studs are easily replaceable. If you can hammer a cranked ring spanner on to the offending nut you night be lucky but it will need a shock with a hammer to start some movement. You will have no chance with an open ended or adjustable. The other possibility is the pipe wrench type which bites more as you apply more pressure but it will be awkward to apply to the nut.

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 6:01 pm
by 8009STEVE
Very last resort
Gas axe

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 6:19 pm
by Packedup
A trick with stubborn fasteners is to find the nearest but slightly too small equivalent (ie Metric 14mm on a rounded 9/16 AF) and a hammer. Belt the small socket on, and hope the impact has helped and the fastener doesn't round more (or the socket crack).

Using a hex (6 sided) socket instead of teh bi-hex (12 points) sockets usually found in sets goes a long way on seized nuts too.

An adaptation of Willie's method - Find a cheap spanner (car boot sale, whatever), hammer it on, then weld it to the nut to make sure it's a good fit! The heat does wonders, and again it shouldn't slip...

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 6:37 pm
by bigginger
Sure I typed this already, but - if you're desperate, drill small holes through the nut in the same plane as the stud, then hammer and cold chisel it off. You'll need a centre puch to start the holes.

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 7:28 pm
by bmcecosse
Make sure you have the correct wheel nut socket in the first place. Are you trying to use a metric wheel wrench on these nuts ?? Heat is the answer - and the broken stud just knocks out and new one can be easily pulled in with a pile of washers and a good wheel nut put on backwards for this. If your nuts are rounded (!) - make sure you get new ones ! Don't put the rounded ones back on.

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 11:01 pm
by jonathon
Use metrinch (wall drive sockets) they are far superior than any socket. They will also double up for both metric and imperial.

Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 4:04 pm
by Orange_Octopus
Thanks everyone - I shall try all of the above!

Fraid it is not the metric wrench, already thought I must have picked up the wrong one so I checked about fifty times! :(

Wheel nuts will be buried three thousand miles below the earth's crust so they can never cause another being the trials I've been though. They will certainly not be going back near my moggy again!!!!

Thanks again - will try to remember to let you know which method worked!

Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 6:19 pm
by bmcecosse
Good luck with it - they will come off!